⁷ So the elders of Moab and ^(A)the elders of Midian departed with ^(B)the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message.

^4 (A)because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they ^(B)hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of ^(C)Mesopotamia, to curse you. ⁵ But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned ^(D)the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.

¹⁵ Forsaking the right way, ^(A)they have gone astray. They have followed ^(B)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(C)gain from wrongdoing,