Numbers 22:10-16

¹⁰Balaam replied, “Balak, the king of Moab, sent these men to tell me this:

¹¹‘A huge group of people has come from Egypt, and they have spread all over this area. Please come immediately to curse them. Then I may be able to defeat them and expel them from this area.’”

¹²God replied to Balaam, “Do not go with them! I have blessed those people, so you must not curse them!”

¹³The next morning, Balaam got up and told Balak's men, “Go back home. But go by yourselves, because Yahweh is not allowing me to go with you.”

¹⁴So the men from Moab returned to King Balak and they reported to him, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵But Balak sent another group of leaders to Balaam. It was a group that was larger and they were more important than the men in the first group.

¹⁶They went to Balaam and told him this: “This is what King Balak says: ‘Please do not allow anything to hinder you from coming here.