Numbers 22:14

THE MESSAGE

So the Moabite nobles left, came back to Balak, and said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us."

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The princes of Mo'av rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Bil`am refuses to come with us.

King James Version
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

Lexham English Bible
The princes of Moab got up and went to Balak, and they said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

English Standard Version
So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."

New Century Version
So the Moabite leaders went back to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

New English Translation
So the princes of Moab departed and went back to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

Amplified Bible
The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

New American Standard Bible
And the representatives from Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

Geneva Bible (1587)
So the princes of Moab rose vp, and went vnto Balak, & sayd, Balaam hath refused to come with vs.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the leaders of Moab arose and came to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to go with us."

Contemporary English Version
The officials left and told Balak that Balaam refused to come.

Complete Jewish Bible
The princes of Mo'av got up, returned to Balak and said, "Bil‘am refuses to come with us."

Darby Translation
And the princes of Moab rose up; and they went to Balak, and said, Balaam has refused to come with us.

Easy-to-Read Version
So the leaders of Moab went back to Balak and told him this. They said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

George Lamsa Translation
So the princes of Moab rose up and went to Balak, and said to him, Balaam refused to come with us.

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

Christian Standard Bible®
The officials of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Literal Translation
And the leaders of Moab rose up and came to Balak. And they said, Balaam refuses to come with us.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the prynces of ye Moabites gat the vp, came to Balac, & saide: Balaam refuseth to come wt vs.

American Standard Version
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

Bible in Basic English
So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the lordes of Moab rose vp, and went vnto Balac and sayde: Balaam would not come with vs.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said: 'Balaam refuseth to come with us.'

King James Version (1611)
And the Princes of Moab rose vp, and they went vnto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with vs.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the princes of Moab rose, and came to Balac, and said, Balaam will not come with us.

English Revised Version
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

Berean Standard Bible
And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The princes turneden ayen, and seiden to Balaach, Balaam nolde come with vs.

Young's Literal Translation
and the princes of Moab rise, and come in unto Balak, and say, `Balaam is refusing to come with us.'

Update Bible Version
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come with us.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

World English Bible
The princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come with us.

New King James Version
And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."

New Living Translation
So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, "Balaam refused to come with us."

New Life Bible
So the leaders of Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam would not come with us."

New Revised Standard
So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So the princes of Moab arose, and came in unto Balak, - and said, Balaam refused to come with us.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The princes returning, said to Balac: Balaam would not come with us.

