¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

²¹ So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.^(A)

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

²² God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand, so the donkey turned off the road and went into the field, and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road.^{(B) 24} Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side.^{(C) 25} When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck it again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way 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 Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”^{(D) 29} Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”^{(E) 30} But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.”^(F)

³¹ Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed down, falling on his face.^{(G) 32} The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary because your way is perverse^[a] before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let it live.”

¹¹ By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme, and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.^(A)

¹¹ If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth,^[a] who will entrust to you the true riches?^(A)