Numbers 22

¹And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.

²And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

³And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

⁴And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.

⁵He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:

⁶Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

⁷And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.

⁸And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

⁹And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

¹⁰And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,

¹¹Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

¹²And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

¹³And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

¹⁴And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

¹⁵And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.

¹⁶And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

¹⁷For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

¹⁸And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

¹⁹Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.

²⁰And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

²¹And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.

²²And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

²³And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

²⁴But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.

²⁵And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.

²⁶And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

²⁷And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

²⁸And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

²⁹And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.

³⁰And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

³¹Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

³²And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:

³³And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

³⁴And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.

³⁵And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.

³⁷And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?

³⁸And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

³⁹And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjath–huzoth.

⁴⁰And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.

⁴¹And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

Numbers 22

¹Then the children of Israel, journeying on, put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab, on the other side of Jordan at Jericho.

²Now Balak, the son of Zippor, saw what Israel had done to the Amorites.

³And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel.

⁴Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab.

⁵So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me:

⁶Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed.

⁷So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.

⁸And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night.

⁹And God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you?

¹⁰And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me, saying,

¹¹See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land.

¹²And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.

¹³In the morning Balaam got up and said to the chiefs of Balak, Go back to your land, for the Lord will not let me go with you.

¹⁴So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us.

¹⁵So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others.

¹⁶And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me:

¹⁷For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people.

¹⁸But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God.

¹⁹So take your rest here this night, till I have knowledge what more the Lord has to say to me.

²⁰And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you.

²¹So in the morning Balaam got up and, making his ass ready, went with the chiefs of Moab.

²²But God was moved to wrath because he went: and the angel of the Lord took up a position in the road to keep him from his purpose. Now he was seated on his ass, and his two servants were with him.

²³And the ass saw the angel of the Lord waiting in the road with his sword in his hand; and turning from the road, the ass went into the field; and Balaam gave the ass blows, to get her back on to the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the Lord took up his position in a narrow road through the vine-gardens, with a wall on this side and on that.

²⁵And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and went near the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against the wall; and he gave her more blows.

²⁶Then the angel of the Lord went further, stopping in a narrow place where there was no room for turning to the right or to the left.

²⁷And the ass saw the angel of the Lord and went down on the earth under Balaam; and full of wrath, Balaam gave her hard blows with his stick.

²⁸Then the Lord gave the ass the power of talking, and opening her mouth she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you have given me blows these three times?

²⁹And Balaam said to the ass, You have made me seem foolish: if only I had a sword in my hand I would put you to death.

³⁰And the ass said to Balaam, Am I not your ass upon which you have gone all your life till this day? and have I ever done this to you before? And he said, No.

³¹Then the Lord made Balaam's eyes open, and he saw the angel of the Lord in the way with his sword in his hand: and he went down on his face to the earth.

³²And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you given your ass blows these three times? See, I have come out against you to keep you back, because your purpose is not pleasing to me.

³³And the ass saw me, turning to one side from me three times: if she had not gone to one side, I would certainly have put you to death and kept her safe.

³⁴And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have done wrong, for I did not see that you were in the way against me: but now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will go back again.

³⁵And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men; but say only what I give you to say. Then Balaam went on with the chiefs of Balak.

³⁶Now Balak, hearing that Balaam had come, went to the chief town of Moab, on the edge of the Arnon, in the farthest part of the land, for the purpose of meeting him.

³⁷And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you, requesting you with all my heart to come to me? why did you not come? am I not able to give you a place of honour?

³⁸Then Balaam said to Balak, Now I have come to you; but have I power to say anything? Only what God puts into my mouth may I say.

³⁹And Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-huzoth.

⁴⁰And Balak made offerings of oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and the chiefs who were with him.

⁴¹And in the morning Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and from there he was able to see the outer limits of the people.