He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms ¹  the powerful. ² 

So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Then ¹  the kings of the earth, the ²  very important people, the generals, ³  the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave ⁴  and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.