New King James Version

New Living Translation

Balak Sends for Balaam

Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

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Balak Sends for Balaam

Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

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

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Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites.

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And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.

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And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified.

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So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will [a]lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.

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The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!”
So Balak, king of Moab,

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Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near [b]the River in the land of [c]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me!

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sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethora near the Euphrates River.b His message said:
“Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.

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Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

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Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”

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So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak.

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

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And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

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“Stay here overnight,” Balaam said. “In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say.” So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.

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Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

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That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”

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So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,

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Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message:

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‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”

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‘Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.’”

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And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

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But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!”

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So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

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The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The LORD will not let me go with you.”

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And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

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So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

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Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more [d]honorable than they.

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Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time.

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And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me;

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They went to Balaam and delivered this message to him:
“This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me.

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for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”

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I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!”

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Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

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But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God.

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Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”

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But stay here one more night, and I will see if the LORD has anything else to say to me.”

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And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you — that you shall do.”

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That night God came to Balaam and told him, “Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”

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So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

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Balaam and His Donkey

So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.

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Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

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But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,

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Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.

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Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.

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Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.

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Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.

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And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.

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When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.

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

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Then the angel of the LORD moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all.

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And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

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This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.

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Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

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Then the LORD gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.

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And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have [e]abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”

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“You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”

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So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever [f]disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”

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“But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” Balaam admitted.

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Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.

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Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.

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And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out [g]to stand against you, because your way is perverse[h] before Me.

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“Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the LORD demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me.

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The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

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Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”

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And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it [i]displeases You, I will turn back.”

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Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.”

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Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

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But the angel of the LORD told Balaam, “Go with these men, but say only what I tell you to say.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s officials.

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Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory.

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When King Balak heard that Balaam was on the way, he went out to meet him at a Moabite town on the Arnon River at the farthest border of his land.

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Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”

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“Didn’t I send you an urgent invitation? Why didn’t you come right away?” Balak asked Balaam. “Didn’t you believe me when I said I would reward you richly?”

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And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.”

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Balaam replied, “Look, now I have come, but I have no power to say whatever I want. I will speak only the message that God puts in my mouth.”

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So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth.

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Then Balaam accompanied Balak to Kiriath-huzoth,

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Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

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where the king sacrificed cattle and sheep. He sent portions of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him.

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Balaam’s First Prophecy

So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe [j]the extent of the people.

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The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see some of the people of Israel spread out below him.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Numbers 22

Numbers 22