Numbers 22:23-30

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.

24Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.

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.

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.

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.

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.

29“You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”

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.