Psalm 119:49-72

English Standard Version

Zayin

⁴⁹Remember ^(A)your word to your servant,
    in which you have made me ^(B)hope.
⁵⁰This is ^(C)my comfort in my affliction,
    that your promise ^(D)gives me life.
⁵¹^(E)The insolent utterly deride me,
    but I do not ^(F)turn away from your law.
⁵²When I think of your rules from of old,
    I take comfort, O Lord.
⁵³^(G)Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
    who forsake your law.
⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs
    in the house of my ^(H)sojourning.
⁵⁵I ^(I)remember your name in the night, O Lord,
    and keep your law.
⁵⁶This blessing has fallen to me,
    that ^(J)I have kept your precepts.

Heth

⁵⁷^(K)The Lord is my portion;
    I promise to keep your words.
⁵⁸I ^(L)entreat your favor with all my heart;
    be gracious to me ^(M)according to your promise.
⁵⁹When I ^(N)think on my ways,
    I turn my feet to your testimonies;
⁶⁰I hasten and do not delay
    to keep your commandments.
⁶¹Though ^(O)the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
    I do not ^(P)forget your law.
⁶²At ^(Q)midnight I rise to praise you,
    because of your ^(R)righteous rules.
⁶³^(S)I am a companion of all who fear you,
    of those who keep your precepts.
⁶⁴^(T)The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
    ^(U)teach me your statutes!

Teth

⁶⁵You have dealt well with your servant,
    O Lord, ^(V)according to your word.
⁶⁶Teach me ^(W)good judgment and knowledge,
    for I believe in your commandments.
⁶⁷^(X)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
    but now I keep your word.
⁶⁸^(Y)You are good and do good;
    ^(Z)teach me your statutes.
⁶⁹^(AA)The insolent ^(AB)smear me with lies,
    but with my whole heart I ^(AC)keep your precepts;
⁷⁰their heart is unfeeling ^(AD)like fat,
    but I ^(AE)delight in your law.
⁷¹It is ^(AF)good for me that I was afflicted,
    that I might learn your statutes.
⁷²^(AG)The law of your mouth is better to me
    than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

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Numbers 23

English Standard Version

Balaam's First Oracle

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

“From ^(H)Aram Balak has brought me,
    the king of Moab ^(I)from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, ^(J)curse Jacob for me,
    and come, denounce Israel!’
⁸How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
    How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
⁹For from the top of the crags ^(K)I see him,
    from the hills I behold him;
behold, ^(L)a people dwelling alone,
    and ^(M)not counting itself among the nations!
¹⁰^(N)Who can count the dust of Jacob
    or number the fourth part^[a] of Israel?
Let me die ^(O)the death of the upright,
    and let my end be like his!”

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

Balaam's Second Oracle

¹³And 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.” ¹⁴And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ^(R)and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, ^(S)“Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶And the Lord met Balaam and ^(T)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷And 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?” ¹⁸And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;
    give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
¹⁹^(U)God is not man, that he should lie,
    or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
    Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
²⁰Behold, I received a command to bless:
    ^(V)he has blessed, and ^(W)I cannot revoke it.
²¹^(X)He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
    nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
    and the shout of a king is among them.
²²^(Y)God brings them out of Egypt
    and is for them like ^(Z)the horns of the wild ox.
²³For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
    no ^(AA)divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
    ^(AB)‘What has God wrought!’
²⁴Behold, a people! ^(AC)As a lioness it rises up
    and as a lion it lifts itself;
^(AD)it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
    and drunk the blood of the slain.”

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

Footnotes

Numbers 23:10 Or dust clouds
Numbers 23:28 Or Jeshimon

Luke 1:1-23

English Standard Version

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^(A)have been accomplished among us, ²^(B)just as those who ^(C)from the beginning were ^(D)eyewitnesses and ^(E)ministers of ^(F)the word ^(G)have delivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^(H)an orderly account for you, ^(I)most excellent ^(J)Theophilus, ⁴that you may have ^(K)certainty concerning the things ^(L)you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵^(M)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^[a] ^(N)of ^(O)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both ^(P)righteous before God, walking ^(Q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because ^(R)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(S)both were advanced in years.

⁸Now ^(T)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(U)his division was on duty, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(V)to enter ^(W)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people ^(X)were praying ^(Y)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(Z)the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(AA)fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(AB)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(AC)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(AD)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be ^(AE)great before the Lord. And ^(AF)he must not drink wine or strong ^(AG)drink, and ^(AH)he will be ^(AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(AJ)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷and ^(AK)he will go before him ^(AL)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AM)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AN)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AO)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(AP)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹And the angel answered him, “I am ^(AQ)Gabriel. ^(AR)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And behold, ^(AS)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(AT)the temple. ²²And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(AU)the temple. And ^(AV)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³And ^(AW)when his time of ^(AX)service was ended, he went to his home.