24 Balaam realized by now that Jehovah planned to bless Israel, so he didn’t even go to meet the Lord as he had earlier. Instead, he went at once and looked out toward the camp of Israel ² which stretched away across the plains, divided by tribal areas.

Then the Spirit of God came upon him, ^3-9 and he spoke this prophecy concerning them:

¹⁰ King Balak was livid with rage by now. Striking his hands together in anger and disgust he shouted, “I called you to curse my enemies and instead you have blessed them three times. ¹¹ Get out of here! Go back home! I had planned to promote you to great honor, but Jehovah has kept you from it!”

¹² Balaam replied, “Didn’t I tell your messengers ¹³ that even if you gave me a palace filled with silver and gold, I could not go beyond the words of Jehovah, and could not say a word of my own? I said that I would say only what Jehovah says! ¹⁴ Yes, I shall return now to my own people. But first, let me tell you what the Israelites are going to do to your people!”

^15-19 So he spoke this prophecy to him:

²⁰ Then Balaam looked over at the homes of the people of Amalek and prophesied:

^21-22 Then he looked over at the Kenites:

^23-24 He concluded his prophecies by saying:

²⁵ So Balaam and Balak returned to their homes.^[a]

25 While Israel was camped at Acacia, some of the young men began going to wild parties with the local Moabite girls. ² These girls also invited them to attend the sacrifices to their gods, and soon the men were not only attending the feasts, but also bowing down and worshiping the idols. ³ Before long all Israel was joining freely in the worship of Baal, the god of Moab; and the anger of the Lord was hot against his people.

⁴ He issued the following command to Moses:

“Execute all the tribal leaders of Israel. Hang them up before the Lord in broad daylight, so that his fierce anger will turn away from the people.”

⁵ So Moses ordered the judges to execute all who had worshiped Baal.

⁶ But one of the Israeli men insolently brought a Midianite girl into the camp, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as they were weeping at the door of the Tabernacle. ⁷ When Phinehas (son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) saw this, he jumped up, grabbed a spear, ⁸ and rushed after the man into his tent, where he had taken the girl. He thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into her stomach. So the plague was stopped, ⁹ but only after 24,000 people had already died.

^10-11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Phinehas (son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) has turned away my anger for he was angry with my anger, and would not tolerate the worship of any God but me. So I have stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended. ^12-13 Now because of what he has done—because of his zeal for his God, and because he has made atonement for the people of Israel by what he did—I promise that he and his descendants shall be priests forever.”

¹⁴ The name of the man who was killed with the Midianite girl was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁵ The girl’s name was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, a Midianite prince.

^16-17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Destroy the Midianites, ¹⁸ for they are destroying you with their wiles. They are causing you to worship Baal, and they are leading you astray, as you have just seen by the death of Cozbi.”

2 About this time Caesar Augustus, the Roman emperor, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the nation. ² (This census was taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

³ Everyone was required to return to his ancestral home for this registration. ⁴ And because Joseph was a member of the royal line, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, King David’s ancient home—journeying there from the Galilean village of Nazareth. ⁵ He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time.

⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born; ⁷ and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in a blanket^[a] and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

⁸ That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly an angel appeared among them, and the landscape shone bright with the glory of the Lord. They were badly frightened, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them.

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you the most joyful news ever announced, and it is for everyone! ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem!^{[b] 12} How will you recognize him? You will find a baby wrapped in a blanket,^[c] lying in a manger!”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,” they sang,^[d] “and peace on earth for all those pleasing him.”

¹⁵ When this great army of angels had returned again to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on! Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They ran to the village and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ The shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story expressed astonishment, ¹⁹ but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them.

²⁰ Then the shepherds went back again to their fields and flocks, praising God for the visit of the angels, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had told them.

²¹ Eight days later, at the baby’s circumcision ceremony, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was even conceived.

²² When the time came for Mary’s purification offering at the Temple, as required by the laws of Moses after the birth of a child, his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord; ²³ for in these laws God had said, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.”

²⁴ At that time Jesus’ parents also offered their sacrifice for purification—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” was the legal requirement. ²⁵ That day a man named Simeon, a Jerusalem resident, was in the Temple. He was a good man, very devout, filled with the Holy Spirit and constantly expecting the Messiah^[e] to come soon. ²⁶ For the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen him—God’s anointed King. ²⁷ The Holy Spirit had impelled him to go to the Temple that day; and so, when Mary and Joseph arrived to present the baby Jesus to the Lord in obedience to the law, ²⁸ Simeon was there and took the child in his arms, praising God.

^29-31 “Lord,” he said, “now I can die content! For I have seen him as you promised me I would. I have seen the Savior you have given to the world. ³² He is the Light that will shine upon the nations, and he will be the glory of your people Israel!”

³³ Joseph and Mary just stood there, marveling at what was being said about Jesus.

^34-35 Simeon blessed them but then said to Mary, “A sword shall pierce your soul, for this child shall be rejected by many in Israel, and this to their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy of many others. And the deepest thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed.”

59 Written by David at the time King Saul set guards at his home to capture and kill him. (1 Samuel 19:11)

O my God, save me from my enemies. Protect me from these who have come to destroy me. ² Preserve me from these criminals, these murderers. ³ They lurk in ambush for my life. Strong men are out there waiting. And not, O Lord, because I’ve done them wrong. ⁴ Yet they prepare to kill me. Lord, waken! See what is happening! Help me! ⁵ (And O Jehovah, God of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, arise and punish the heathen nations surrounding us.) Do not spare these evil, treacherous men. ⁶ At evening they come to spy, slinking around like dogs that prowl the city. ⁷ I hear them shouting insults and cursing God, for “No one will hear us,” they think. ⁸ Lord, laugh at them! (And scoff at these surrounding nations too.)

⁹ O God my Strength! I will sing your praises, for you are my place of safety. ¹⁰ My God is changeless in his love for me, and he will come and help me. He will let me see my wish come true upon my enemies. ¹¹ Don’t kill them—for my people soon forget such lessons—but stagger them with your power and bring them to their knees. Bring them to the dust, O Lord our shield. ^12-13 They are proud, cursing liars. Angrily destroy them. Wipe them out. (And let the nations find out, too, that God rules in Israel and will reign throughout the world.) ^14-15 Let these evil men slink back at evening and prowl the city all night before they are satisfied, howling like dogs and searching for food.

¹⁶ But as for me, I will sing each morning about your power and mercy. For you have been my high tower of refuge, a place of safety in the day of my distress. ¹⁷ O my Strength, to you I sing my praises; for you are my high tower of safety, my God of mercy.

¹⁴ Without wise leadership, a nation is in trouble; but with good counselors there is safety.