² And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel ^(A)encamped according to their tribes; and ^(B)the Spirit of God came upon him.

^3 (C)Then he took up his oracle and said:

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he ^(P)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, ^(Q)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! ¹¹ Now therefore, flee to your place. ^(R)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

¹² So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? ¹⁴ And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, ^(S)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ^(T)latter days.”

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

¹⁵ So he took up his oracle and said:

²⁰ Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:

²¹ Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

²³ Then he took up his oracle and said:

²⁵ So Balaam rose and departed and ^(AB)returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

Israel’s Harlotry in Moab

25 Now Israel remained in ^(AC)Acacia Grove,^[g] and the ^(AD)people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab.

The Renewal of Zion

³ And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem ^(B)will be called holy—everyone who is ^(C)recorded among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴ When ^(D)the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the ^[a]blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, ⁵ then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, ^(E)a cloud and smoke by day and ^(F)the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a ^[b]covering. ⁶ And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, ^(G)for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring^(A)

A Hymn of Praise

12 And ^(A)in that day you will say:

⁴ And in that day you will say:

Trained by Saving Grace

¹¹ For ^(A)the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ^13 (B)looking for the blessed ^(C)hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ^14 (D)who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed ^(E)and purify for Himself ^(F)His own special people, zealous for good works.

¹⁵ Speak these things, ^(G)exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

Graces of the Heirs of Grace

3 Remind them ^(H)to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, ^(I)to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. ³ For ^(J)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(K)the kindness and the love of ^(L)God our Savior toward man appeared, ^5 (M)not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through ^(N)the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ^6 (O)whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace ^(P)we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

^8 (Q)This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

3 In those days ^(B)John the Baptist came preaching ^(C)in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for ^(D)the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

⁴ Now ^(G)John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(H)locusts and ^(I)wild honey. ^5 (J)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ^6 (K)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^(L)“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(M)the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ^(N)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. ^(O)Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ^11 (P)I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. ^(Q)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit ^[a]and fire. ^12 (R)His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will ^(S)burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John Baptizes Jesus^(T)

^13 (U)Then Jesus came ^(V)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

^16 (W)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and ^[b]He saw ^(X)the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ^17 (Y)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ^(Z)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”