Numbers 22:21-31

Complete Jewish Bible

(LY: iii) ²¹ So Bil‘am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Mo’av. ²² But God’s anger flared up because he went, and the angel of Adonai stationed himself on the path to bar his way. He was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ The donkey saw the angel of Adonai standing on the road, drawn sword in hand; so the donkey turned off the road into the field; and Bil‘am had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of Adonai stood on the road where it became narrow as it passed among the vineyards and had stone walls on both sides. ²⁵ The donkey saw the angel of Adonai and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil‘am’s foot against the wall. So he beat it again. ²⁶ The angel of Adonai moved ahead and stood in a place so tight that there was no room to turn either right or left. ²⁷ Again the donkey saw the angel of Adonai and lay down under Bil‘am, which made him so angry that he hit the donkey with his stick. ²⁸ But Adonai enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Bil‘am, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” ²⁹ Bil‘am said to the donkey, “It’s because you’ve been making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot!” ³⁰ The donkey said to Bil‘am, “I’m your donkey, right? You’ve ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?” “No,” he admitted. ³¹ Then Adonai opened Bil‘am’s eyes, so that he could see the angel of Adonai standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell on his face.