Numbers 22:17-32

¹⁷I will pay you ◄a lot of money/very well► if you come, and I will do anything that you ask me to do. Just come and curse these Israeli people for me!’”

¹⁸But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak would give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would not do anything to disobey Yahweh, ◄my God/the God whom I worship►.

¹⁹But stay here one more night, like the other messengers did, and I will find out if Yahweh has anything more to say to me.”

²⁰That night God appeared to Balaam again and said to him, “These men have come to request that you go back with them, so you may go with them, but do only what I tell you to do!”

²¹So the next morning, Balaam put a saddle on his donkey and he departed with two of his servants along with the men from Moab.

²²Even though God had given Balaam permission to go, he was still angry. So he sent one of his angels to Balaam. This angel stood in the road to block Balaam's path. As Balaam and the two servants were riding on their donkeys,

²³Balaam's donkey saw the angel. The angel was standing in the road and was holding a sword in his hand, but Balaam did not see him. Balaam's donkey turned off the road into a field. So Balaam struck the donkey and forced it to go back onto the road.

²⁴Then the angel stood in a place where the road was very narrow, between two vineyards, with walls on each side of the road.

²⁵When the donkey saw the angel standing there, it walked very close to the wall to try to get past the angel. As a result, it bashed Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam struck the donkey again.

²⁶Then the angel went further along the road and stood at a place that was extremely narrow, with the result that the donkey could not get past at all.

²⁷This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down on the ground with Balaam sitting on top of it. Balaam became extremely angry, and he struck the donkey again with his walking stick.

²⁸Then Yahweh enabled the donkey to speak! It said to Balaam, “What bad thing have I done to you that caused you to strike me three times?”

²⁹Balaam shouted, “I struck you because you have caused me to appear to be foolish! If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”

³⁰But the donkey answered, “I am your own donkey RHQ, the one that you have always ridden! Have I ever done anything like this previously?” Balaam said, “No.”

³¹Then Yahweh enabled Balaam to see the angel standing on the road, holding a sword in his hand. Balaam realized that it was an angel and prostrated himself on the ground in front of the angel.

³²The angel asked him, ‘◄Why did you strike your donkey three times?/ You should certainly not have sruck the donkey three times! RHQ I have come to block your path because what you are planning to do is wrong.