⁴¹ “Then you answered and said to me, ^(A)‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.

³⁴ And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, ^(A)“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it ^[a]displeases You, I will turn back.”

A Futile Invasion Attempt^(A)

³⁹ Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, ^(B)and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, ^(C)“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

⁴¹ And Moses said, “Now why do you ^[a]transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ^42 (D)Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; ^(E)because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

^44 (F)But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as ^(G)Hormah.