Numbers 22:21-30

New American Standard Bible

²¹^(A)So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

²²But God was angry that he was going, ^(B)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, the donkey turned off from the road and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey to guide her back onto the road. ²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and on that side. ²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. ²⁶Then the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so ^(C)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸Then ^(D)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?” ²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey, “It is because you have made a mockery of me! If only there had been a sword in my hand! For ^(E)I would have killed you by now!” ³⁰But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And he said, “No.”