2 Peter 2:16
New Living Translation
16 But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.
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2 Peter 2:16
New International Version
16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(A)
Numbers 22:21-33
New Living Translation
Balaam and His Donkey
21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
29 “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
30 “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.
32 “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. 33 Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”
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Numbers 22:21-33
New International Version
Balaam’s Donkey
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22 But 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. 23 When 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.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When 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.
26 Then 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. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry(E) and beat it with his staff. 28 Then 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)”
29 Balaam 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)”
30 The 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.
31 Then 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.
32 The 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] 33 The 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.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 22:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Acts 26:11
New Living Translation
11 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus.[a] I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
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- 26:11 Greek to blaspheme.
Acts 26:11
New International Version
11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,(A) and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
Luke 16:11
New Living Translation
11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
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Luke 16:11
New International Version
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,(A) who will trust you with true riches?
Hosea 9:7
New Living Translation
7 The time of Israel’s punishment has come;
the day of payment is here.
Soon Israel will know this all too well.
Because of your great sin and hostility,
you say, “The prophets are crazy
and the inspired men are fools!”
Ecclesiastes 9:3
New Living Translation
3 It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.
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Ecclesiastes 9:3
New International Version
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(A) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(B) and afterward they join the dead.(C)
Ecclesiastes 7:25
New Living Translation
25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.
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Ecclesiastes 7:25
New International Version
Acts 26:24-25
New Living Translation
24 Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth.
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Acts 26:24-25
New International Version
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind,(A) Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning(B) is driving you insane.”
25 “I am not insane, most excellent(C) Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable.
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