7 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’ ”

12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 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 to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. 8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? 10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, 11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. 12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. 13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

7 Balak’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. 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.

9 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”

10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 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.’ ”

12 But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!”

13 The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The Lord will not let me go with you.”

7 The elders of Moab and Midian went with payment in their hands. When they found Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

8 Balaam said to them, “Stay here for the night, and I will tell you what the Lord tells me.” So the Moabite leaders stayed with him.

9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

10 Balaam said to God, “The king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, sent them to me with this message: 11 ‘A nation has come out of Egypt that covers the land. So come and put a curse on them, and maybe I can fight them and force them out of my land.’ ”

12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Don’t put a curse on those people, because I have blessed them.”

13 The next morning Balaam awoke and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your own country; the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. 8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Jehovah shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? 10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, 11 Behold, the people that is come out of Egypt, it covereth the face of the earth: now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out. 12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed. 13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for Jehovah refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed, having the rewards of divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, according as Jehovah shall speak unto me. And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam, and said, Who are these men with thee? 10 And Balaam said to God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, 11 Behold, a people is come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the land. Now come, curse me them: perhaps I may be able to fight against them, and drive them out. 12 And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed. 13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Go into your land; for Jehovah refuses to give me leave to go with you.

7 The leaders of Moab and Midian left, taking money with them to pay for Balaam’s services. They came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said. 

8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I’ll report to you what the Lord tells me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 

9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” 

10 Balaam answered, “Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, sent them with this message: 11 ‘Some people have just come from Egypt and are spreading out all over the countryside. Now come and curse them for me. Maybe I’ll be able to fight them and force them out.’ ” 

12 But God said to Balaam, “Don’t go with them! Don’t curse these people, because they are blessed.” 

13 When Balaam got up in the morning, he said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 

7 The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him. 8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.

9 Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

10 Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me: 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’ ”

12 Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”

13 So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your land, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. 8 He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, just as the Lord speaks to me”; so the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 ‘A people has come out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the officials of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went with a fee for divination in their hand; they came to Balaam and spoke the words of Balak to him. 8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will return, and I will return word to you, just as Yahweh speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me, 11 ‘Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover the surface of the land. Now, go, curse them for me. Perhaps I will be able to attack them and drive them out.” 12 God said to Balaam, “You will not go with them; you will not curse the people, because they are blessed.” 13 Balaam got up in the morning, and he said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your land, because Yahweh refused to allow me to go with you.”

7 The elders of Moab and Midian left. They took with them the money they knew Balaam would ask for. They wanted him to use magic and figure things out for them. They came to where Balaam was. And they told him what Balak had said.

8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them. “I’ll bring you back the answer the Lord gives me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with him.

9 God came to Balaam. He asked, “Who are these men who are with you?”

10 Balaam said to God, “Balak king of Moab, the son of Zippor, sent me a message. 11 He said, ‘A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the whole surface of the land. So come. Put a curse on them for me. Maybe I’ll be able to fight them. Maybe I’ll be able to drive them away.’ ”

12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people. I have blessed them.”

13 The next morning Balaam got up. He said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country. The Lord won’t let me go with you.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak’s words to him.

8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the Lord may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam.

9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

10 Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me,

11 ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ”

12 God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

13 So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”