Revised Standard Version
So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

Contextual Overview

¹ The People of Israel marched on and camped on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. ²Balak son of Zippor learned of all that Israel had done to the Amorites. The people of Moab were in a total panic because of Israel. There were so many of them! They were terrorized. ⁴Moab spoke to the leaders of Midian: "Look, this mob is going to clean us out—a bunch of crows picking a carcass clean." Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent emissaries to get Balaam son of Beor, who lived at Pethor on the banks of the Euphrates River, his homeland. Balak's emissaries said, "Look. A people has come up out of Egypt, and they're all over the place! And they're pressing hard on me. Come and curse them for me—they're too much for me. Maybe then I can beat them; we'll attack and drive them out of the country. You have a reputation: Those you bless stay blessed; those you curse stay cursed." The leaders of Moab and Midian were soon on their way, with the fee for the cursing tucked safely in their wallets. When they got to Balaam, they gave him Balak's message. "Stay here for the night," Balaam said. "In the morning I'll deliver the answer that God gives me." The Moabite nobles stayed with him. Then God came to Balaam. He asked, "So who are these men here with you?" Balaam answered, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent them with a message: ‘Look, the people that came up out of Egypt are all over the place! Come and curse them for me. Maybe then I'll be able to attack and drive them out of the country.'" God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people." The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak's nobles, "Go back home; God refuses to give me permission to go with you." So the Moabite nobles left, came back to Balak, and said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us." Balak sent another group of nobles, higher ranking and more distinguished. They came to Balaam and said, "Balak son of Zippor says, ‘Please, don't refuse to come to me. I will honor and reward you lavishly—anything you tell me to do, I'll do; I'll pay anything—only come and curse this people.'" Balaam answered Balak's servants: "Even if Balak gave me his house stuffed with silver and gold, I wouldn't be able to defy the orders of my God to do anything, whether big or little. But come along and stay with me tonight as the others did; I'll see what God will say to me this time." God came to Balaam that night and said, "Since these men have come all this way to see you, go ahead and go with them. But make sure you do absolutely nothing other than what I tell you." Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went off with the noblemen from Moab. As he was going, though, God's anger flared. The angel of God stood in the road to block his way. Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. When the donkey saw the angel blocking the road and brandishing a sword, she veered off the road into the ditch. Balaam beat the donkey and got her back on the road. But as they were going through a vineyard, with a fence on either side, the donkey again saw God 's angel blocking the way and veered into the fence, crushing Balaam's foot against the fence. Balaam hit her again. God 's angel blocked the way yet again—a very narrow passage this time; there was no getting through on the right or left. Seeing the angel, Balaam's donkey sat down under him. Balaam lost his temper; he beat the donkey with his stick. Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: "What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?" Balaam said, "Because you've been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now." The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you've ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?" He said, "No." Then God helped Balaam see what was going on: He saw God 's angel blocking the way, brandishing a sword. Balaam fell to the ground, his face in the dirt. God 's angel said to him: "Why have you beaten your poor donkey these three times? I have come here to block your way because you're getting way ahead of yourself. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she hadn't, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey. I would have let her off." Balaam said to God 's angel, "I have sinned. I had no idea you were standing in the road blocking my way. If you don't like what I'm doing, I'll head back." But God 's angel said to Balaam, "Go ahead and go with them. But only say what I tell you to say—absolutely no other word." And so Balaam continued to go with Balak's nobles. When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him in the Moabite town that was on the banks of the Arnon, right on the boundary of his land. Balak said to Balaam, "Didn't I send an urgent message for help? Why didn't you come when I called? Do you think I can't pay you enough?" Balaam said to Balak, "Well, I'm here now. But I can't tell you just anything. I can speak only words that God gives me—no others." Balaam then accompanied Balak to Kiriath Huzoth (Street-Town). Balak slaughtered cattle and sheep for sacrifices and presented them to Balaam and the nobles who were with him. At daybreak Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal (The Heights of Baal) so that he could get a good view of some of the people. ⁶Balaam The People of Israel marched on and camped on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. Balak son of Zippor learned of all that Israel had done to the Amorites. The people of Moab were in a total panic because of Israel. There were so many of them! They were terrorized. Moab spoke to the leaders of Midian: "Look, this mob is going to clean us out—a bunch of crows picking a carcass clean." Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent emissaries to get Balaam son of Beor, who lived at Pethor on the banks of the Euphrates River, his homeland. Balak's emissaries said, "Look. A people has come up out of Egypt, and they're all over the place! And they're pressing hard on me. Come and curse them for me—they're too much for me. Maybe then I can beat them; we'll attack and drive them out of the country. You have a reputation: Those you bless stay blessed; those you curse stay cursed." ⁷The leaders of Moab and Midian were soon on their way, with the fee for the cursing tucked safely in their wallets. When they got to Balaam, they gave him Balak's message. "Stay here for the night," Balaam said. "In the morning I'll deliver the answer that God gives me." The Moabite nobles stayed with him. ⁹ Then God came to Balaam. He asked, "So who are these men here with you?" ¹⁰Balaam answered, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent them with a message: ‘Look, the people that came up out of Egypt are all over the place! Come and curse them for me. Maybe then I'll be able to attack and drive them out of the country.'" ¹² God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people." ¹³ The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak's nobles, "Go back home; God refuses to give me permission to go with you." ¹⁴ So the Moabite nobles left, came back to Balak, and said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Balaam refuseth: Numbers 22:13, Numbers 22:37

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 21:4 - I will not

Cross-References

Genesis 22:8
Abraham said, "Son, God will see to it that there's a sheep for the burnt offering." And they kept on walking together.

Genesis 22:13
Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis 22:14
Abraham named that place God -Yireh ( God -Sees-to-It). That's where we get the saying, "On the mountain of God , he sees to it."

Genesis 32:30
Jacob named the place Peniel (God's Face) because, he said, "I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!"

Exodus 17:15
Moses built an altar and named it " God My Banner." He said, Salute God 's rule! God at war with Amalek Always and forever!

Deuteronomy 32:36
Yes, God will judge his people, but oh how compassionately he'll do it. When he sees their weakened plight and there is no one left, slave or free, He'll say, "So where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge, The gods who feasted on the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink-offerings? Let them show their stuff and help you, let them give you a hand!

Judges 6:24
Then Gideon built an altar there to God and named it " God 's Peace." It's still called that at Ophrah of Abiezer.

Ezekiel 48:35
"The four sides of the city measure to a total of nearly six miles. "From now on the name of the city will be Yahweh-Shammah : "God-Is-There."

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the princes of Moab rose up,.... And the princes of Midian also, immediately, without entering into a parley with him, to persuade him to go with them; perceiving by his answer that it would be to no purpose, and that he was determined to do as the Lord directed him:

and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us; as Balaam told them less than what God had said to him, so they related less to Balak than what Balaam had said to them; saying nothing of the Lord's refusing to let him go with them, but represent it as a piece of pride and obstinacy in Balaam, and which Balak was left to understand; and it seems as if he did understand it as a piece of policy in Balaam, to get a larger offer of money or honour, or both, from him, and which the following account seems to confirm.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 22:14. Balaam refuseth to come with us. — "Observe," says Mr. Ainsworth, "Satan's practice against God's word, seeking to lessen the same, and that from hand to hand, till he bring it to naught. Balaam told the princes less than God told him, and they relate to Balak less than Balaam told them; so that when the answer came to the king of Moab, it was not the word of God, but the word of man; it was simply, Balaam refuseth to come, without ever intimating that God had forbidden him." But in this Balaam is not to blame; he told the messengers in the most positive manner, Jehovah refuseth to give me leave to go with you, Numbers 22:13; and more explicit he could not be.