¹Then the sons of Israel moved and encamped in the arid tracts of Moab, across the Jordan at Jericho. ²And Balak the son of Zippor saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³and Moab was very afraid of the people, for it was great. And Moab felt revulsion at the sons of Israel, ⁴and Moab said to the elders of Midian, “The convocation will now lick up all our surroundings as the ox licks up the greenery of the field.” Now Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time, ⁵and he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is on the river of the land of the sons of his people, to call for him, and they said, “Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and look, it has covered the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. ⁶So now, please come and curse this people for me, for it is stronger than me, and maybe I will prevail and we can strike them, and I can drive them from the land, for I know that what you bless is blessed and what you curse is cursed.” ⁷So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went with divining payment in their hand, and they came to Balaam and quoted Balak's words to him. ⁸And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will report to you according to what the Lord says to me.” So Moab's dignitaries stayed with Balaam. ⁹And God came to Balaam, and he asked, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, sent them to me and they said, ¹¹‘Look, the people who came out of Egypt have covered the surface of the land. Now please come and curse them for me, then maybe I will be able to fight them and drive them out.’ ” ¹²And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” ¹³And Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak's dignitaries, “Go to your own country, for the Lord refuses to allow me to go with you.” ¹⁴So Moab's dignitaries arose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to go with us.” ¹⁵Then Balak sent dignitaries again, more of them, and more honourable ones, than those. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam, and they said to him, “This is what Balak the son of Zippor says: ‘Do not, please, refrain from coming to me. ¹⁷For I will certainly honour you greatly, and I will carry out everything you say to me, so please come, and curse this people for me.’ ” ¹⁸Then Balaam answered and said to Balak's servants, “Even if Balak gives me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot transgress the word of the Lord my God, by doing anything small or great. ¹⁹And now, please remain here, you also, tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord says to me.” ²⁰And God came to Balaam by night and said to him, “If the men come and call for you, arise and go with them, but you will surely carry out the words which I will speak to you.” ²¹So Balaam arose in the morning, and he saddled his she-ass, and he went with Moab's dignitaries. ²²Then God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord stationed himself on the road, in opposition to him, while he was riding on his ass, and his two servant-lads were with him. ²³And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand, and the ass turned aside from the way and went into the field. Then Balaam struck the ass to turn it to the road. ²⁴But the angel of the Lord stood on the track of the vineyards, there being a fence on each side. ²⁵And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and it squeezed itself against the wall, and it squeezed Balaam's foot against the wall, and he struck it again. ²⁶Then the angel of the Lord came across again and stood in a narrow spot where there was no room to turn to the right or to the left. ²⁷And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and it lay down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the ass with his stick. ²⁸Then the Lord opened the ass's mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you should strike me these three times?” ²⁹And Balaam said to the ass, “Because you are fooling around with me. If only I had a sword in my hand, then I would kill you now.” ³⁰Then the ass said to Balaam, “Am I not your ass upon which you have ridden for as long as you have existed up to this day? Am I in any way accustomed to behave this way to you?” And he said, “No.” ³¹Then the Lord unveiled Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand. And he bowed down and prostrated himself face down. ³²Then the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why did you strike your ass those three times? Look, I have come out in opposition, because your way is perverse before me. ³³And the ass saw me and turned aside before me those three times. Unless it had turned aside from me, it's you I would have killed by now, but I would have preserved it alive.” ³⁴Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing facing me on the road. So now, if this matter is wrong in your sight, I had better go back.” ³⁵Then the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men; however, the word which I will speak to you is what you will speak.” So Balaam went with Balak's dignitaries. ³⁶Then 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, which is at the end of his territory. ³⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not specifically send men to you to call for you? Why did you not come to me? Is it credible that I should be unable to honour you?” ³⁸Then Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you now. Am I at all able to say anything of my own? The word which God puts in my mouth, that I will say.” ³⁹Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-Huzoth. ⁴⁰And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and he sent for Balaam and for the dignitaries who were with him. ⁴¹And it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the heights of Baal, and from there he showed him the extent of the people.