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21 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
God Opposes Balaam
22 Then God’s anger was kindled[a] because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose[b] him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with[c] his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. But Balaam beat the donkey, to make her turn back to the road.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a path[d] among the vineyards, where there was a wall on either side.[e] 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself into the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he beat her again.[f]
26 Then the angel of the Lord went farther, 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 crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff.
28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish[g] there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey that you have ridden ever since I was yours until this day? Have I ever attempted[h] to treat you this way?”[i] And he said, “No.” 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground.[j] 32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing[k] is perverse before me.[l] 33 The donkey saw me and turned from me these three times. If[m] she had not turned from me, I would have killed you but saved her alive.” 34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me in the road.[n] So now, if it is evil in your sight,[o] I will go back home.”[p] 35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak[q] the word that I will speak to you.”[r] So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Balaam Meets Balak
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at a city of Moab that was on the border of the Arnon at the boundary of his territory. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send again and again[s] to you to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”[t] 38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able[u] to speak[v] just anything? I must speak[w] only the word that God puts in my mouth.” 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 And Balak sacrificed bulls and sheep, and sent some[x] to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him. 41 Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal.[y] From there he saw the extent of the nation.
Balaam Blesses Israel
23 [z] Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each[aa] altar a bull and a ram. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself[ab] by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me[ac] I will tell you.”[ad] Then he went to a deserted height.[ae]
4 Then God met Balaam, who[af] said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 Then the Lord put a message[ag] in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”[ah]
6 So he returned to him, and he was still[ai] standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam[aj] uttered[ak] his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me[al] from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’[am]
8 How[an] can I curse[ao] one whom God has not cursed,
or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see them;[ap]
from the hills I watch them.[aq]
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned[ar] among the nations.
10 Who[as] can count[at] the dust[au] of Jacob,
or number[av] the fourth part of Israel?
Let me[aw] die the death of the upright,[ax]
and let the end of my life[ay] be like theirs.”[az]
Balaam Relocates
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary[ba] you have only blessed them!”[bb] 12 Balaam replied,[bc] “Must I not be careful[bd] to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”[be] 13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
14 So Balak brought Balaam[bf] to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah,[bg] where[bh] he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And Balaam[bi] said to Balak, “Station yourself here[bj] by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message[bk] in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 17 When Balaam[bl] came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
Balaam Prophesies Again
18 Balaam[bm] uttered[bn] his oracle, and said,
“Rise up,[bo] Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being,[bp] that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?[bq]
20 Indeed, I have received a command[br] to bless;
he has blessed,[bs] and I cannot reverse it.[bt]
21 He[bu] has not looked on iniquity in Jacob,[bv]
nor has he seen trouble[bw] in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation[bx] as king is among them.
22 God brought them[by] out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.[bz]
23 For there is no spell[ca] against[cb] Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time[cc] it must be said[cd] of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at[ce] what God has done!’
24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their[cf] prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.”[cg]
Balaam Relocates Yet Again
25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all[ch] nor bless them at all!”[ci] 26 But Balaam replied[cj] to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks,[ck] I must do’?”
27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God[cl] to let you curse them for me from there.”[cm] 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wastelands.[cn] 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
The Birth of John
57 Now the time came[a] for Elizabeth to have her baby,[b] and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her[c] neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown[d] great mercy to her, and they rejoiced[e] with her.
59 On[f] the eighth day[g] they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name[h] him Zechariah after his father. 60 But[i] his mother replied,[j] “No! He must be named[k] John.”[l] 61 They[m] said to her, “But[n] none of your relatives bears this name.”[o] 62 So[p] they made signs to the baby’s[q] father,[r] inquiring what he wanted to name his son.[s] 63 He[t] asked for a writing tablet[u] and wrote,[v] “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.[w] 64 Immediately[x] Zechariah’s[y] mouth was opened and his tongue[z] released,[aa] and he spoke, blessing God. 65 All[ab] their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. 66 All[ac] who heard these things[ad] kept them in their hearts,[ae] saying, “What then will this child be?”[af] For the Lord’s hand[ag] was indeed with him.
Zechariah’s Praise and Prediction
67 Then[ah] his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,[ai]
68 “Blessed[aj] be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help[ak] and has redeemed[al] his people.
69 For[am] he has raised up[an] a horn of salvation[ao] for us in the house of his servant David,[ap]
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago,[aq]
71 that we should be saved[ar] from our enemies,[as]
and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 He has done this[at] to show mercy[au] to our ancestors,[av]
and to remember his holy covenant[aw]—
73 the oath[ax] that he swore to our ancestor[ay] Abraham.
This oath grants[az]
74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our[ba] enemies,
may serve him without fear,[bb]
75 in holiness and righteousness[bc] before him for as long as we live.[bd]
76 And you, child,[be] will be called the prophet[bf] of the Most High.[bg]
For you will go before[bh] the Lord to prepare his ways,[bi]
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation[bj] through the forgiveness[bk] of their sins.
78 Because of[bl] our God’s tender mercy[bm]
the dawn[bn] will break[bo] upon us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,[bp]
to guide our feet into the way[bq] of peace.”
80 And the child kept growing[br] and becoming strong[bs] in spirit, and he was in the wilderness[bt] until the day he was revealed[bu] to Israel.
Psalm 58[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a prayer[c] of David.
58 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?[d]
Do you judge people[e] fairly?
2 No![f] You plan how to do what is unjust;[g]
you deal out violence in the earth.[h]
3 The wicked turn aside from birth;[i]
liars go astray as soon as they are born.[j]
4 Their venom is like that of a snake,[k]
like a deaf serpent[l] that does not hear,[m]
5 that does not respond to[n] the magicians,
or to a skilled snake charmer.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!
Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord.
7 Let them disappear[o] like water that flows away.[p]
Let them wither like grass.[q]
8 Let them be[r] like a snail that melts away as it moves along.[s]
Let them be like[t] stillborn babies[u] that never see the sun.
9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots,[v]
he[w] will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.[x]
10 The godly[y] will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then[z] observers[aa] will say,
“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded.[ab]
Yes indeed, there is a God who judges[ac] in the earth.”
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