Numbers 22:15-35

Common English Bible

¹⁵ Balak continued to send other officials more numerous and important than these. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak, Zippor’s son, says: ‘Please let nothing hold you back from coming to me, ¹⁷ for I’ll greatly honor you and I’ll do anything you ask of me. Please come and curse this people for me.’”

¹⁸ Balaam answered and said to Balak’s servants, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I wouldn’t be able to do anything, small or great, to break the command of the Lord my God. ¹⁹ Now you also must remain the night here so that I may know what else the Lord may say to me.”

²⁰ God came to Balaam in the night and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, arise and go with them. But you must do only what I tell you to do.” ²¹ So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.

Balaam and the Lord’s messenger

²² Then God became angry because he went. So while he was riding on his donkey accompanied by his two servants, the Lord’s messenger stood in the road as his adversary. ²³ The donkey saw the Lord’s messenger standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned from the road and went into the field. Balaam struck the donkey in order to turn him back onto the road. ²⁴ Then the Lord’s messenger stood in the narrow path between vineyards with a stone wall on each side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the Lord’s messenger, it leaned against the wall and squeezed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he continued to beat it. ²⁶ The Lord’s messenger persisted and crossed over and stood in a narrow place, where it wasn’t possible to turn either right or left. ²⁷ The donkey saw the Lord’s messenger and lay down underneath Balaam. Balaam became angry and beat the donkey with the rod. ²⁸ Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you’ve beaten me these three times?”

²⁹ Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you’ve tormented me. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now.”

³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on whom you’ve often ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

Balaam said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord uncovered Balaam’s eyes, and Balaam saw the Lord’s messenger standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand. Then he bowed low and worshipped. ³² The Lord’s messenger said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I’ve come out here as an adversary, because you took the road recklessly in front of me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it hadn’t turned away from me, I would just now have killed you and let it live.”

³⁴ Balaam said to the Lord’s messenger, “I’ve sinned, because I didn’t know that you were standing against me in the road. Now, if you think it’s wrong, I’ll go back.”

³⁵ The Lord’s messenger said to Balaam, “Go with the men. But don’t say anything. Say only that which I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.