And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why have you beaten your donkey three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because your path is wrong in my sight.'
The angel is confronting Balaam for beating his donkey and explaining that God opposed Balaam's journey because he was heading down the wrong path.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Numbers, Balaam was a prophet summoned by King Balak of Moab to curse the Israelites, who were encamped nearby and seen as a threat, but God had already commanded Balaam to bless them instead. As Balaam traveled on his donkey to meet Balak, an angel of the Lord appeared in the road to block his path, which the donkey could see but Balaam could not, causing the donkey to veer off and prompting Balaam to strike it three times. The angel then confronted Balaam, revealing that his journey was contrary to God's will and accusing him of a perverse way.
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