¹⁴ His companion answered, “Your dream can mean only one thing—God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!”

⁹ “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.

¹⁰ You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!

⁶ For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians^[a] to attack us!” they cried to one another. ⁷ So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives.

5 When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast^[a] heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.

²⁴ “The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”

¹⁰ King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, “I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times. ¹¹ Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.”

¹² Balaam told Balak, “Don’t you remember what I told your messengers? I said, ¹³ ‘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.’ I told you that I could say only what the Lord says!

⁵ The Lord gave Balaam a message for King Balak. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and give him my message.”

³⁸ 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.”