Numbers 22:1-6

Good News Translation

The King of Moab Sends for Balaam

22 The Israelites moved on and set up camp in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan and opposite Jericho.

² When the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, heard what the Israelites had done to the Amorites and how many Israelites there were, ³ he and all his people became terrified. ⁴ The Moabites said to the leaders of the Midianites, “This horde will soon destroy everything around us, like a bull eating the grass in a pasture.” So King Balak ^5 (A)sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. They brought him this message from Balak: “I want you to know that a whole nation has come from Egypt; its people are spreading out everywhere and threatening to take over our land. ⁶ They outnumber us, so please come and put a curse on them for me. Then perhaps we will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. I know that when you pronounce a blessing, people are blessed, and when you pronounce a curse, they are placed under a curse.”