13. When Balaam got up in the morning, he said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
14. So the Moabite princes went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15. Balak sent a larger group of more highly respected princes.
16. When they came to Balaam, they said to him, “This is what Balak, son of Zippor, says: Don’t let anything keep you from coming to me.
17. I will make sure you are richly rewarded, and I will do whatever you ask. Please, come and curse these people for me.”
18. But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn’t disobey the command of the Lord my God no matter whether the request was important or not.
19. Now, why don’t you stay here tonight, as the others did, and I’ll find out what else the Lord may have to tell me.”
20. That night God came to Balaam and said, “If these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”
21. When Balaam got up in the morning, he saddled his donkey and left with the Moabite princes.
22. God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the Lord stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants.
23. When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road.
24. Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the Lord stood there.
25. When the donkey saw the Messenger of the Lord, it moved over and pinned Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.
26. Then the Messenger of the Lord moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.