Arad Destroyed

21 When ^(A)the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in ^(B)the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. ^2 (C)And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”^{[a] 3} And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called ^(D)Hormah.^[b]

The Bronze Serpent

⁴ From Mount Hor ^(E)they set out by the way to the Red Sea, ^(F)to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. ⁵ And the people ^(G)spoke against God and against Moses, ^(H)“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and ^(I)we loathe this worthless food.” ^6 (J)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^(K)they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ^7 (L)And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. ^(M)Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹ So ^(N)Moses made a bronze^[c] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

The Song of the Well

¹⁰ And the people of Israel set out and ^(O)camped in Oboth. ^11 (P)And they set out from Oboth and ^(Q)camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. ¹² From there they set out and camped in ^(R)the Valley of Zered. ¹³ From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the ^(S)Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

¹⁶ And from there they continued ^(U)to Beer;^[d] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that ^(V)I may give them water.” ¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song:

And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, ¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah ^(X)that looks down on the desert.^[e]

King Sihon Defeated

²¹ Then ^(Y)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ^22 (Z)“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King's Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ^23 (AA)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and ^(AB)came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ^24 (AC)And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the ^(AD)Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. ²⁵ And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ Therefore the ^(AE)ballad singers say,

King Og Defeated

³¹ Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. ³² And Moses sent to spy out ^(AN)Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle ^(AO)at Edrei. ^34 (AP)But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And ^(AQ)you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

Balak Summons Balaam

22 Then ^(AR)the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. ² And ^(AS)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And ^(AT)Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. ⁴ And Moab said to ^(AU)the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, ^5 (AV)sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor ^(AW)at Pethor, which is near the River^[h] in the land of the people of Amaw,^[i] to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. ^6 (AX)Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and ^(AY)the elders of Midian departed with ^(AZ)the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message. ⁸ And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ^9 (BA)And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for ^(BB)they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵ Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. ¹⁶ And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ^17 (BC)for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. ^(BD)Come, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^(BE)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^(BF)I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. ¹⁹ So you, too, ^(BG)please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” ^20 (BH)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; ^(BI)but only do what I tell you.” ²¹ So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam's Donkey and the Angel

²² But God's anger was kindled because he went, ^(BJ)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way ^(BK)as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. ²⁵ And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord ^(BL)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” ³⁰ And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord ^(BM)opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. ³² And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out ^(BN)to oppose you because your way is perverse^[j] before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” ³⁴ Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, ^(BO)“I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” ³⁵ And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^(BP)but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^(BQ)on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. ³⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to ^(BR)honor you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? ^(BS)The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” ³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him.

⁴¹ And in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.

Balaam's First Oracle

23 And Balaam said to Balak, ^(BT)“Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ² Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam ^(BU)offered on each altar a bull and a ram. ³ And Balaam said to Balak, ^(BV)“Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come ^(BW)to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, ^4 (BX)and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” ⁵ And the Lord ^(BY)put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶ And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. ⁷ And Balaam ^(BZ)took up his discourse and said,

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(CI)I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” ¹² And he answered and said, ^(CJ)“Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam's Second Oracle

¹³ And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ^(CK)and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, ^(CL)“Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam and ^(CM)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷ And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ^(CX)‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” ²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, ^(CY)“Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of ^(CZ)Peor, which overlooks ^(DA)the desert.^{[l] 29} And Balaam said to Balak, ^(DB)“Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ^30 (DC)And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^7 (N)And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to ^(O)wear sandals and not put on two tunics.^{[a] 10} And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^(P)shake off the dust that is on your feet ^(Q)as a testimony against them.” ^12 (R)So they went out and ^(S)proclaimed ^(T)that people should repent. ^13 (U)And they cast out many demons and ^(V)anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

^14 (W)King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'^[b] name had become known. Some^[c] said, ^(X)“John the Baptist^[d] has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^15 (Y)But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^(Z)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ^17 (AA)For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^(AB)bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. ^18 (AC)For John had been saying to Herod, ^(AD)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” ¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰ for Herod ^(AE)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^(AF)heard him gladly.

²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod ^(AG)on his birthday ^(AH)gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^(AI)up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's^[e] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his ^(AJ)disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

^30 (AK)(AL)The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^(AM)they had no leisure even to eat. ^32 (AN)And they went away in ^(AO)the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and ^(AP)recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he ^(AQ)saw a great crowd, and ^(AR)he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ^36 (AS)Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, ^(AT)“You give them something to eat.” And ^(AU)they said to him, ^(AV)“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii^[f] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^(AW)“Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^(AX)looked up to heaven and ^(AY)said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (AZ)Immediately he ^(BA)made his disciples get into ^(BB)the boat and go before him to the other side, ^(BC)to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, ^(BD)he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when ^(BE)evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^(BF)the fourth watch of the night^[g] he came to them, walking on the sea. ^(BG)He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and ^(BH)were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^(BI)“Take heart; it is I. ^(BJ)Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for ^(BK)they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^(BL)were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^53 (BM)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(BN)Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^(BO)recognized him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^(BP)the sick people ^(BQ)on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^(BR)they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ^(BS)the fringe of his garment. And ^(BT)as many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(BU)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(BV)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(BW)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[h] holding to ^(BX)the tradition of ^(BY)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[i] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(BZ)the washing of ^(CA)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[j]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(CB)the tradition of ^(CC)the elders, ^(CD)but eat with ^(CE)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(CF)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(CI)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(CJ)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(CK)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[k]— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus ^(CL)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(CM)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (CN)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[l] 17} And when he had entered ^(CO)the house and left the people, ^(CP)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(CQ)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(CR)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[m] (^(CS)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(CT)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(CU)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(CV)sensuality, ^(CW)envy, ^(CX)slander, ^(CY)pride, ^(CZ)foolishness. ^23 (DA)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^[n] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. ^26 (DB)Now the woman was a ^(DC)Gentile, ^(DD)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be ^(DE)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and ^(DF)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ^(DG)crumbs.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^(DH)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

^31 (DI)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^(DJ)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^(DK)Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him ^(DL)a man who was deaf and ^(DM)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^(DN)lay his hand on him. ³³ And ^(DO)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^(DP)after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And ^(DQ)looking up to heaven, ^(DR)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ^35 (DS)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And ^(DT)Jesus^[o] charged them to tell no one. But ^(DU)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(DV)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”