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."
14 So the princes of Moab returned to Balak. They said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us."
15 Then Balak sent other princes. They were more important than the first ones. And there were more of them.
16 They came to Balaam. They said, "Balak, the son of Zippor, says, 'Don't let anything keep you from coming to me.