24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,^(A) he did not resort to divination^(B) as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness.^{(C) 2} When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him^{(D) 3} and he spoke his message:

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned^(S) against Balaam. He struck his hands together^(T) and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies,^(U) but you have blessed them^(V) these three times.^{(W) 11} Now leave at once and go home!^(X) I said I would reward you handsomely,^(Y) but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

¹² Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,^{(Z) 13} ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord^(AA)—and I must say only what the Lord says’?^{(AB) 14} Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”^(AC)

Balaam’s Fourth Message

¹⁵ Then he spoke his message:

Balaam’s Fifth Message

²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek^(AP) and spoke his message:

Balaam’s Sixth Message

²¹ Then he saw the Kenites^(AR) and spoke his message:

Balaam’s Seventh Message

²³ Then he spoke his message:

²⁵ Then Balaam^(AY) got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.

Moab Seduces Israel

25 While Israel was staying in Shittim,^(AZ) the men began to indulge in sexual immorality^(BA) with Moabite^(BB) women,^{(BC) 2} who invited them to the sacrifices^(BD) to their gods.^(BE) The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. ³ So Israel yoked themselves to^(BF) the Baal of Peor.^(BG) And the Lord’s anger burned against them.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders^(BH) of these people, kill them and expose^(BI) them in broad daylight before the Lord,^(BJ) so that the Lord’s fierce anger^(BK) may turn away from Israel.”

⁵ So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death^(BL) those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”^(BM)

⁶ Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite^(BN) woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping^(BO) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁷ When Phinehas^(BP) son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear^(BQ) in his hand ⁸ and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;^{(BR) 9} but those who died in the plague^(BS) numbered 24,000.^(BT)

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites.^(BU) Since he was as zealous for my honor^(BV) among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. ¹² Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace^(BW) with him. ¹³ He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,^(BX) because he was zealous^(BY) for the honor^(BZ) of his God and made atonement^(CA) for the Israelites.”^(CB)

¹⁴ The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman^(CC) was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.^{(CD) 15} And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi^(CE) daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.^(CF)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses,^{(CG) 17} “Treat the Midianites^(CH) as enemies^(CI) and kill them.^{(CJ) 18} They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident^(CK) involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness^(A)

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,^(B) left the Jordan^(C) and was led by the Spirit^(D) into the wilderness, ² where for forty days^(E) he was tempted^[a] by the devil.^(F) He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,^(G) tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’^[b]”^(H)

⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.^{(I) 6} And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,^(J) and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’^[c]”^(K)

⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

¹² Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[e]”^(M)

¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting,^(N) he left him^(O) until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee^(P) in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.^{(Q) 15} He was teaching in their synagogues,^(R) and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth,^(S) where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue,^(T) as was his custom. He stood up to read,^{(U) 17} and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.^(Y) The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled^(Z) in your hearing.”

²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.^(AA)

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown^(AB) what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”^(AC)

²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.^{(AD) 25} I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.^{(AE) 26} Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.^{(AF) 27} And there were many in Israel with leprosy^[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”^(AG)

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town,^(AH) and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.^(AI)

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit^(AJ)

³¹ Then he went down to Capernaum,^(AK) a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. ³² They were amazed at his teaching,^(AL) because his words had authority.^(AM)

³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴ “Go away! What do you want with us,^(AN) Jesus of Nazareth?^(AO) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are^(AP)—the Holy One of God!”^(AQ)

³⁵ “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.^(AR) “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶ All the people were amazed^(AS) and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority^(AT) and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.^(AU)

Jesus Heals Many^(AV)(AW)

³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked^(AX) the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰ At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one,^(AY) he healed them.^{(AZ) 41} Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”^(BA) But he rebuked^(BB) them and would not allow them to speak,^(BC) because they knew he was the Messiah.

⁴² At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God^(BD) to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.^(BE)