¹⁸ “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! ¹⁹ Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.

²⁷ And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.

²³ All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” ²⁴ And they praised God because of me.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus^[a] be with you.

24 By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness,

⁷ Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel.^[a] They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him.