Open English Translation NUM Chapter 22

22 Then the Israelis set off for the Moav plains, and they camped there across the river from Yeriho (Jericho). 2 The Moabite King Balak (Tsipor’s son), saw everything that Yisrael had done to the Amorites, 3 and when he realised that the Israelis were very numerous, the Moabite people became sick with fear. 4 and they told the elders at Midyan, “Now all that lot will devour everything that’s around us, just like a cow completely cleans out a green field.”

Now Tsipor’s son Balak was Moav’s king at that time, 5 and he sent messengers to Beor’s son Bileam (Balaam) at Petor (which was their tribal land near the Euphrates river). He requested help, saying, “Listen, there’s a population here that came out from Egypt. Wow, they’ve covered the entire surface in this region and they’re living opposite me.[ref] 6 So now please come and curse this people group for me because they are more numerous than us, then perhaps I’ll be able to attack them and drive them out of the area, because I know that anyone you bless will be blessed, and those who you curse will be cursed.”

7 So the elders from Moav and from Midyan departed carrying the fees for divination with them, and they went to Bileam and passed Balak’s words on to him. 8 Bileam told them, “Stay here tonight, and in the morning, I’ll bring you back answer, depending on what Yahweh tells me,” and so the Moav leaders stayed there with Bileam.

9 That night, God came to Bileam and asked, “Who are those men with you?”

10 “Tsipor’s son, King Balak from Moav sent me a message,” Bileam replied. 11 “He said that shockingly a people group has come out of Egypt and has covered his region. He wants me to go and curse them for him, so that he’ll be able to attack them and drive them out of that area.”

12 Then God told Bileam, “Don’t go with them—you mustn’t curse those people, because they’re blessed.” 13 The next morning, Bileam went over and told Balak’s messengers, “Go back to your place, because Yahweh has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the Moav leaders stood up and went back to King Balak, and told him, “Bileam refused to come with us.”

15 However, Balak sent back a larger group of leaders who were even more senior than the first ones, 16 and they went and told Bileam, “Tsipor’s son King Balak says, ‘Please don’t refuse to come here, 17 because I’ll honour you highly and do anything that you tell me to. Just please come and curse this population for me.’ ”

18 “Even if Balak gave me a houseful of gold and sliver,” Bileam told Balak’s servant, “I still couldn’t go against Yahweh’s instructions, even if it was just to do something small. 19 However, please do stay here tonight, and I’ll find out if Yahweh might have anything else to say to me.”

20 That night, God came to Bileam and told him, “If those men have come to summon you, get ready and go with them, except that you must only give the message that I’ll tell you.” 21 So in the morning, Bileam got ready and saddled his donkey, and went with the Moav leaders.

22 However, God got angry because he’d gone, and Yahweh’s messenger stood in the middle of the road to block them. As Bileam rode on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants, 23 the donkey saw Yahweh’s messenger standing there holding a sword in the middle of the road and turned off the road and went into a field. So Bileam whacked the donkey and forced it back onto the road. 24 Then Yahweh’s messenger moved to a place where the road was very narrow, with vineyard walls on each side of the road. 25 When the donkey saw Yahweh’s messenger, it squeezed close by the wall, and in doing so, squashed Bileam’s foot against the wall, so he whacked it again. 26 Then Yahweh’s messenger went past again and stood in a narrow place on the road where there was no room to get past on either side. 27 This time, when the donkey saw the messenger, it lay down on the ground with Bileam sitting on top of it. Bileam got very angry and whacked the donkey again with his staff. 28 Then Yahweh enabled the donkey to speak, and it asked Bileam, “What did I do to you that you beat me these three times?”

29 “Because you’ve been messing me around!” Bileam shouted. “If only I’d been carrying a sword, then I would have killed you!”

30 “Aren’t I your donkey that you’ve ridden all your life?” the donkey asked Bileam. “Have I ever done anything like that to you before?”

And he said, “No.”

31 Then Yahweh uncovered Bileam’s eyes and he saw Yahweh’s messenger standing in the middle of the road with his sword in his hand, and Bileam fell to his knees and kept bowing his face to the ground. 32 Yahweh’s angel asked him, “Why did you strike you donkey those three times? Listen, I came personally to oppose you because you’re choosing a very dangerous path as far as I’m concerned. 33 Your donkey saw me and avoided me those three times—if it hadn’t I certainly would have killed you already, but I would have let the donkey live.”

34 “Yes, I’ve done wrong,” Bileam said to Yahweh’s messenger, “because I didn’t know that you were waiting for me there on the road. But now, if you don’t want me to continue, I’ll return home again.”

35 “Continue on with those men,” Yahweh’s angel told Bileam, “but make sure that you only pass on the message that I give you.” So Bileam carried on with Balak’s leaders.

36 When King Balak heard that Bileam was coming, he went out to meeting him at a city in Moav that was on his border beside the Arnon river. 37 He asked Bileam, “Didn’t I send an urgent message to summon you? Why didn’t you come then? Did you think I couldn’t pay you enough?”

38 “Look, I’ve come now,” Bileam answered Balak, “but can I say whatever I want? No, I have to deliver whatever message God gives me.” 39 So then Bileam went to Kiryat-Hutsot with Balak, 40 where Balak sacrificed sheep and cattle, and gave some of the meat to Bileam and to the leaders who were with them. 41 The next morning, Balak took Bileam uphill to Bamot-Baal, and from there they could see the outskirts of the Israeli camp.