Numbers 22:5-6

New International Version

⁵sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor,^(A) who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River,^(B) in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt;^(C) they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. ⁶Now come and put a curse^(D) on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land.^(E) For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

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Numbers 22:21-33

New International Version

Balaam’s Donkey

²¹Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. ²²But God was very angry^(A) when he went, and the angel of the Lord^(B) stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword^(C) in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it^(D) to get it back on the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

²⁶Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry^(E) and beat it with his staff. ²⁸Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth,^(F) and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?^(G)”

²⁹Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.^(H)”

³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

³¹Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes,^(I) and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

³²The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.^[a] ³³The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now,^(J) but I would have spared it.”

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Footnotes

Numbers 22:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

Numbers 23:7-12

New International Version

⁷Then Balaam^(A) spoke his message:^(B)

“Balak brought me from Aram,^(C)
    the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.^(D)
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
    come, denounce Israel.’^(E)
⁸How can I curse
    those whom God has not cursed?^(F)
How can I denounce
    those whom the Lord has not denounced?^(G)
⁹From the rocky peaks I see them,
    from the heights I view them.^(H)
I see a people who live apart
    and do not consider themselves one of the nations.^(I)
¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob^(J)
    or number even a fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,^(K)
    and may my final end be like theirs!^(L)”