| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. | 1The Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan River across from Jericho. |
| 2Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites. | 2Balak son of Zippor saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites. |
| 3And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. | 3And the Moabites were greatly afraid of the people, because they were so numerous. The Moabites were sick with fear because of the Israelites. |
| 4The 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, | 4So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "Now this mass of people will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field. Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time. |
| 5sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. | 5And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, "Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me. |
| 6Please 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.” | 6So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed." |
| 7Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him. | 7So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak. |
| 8“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. | 8He replied to them, "Stay here tonight, and I will bring back to you whatever word the LORD may speak to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. |
| 9That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?” | 9And God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?" |
| 10Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: | 10Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent a message to me, saying, |
| 11‘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.’” | 11"Look, a nation has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out." |
| 12But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” | 12But God said to Balaam, "You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed." |
| 13The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The LORD will not let me go with you.” | 13So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, "Go to your land, for the LORD has refused to permit me to go with you." |
| 14So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.” | 14So the princes of Moab departed and went back to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us." |
| 15Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time. | 15Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. |
| 16They 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. | 16And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak son of Zippor: 'Please do not let anything hinder you from coming to me. |
| 17I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!” | 17For I will honor you greatly, and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.'" |
| 18But 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. | 18Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment of the LORD my God to do less or more. |
| 19But stay here one more night, and I will see if the LORD has anything else to say to me.” | 19Now therefore, please stay the night here also, that I may know what more the LORD might say to me." |
| 20That 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.” Balaam and His Donkey | 20God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do." |
| 21So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. | 21So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. |
| 22But 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, | 22Then God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. |
| 23Balaam’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. | 23And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. But Balaam beat the donkey, to make her turn back to the road. |
| 24Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. | 24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a path among the vineyards, where there was a wall on either side. |
| 25When 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. | 25And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself into the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he beat her again. |
| 26Then 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. | 26Then the angel of the LORD went farther, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. |
| 27This 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. | 27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff. |
| 28Then 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. | 28Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?" |
| 29“You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!” | 29And Balaam said to the donkey, "You have made me look stupid; I wish there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now." |
| 30“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. | 30The donkey said to Balaam, "Am not I your donkey that you have ridden ever since I was yours until this day? Have I ever attempted to treat you this way?" And he said, "No." |
| 31Then 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. | 31Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground. |
| 32“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. | 32The angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing is perverse before me. |
| 33Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.” | 33The donkey saw me and turned from me these three times. If she had not turned from me, I would have killed you but saved her alive." |
| 34Then 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.” | 34Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me in the road. So now, if it is evil in your sight, I will go back home." |
| 35But 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. | 35But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but you may only speak the word that I will speak to you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. |
| 36When 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. | 36When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at a city of Moab which was on the border of the Arnon at the boundary of his territory. |
| 37“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?” | 37Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send again and again to you to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?" |
| 38Balaam 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.” | 38Balaam said to Balak, "Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able to speak just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth." |
| 39Then Balaam accompanied Balak to Kiriath-huzoth, | 39So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. |
| 40where the king sacrificed cattle and sheep. He sent portions of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him. | 40And Balak sacrificed bulls and sheep, and sent some to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him. |
| 41The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see some of the people of Israel spread out below him. | 41Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. From there he saw the extent of the nation. |
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