Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^(M)Ascents.

Balak Summons Balaam

22 Then ^(A)the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. ² And ^(B)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And ^(C)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 ^(D)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 (E)sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor ^(F)at Pethor, which is near the River^[a] in the land of the people of Amaw,^[b] 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 (G)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 ^(H)the elders of Midian departed with ^(I)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 (J)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 ^(K)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 (L)for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. ^(M)Come, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^(N)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^(O)I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. ¹⁹ So you, too, ^(P)please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” ^20 (Q)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; ^(R)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, ^(S)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way ^(T)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 ^(U)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 ^(V)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 ^(W)to oppose you because your way is perverse^[c] 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, ^(X)“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, ^(Y)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, ^(Z)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 ^(AA)honor you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? ^(AB)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.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (A)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and ^(B)laid it in his own new tomb, ^(C)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^(D)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and ^(E)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of ^(F)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how ^(G)that impostor said, while he was still alive, ^(H)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^(I)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have ^(J)a guard^[a] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by ^(K)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Resurrection

28 ^(A)Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ^(B)the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^(C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ^3 (D)His appearance was like lightning, and ^(E)his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^(F)became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, ^(G)as he said. Come, see the place where he^[a] lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^(H)he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb ^(I)with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus ^(J)met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^(K)took hold of his feet and ^(L)worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^(M)go and tell ^(N)my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of ^(O)the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ^(P)‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to ^(Q)the governor's ears, we will ^(R)satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews ^(S)to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples ^(T)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they ^(U)worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(V)“All authority ^(W)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (X)Go therefore and ^(Y)make disciples of ^(Z)all nations, ^(AA)baptizing them ^(AB)in^{[b] (AC)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(AD)to observe all that ^(AE)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(AF)I am with you always, to ^(AG)the end of the age.”