Death of Miriam

20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the ^(A)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

^2 (B)There was no water for the congregation, ^(C)and they assembled against Moses and Aaron. ^3 (D)Then the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “^(E)If only we had perished ^(F)when our brothers perished before the Lord! ^4 (G)Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die ^[a]here? ⁵ Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? ^(H)It is not a place of ^[b]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^(I)fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them; ⁷ then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Waters of Meribah

⁸ “Take ^(J)the staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff ^(K)from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “^(L)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and ^(M)water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “^(N)Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” ¹³ Those were called the waters of ^[c](O)Meribah, ^[d]because the sons of Israel argued with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

¹⁴ From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to ^(P)the king of Edom to say, “This is what your brother Israel has said: ‘You ^(Q)know all the hardship that has ^[e]overtaken us; ¹⁵ that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. ¹⁶ But ^(R)when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent ^(S)an angel, and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please ^(T)let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s road, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”

^18 (U)Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ^[f]us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the road, and if I and ^(V)my livestock do drink any of your water, ^(W)then I will ^[g]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ^[h]nothing more.” ²⁰ But he said, “^(X)You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy ^[i]force and a strong hand. ^21 (Y)So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; ^(Z)then Israel turned away from him.

²² Now when they set out from ^(AA)Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Death of Aaron

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at ^(AB)Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be ^(AC)gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because ^(AD)you rebelled against My ^[j]command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son ^(AE)Eleazar, and bring them up to Mount Hor. ²⁶ Then strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be ^(AF)gathered to his people and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ And after Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and ^(AG)put them on his son Eleazar, ^(AH)Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, the whole house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty ^(AI)days.

Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰ Now there were some ^(A)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at ^(B)the feast; ²¹ these people then came to ^(C)Philip, who was from ^(D)Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip *came and *told ^(E)Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. ²³ But Jesus *answered them by saying, “^(F)The hour has come for the Son of Man to ^(G)be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly I say to you, ^(H)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ^25 (I)The one who loves his ^[a]life loses it, and the one who ^(J)hates his ^[b]life in this world will keep it ^[c]to eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone ^[d]serves Me, he must follow Me; and ^(K)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone ^[e]serves Me, the Father will ^(L)honor him.

Jesus Foretells His Death

²⁷ “^(M)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘^(N)Father, save Me from ^(O)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ^28 (P)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a ^(Q)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “^(R)An angel has spoken to Him!” ³⁰ Jesus responded and said, “^(S)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. ^31 (T)Now judgment is upon this world; now ^(U)the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I ^(V)am lifted up from the earth, will ^(W)draw all people to Myself.” ³³ Now He was saying this ^(X)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. ³⁴ The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from ^(Y)the Law that ^(Z)the ^[f]Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The ^(AA)Son of Man must be ^(AB)lifted up’? Who is this ^(AC)Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “^(AD)For a little while longer ^(AE)the Light is among you. ^(AF)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who ^(AG)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the Light, ^(AH)believe in the Light, so that you may become ^(AI)sons of Light.”

These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and ^(AJ)hid Himself from them. ³⁷ But though He had performed so many ^[g]signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him. ³⁸ This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: “^(AK)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ⁴⁰ “^(AL)He has blinded their eyes and He ^(AM)hardened their heart, so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and ^[h]be converted, and so I will not heal them.” ⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because ^(AN)he saw His glory, and ^(AO)he spoke about Him. ⁴² Nevertheless ^(AP)many, even of ^(AQ)the rulers, believed in Him, but ^(AR)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be ^(AS)excommunicated from the synagogue; ^43 (AT)for they loved the ^[i]approval of people rather than the ^[j]approval of God.

⁴⁴ Now Jesus cried out and said, “^(AU)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And ^(AV)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ^46 (AW)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears My ^[k]teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for ^(AX)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ^48 (AY)The one who rejects Me and does not ^[l]accept My ^[m]teachings has one who judges him: ^(AZ)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on ^(BA)the last day. ^49 (BB)For I did not speak ^[n]on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me ^(BC)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that ^(BD)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak ^(BE)just as the Father has told Me.”

