The princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
- BSB And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
- NKJV And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
- NASB And the representatives from Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
- NLT So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The princes return to Balak and report that Balaam will not come. The first attempt to secure a curse fails.
Overview
The messengers convey Balaam's refusal without his reference to Yahweh, reducing it to a personal unwillingness. Balak, undeterred, will escalate his offer. The pattern of repeated pressure highlights how persistently the world seeks to overturn God's blessing on His people, and how futile that effort proves.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 22:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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