Numbers 22:14

14 So the princes of Moab returned to Balak. They said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us."

Numbers 22:14 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 22:14

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.

Numbers 22:14 In-Context

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.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.