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 ^(A)Then the sons of Israel journeyed on, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

² Now ^(B)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ^3 (C)So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. ⁴ Moab said to the elders of ^(D)Midian, “Now this ^[a]horde will eat up all that is around us, as the ox eats up the grass of the field!” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. ⁵ So he sent messengers to ^(E)Balaam the son of Beor, at ^(F)Pethor, which is near the Euphrates River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call for him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they have covered the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. ^6 (G)Now, therefore, please come, ^(H)curse this people for me since they are too ^[b]mighty for me; perhaps I will be able to ^[c]defeat them and drive them out of 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 the elders of Midian left with the fees for ^(I)divination in their hands; and they came to Balaam and ^[d]repeated Balak’s words to him. ⁸ And he said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you just as the Lord may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ Then ^(J)God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me: ¹¹ ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; ^(K)you shall not curse the people, for they ^(L)are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam got up in the morning and said to Balak’s representatives, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ And the representatives from Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak sent representatives once again, more numerous and more distinguished than ^[e]the previous. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak the son of Zippor says: ‘I beg you, let nothing keep you from coming to me; ¹⁷ for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you tell me. ^(M)Please come then, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “^(N)Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the ^[f]command of the Lord my God. ¹⁹ Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord will say to me.” ²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise and go with them; but you shall do ^(O)only the thing that I tell you.”

^21 (P)So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

²² But God was angry that he was going, ^(Q)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, the donkey turned off from the road and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey to guide her back onto the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and on that side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so ^(R)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸ Then ^(S)the Lord 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, “It is because you have made a mockery of me! If only there had been a sword in my hand! For ^(T)I would have killed you by now!” ³⁰ But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw ^(U)the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed ^[g]all the way to the ground. ³² Then the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was ^(V)reckless and contrary to me. ³³ But the donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I certainly would have killed you just now, and let her live.” ³⁴ So Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “^(W)I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” ³⁵ But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but ^(X)you shall speak only the word that I ^[h]tell you.” So Balaam went along with the representatives of Balak.

Difficult Times Will Come

3 But realize this, that ^(A)in the last days difficult times will come. ² For people will be ^(B)lovers of self, ^(C)lovers of money, ^(D)boastful, ^(E)arrogant, ^(F)slanderers, ^(G)disobedient to parents, ^(H)ungrateful, ^(I)unholy, ^3 (J)unloving, irreconcilable, ^(K)malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, ^[a](L)haters of good, ^4 (M)treacherous, ^(N)reckless, ^(O)conceited, ^(P)lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to a form of ^[b](Q)godliness although they have ^(R)denied its power; ^(S)avoid such people as these. ⁶ For among them are those who ^[c](T)slip into households and captivate ^[d](U)weak women weighed down with sins, led on by ^(V)various impulses, ⁷ always learning and never able to ^(W)come to the ^[e]knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as ^(X)Jannes and Jambres ^(Y)opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, ^(Z)men of depraved mind, ^[f]worthless in regard to the faith. ⁹ But they will not make further progress; for their ^(AA)foolishness will be obvious to all, just ^(AB)as was that also of ^[g]Jannes and Jambres.

¹⁰ Now you ^(AC)followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, ^(AD)love, ^[h]perseverance, ^11 (AE)persecutions, and ^(AF)sufferings, such as happened to me at ^(AG)Antioch, at ^(AH)Iconium, and at ^(AI)Lystra; what ^(AJ)persecutions I endured, and out of them all ^(AK)the Lord rescued me! ¹² Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus ^(AL)will be persecuted. ¹³ But evil people and impostors ^(AM)will proceed from bad to worse, ^(AN)deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ You, however, ^(AO)continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that ^(AP)from childhood you have known ^(AQ)the sacred writings which are able to ^(AR)give you the wisdom that leads to ^(AS)salvation through faith which is in ^(AT)Christ Jesus. ^16 (AU)All Scripture is ^[i]inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for ^[j]rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that ^(AV)the man or woman of God may be ^[k]fully capable, ^(AW)equipped for every good work.