22. God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the Lord stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants.
23. When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road.
24. Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the Lord stood there.
25. When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it moved over and pinned Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.
26. Then the Messenger of the Lord moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.
27. When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam. Balaam became so angry he hit the donkey with his stick.
28. Then the Lord made the donkey speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?”
29. Balaam answered, “You’ve made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you right now.”
30. The donkey said to Balaam, “I’m your own donkey. You’ve always ridden me. Have I ever done this to you before?”“No,” he answered.