Parallel Bible results for "numbers 22"

Numbers 22

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 Then the children of Israel, journeying on, put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab, on the other side of Jordan at Jericho.

2 Now Balak, the son of Zippor, saw what Israel had done to the Amorites.

3 And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel.

4 Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab.

5 So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me:

6 Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed.

7 So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.

8 And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night.

9 And God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you?

10 And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me, saying,

11 See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land.

12 And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.

13 In the morning Balaam got up and said to the chiefs of Balak, Go back to your land, for the Lord will not let me go with you.

14 So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us.

15 So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others.

16 And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me:

17 For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people.

18 But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God.

19 So take your rest here this night, till I have knowledge what more the Lord has to say to me.

20 And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you.

21 So in the morning Balaam got up and, making his ass ready, went with the chiefs of Moab.

22 But God was moved to wrath because he went: and the angel of the Lord took up a position in the road to keep him from his purpose. Now he was seated on his ass, and his two servants were with him.

23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord waiting in the road with his sword in his hand; and turning from the road, the ass went into the field; and Balaam gave the ass blows, to get her back on to the road.

24 Then the angel of the Lord took up his position in a narrow road through the vine-gardens, with a wall on this side and on that.

25 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and went near the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against the wall; and he gave her more blows.

26 Then the angel of the Lord went further, stopping in a narrow place where there was no room for turning to the right or to the left.

27 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord and went down on the earth under Balaam; and full of wrath, Balaam gave her hard blows with his stick.

28 Then the Lord gave the ass the power of talking, and opening her mouth she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you have given me blows these three times?

29 And Balaam said to the ass, You have made me seem foolish: if only I had a sword in my hand I would put you to death.

30 And the ass said to Balaam, Am I not your ass upon which you have gone all your life till this day? and have I ever done this to you before? And he said, No.

31 Then the Lord made Balaam's eyes open, and he saw the angel of the Lord in the way with his sword in his hand: and he went down on his face to the earth.

32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you given your ass blows these three times? See, I have come out against you to keep you back, because your purpose is not pleasing to me.

33 And the ass saw me, turning to one side from me three times: if she had not gone to one side, I would certainly have put you to death and kept her safe.

34 And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have done wrong, for I did not see that you were in the way against me: but now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will go back again.

35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men; but say only what I give you to say. Then Balaam went on with the chiefs of Balak.

36 Now Balak, hearing that Balaam had come, went to the chief town of Moab, on the edge of the Arnon, in the farthest part of the land, for the purpose of meeting him.

37 And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you, requesting you with all my heart to come to me? why did you not come? am I not able to give you a place of honour?

38 Then Balaam said to Balak, Now I have come to you; but have I power to say anything? Only what God puts into my mouth may I say.

39 And Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-huzoth.

40 And Balak made offerings of oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and the chiefs who were with him.

41 And in the morning Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and from there he was able to see the outer limits of the people.

Good News Translation GNT

1 The Israelites moved on and set up camp in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan and opposite Jericho.

2 When the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, heard what the Israelites had done to the Amorites and how many Israelites there were,

3 he and all his people became terrified.

4 The Moabites said to the leaders of the Midianites, "This horde will soon destroy everything around us, like a bull eating the grass in a pasture." So King Balak

5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. They brought him this message from Balak: "I want you to know that a whole nation has come from Egypt; its people are spreading out everywhere and threatening to take over our land.

6 They outnumber us, so please come and put a curse on them for me. Then perhaps we will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. I know that when you pronounce a blessing, people are blessed, and when you pronounce a curse, they are placed under a curse."

7 So the Moabite and Midianite leaders took with them the payment for the curse, went to Balaam, and gave him Balak's message.

8 Balaam said to them, "Spend the night here, and tomorrow I will report to you whatever the Lord tells me." So the Moabite leaders stayed with Balaam.

9 God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these people that are staying with you?"

10 He answered, "King Balak of Moab has sent them to tell me

11 that a people who came from Egypt has spread out over the whole land. He wants me to curse them for him, so that he can fight them and drive them out."

12 God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them, and do not put a curse on the people of Israel, because they have my blessing."

13 The next morning Balaam went to Balak's messengers and said, "Go back home; the Lord has refused to let me go with you."

14 So they returned to Balak and told him that Balaam had refused to come with them.

15 Then Balak sent a larger number of leaders, who were more important than the first.

16 They went to Balaam and gave him this message from Balak: "Please don't let anything prevent you from coming to me!

17 I will reward you richly and do anything you say. Please come and curse these people for me."

18 But Balaam answered, "Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not disobey the command of the Lord my God in even the smallest matter.

19 But please spend the night, as the others did, so that I may learn whether or not the Lord has something else to tell me."

20 That night God came to Balaam and said, "If these men have come to ask you to go with them, get ready and go, but do only what I tell you."

21 So the next morning Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite leaders.

22 God was angry that Balaam was going, and as Balaam was riding along on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants, the angel of the Lord stood in the road to bar his way.

23 When the donkey saw the angel standing there holding a sword, it left the road and turned into the fields. Balaam beat the donkey and brought it back onto the road.

24 Then the angel stood where the road narrowed between two vineyards and had a stone wall on each side.

25 When the donkey saw the angel, it moved over against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against it. Again Balaam beat the donkey.

26 Once more the angel moved ahead; he stood in a narrow place where there was no room at all to pass on either side.

27 This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down. Balaam lost his temper and began to beat the donkey with his stick.

28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the power of speech, and it said to Balaam, "What have I done to you? Why have you beaten me these three times?"

29 Balaam answered, "Because you have made a fool of me! If I had a sword, I would kill you."

30 The donkey replied, "Am I not the same donkey on which you have ridden all your life? Have I ever treated you like this before?" "No," he answered.

31 Then the Lord let Balaam see the angel standing there with his sword; and Balaam threw himself face downward on the ground.

32 The angel demanded, "Why have you beaten your donkey three times like this? I have come to bar your way, because you should not be making this journey.

33 But your donkey saw me and turned aside three times. If it hadn't, I would have killed you and spared the donkey."

34 Balaam replied, "I have sinned. I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me; but now if you think it is wrong for me to go on, I will return home."

35 But the angel said, "Go on with these men, but say only what I tell you to say." So Balaam went on with them.

36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at Ar, a city on the Arnon River at the border of Moab.

37 Balak said to him, "Why didn't you come when I sent for you the first time? Did you think I wasn't able to reward you enough?"

38 Balaam answered, "I came, didn't I? But now, what power do I have? I can say only what God tells me to say."

39 So Balaam went with Balak to the town of Huzoth,

40 where Balak slaughtered cattle and sheep and gave some of the meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, from where Balaam could see a part of the people of Israel.