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24 By now Balaam knew that the Lord wanted him to bless the people of Israel, so he did not go to look for omens, as he had done before. He turned toward the desert 2 and saw the people of Israel camped tribe by tribe. The spirit of God took control of him, 3 and he uttered this prophecy:
“The message of Balaam son of Beor,
The words of the man who can see clearly,[a]
4 Who can hear what God is saying.
With staring eyes I see in a trance
A vision from Almighty God.
5 The tents of Israel are beautiful,
6 Like long rows of palms
Or gardens beside a river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord
Or cedars beside the water.
7 They will have abundant rainfall
And plant their seed in well-watered fields.[b]
Their king shall be greater than Agag,
And his rule shall be extended far and wide.
8 God brought them out of Egypt;
He fights for them like a wild ox.
They devour their enemies,
Crush their bones, smash their arrows.
9 (A)The nation is like a mighty lion;
When it is sleeping, no one dares wake it.
Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed,
And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.”
10 Balak clenched his fists in anger and said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but three times now you have blessed them instead. 11 Now get on home! I promised to reward you, but the Lord has kept you from getting the reward.”
12 Balaam answered, “I told the messengers you sent to me that 13 even if you gave me all the silver and gold in your palace, I could not disobey the command of the Lord by doing anything of myself. I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.”
Balaam's Final Prophecies
14 Balaam said to Balak, “Now I am going back to my own people, but before I go, I am warning you what the people of Israel will do to your people in the future.” 15 Then he uttered this prophecy:
“The message of Balaam son of Beor,
The words of the man who can see clearly,[c]
16 Who can hear what God is saying
And receive the knowledge that comes from the Most High.
With staring eyes I see in a trance
A vision from Almighty God.
17 I look into the future,
And I see the nation of Israel.
A king, like a bright star, will arise in that nation.
Like a comet he will come from Israel.
He will strike the leaders of Moab
And beat down all the people of Seth.[d]
18 He will conquer his enemies in Edom
And make their land his property,
While Israel continues victorious.
19 The nation of Israel will trample them down
And wipe out the last survivors.”
20 Then in his vision Balaam saw the Amalekites and uttered this prophecy:
“Amalek was the most powerful nation of all,
But at the end it will perish forever.”
21 In his vision he saw the Kenites, and uttered this prophecy:
“The place where you live is secure,
Safe as a nest set high on a cliff,
22 But you Kenites will be destroyed
When Assyria takes you captive.”[e]
23 Balaam uttered this prophecy:
“Who are these people gathering in the north?[f]
24 Invaders will sail from Cyprus;
They will conquer Assyria and Eber,
But they, in turn, will perish forever.”
25 Then Balaam got ready and went back home, and Balak went on his way.
The People of Israel at Peor
25 When the Israelites were camped at Acacia Valley, the men began to have sexual intercourse with the Moabite women who were there. 2 These women invited them to sacrificial feasts, where the god of Moab was worshiped. The Israelites ate the food and worshiped the god 3 Baal of Peor. So the Lord was angry with them 4 and said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of Israel and, in obedience to me, execute them in broad daylight,[g] and then I will no longer be angry with the people.” 5 Moses said to the officials, “Each of you is to kill every man in your tribe who has become a worshiper of Baal of Peor.”
6 One of the Israelites took a Midianite woman into his tent in the sight of Moses and the whole community, while they were mourning at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence. 7 When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly. He took a spear, 8 followed the man and the woman into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them. In this way the epidemic that was destroying Israel was stopped, 9 but it had already killed twenty-four thousand people.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Because of what Phinehas has done, I am no longer angry with the people of Israel. He refused to tolerate the worship of any god but me, and that is why I did not destroy them in my anger. 12 So tell him that I am making a covenant with him that is valid for all time to come. 13 He and his descendants are permanently established as priests, because he did not tolerate any rivals to me and brought about forgiveness for the people's sin.”
14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the head of a family in the tribe of Simeon. 15 The woman's name was Cozbi. Zur, her father, was chief of a group of Midianite clans.
16 The Lord commanded Moses, 17 “Attack the Midianites and destroy them, 18 because of the evil they did to you when they deceived you at Peor, and because of Cozbi, who was killed at the time of the epidemic at Peor.”
The Birth of Jesus(A)
2 At that time Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. 3 Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own hometown.
4 Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. 5 He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, 6 and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. 7 She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger—there was no room for them to stay in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. 9 (B)An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, 10 but the angel said to them, “Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day in David's town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord! 12 And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. 17 When the shepherds saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child. 18 All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said. 19 Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. 20 The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.
Jesus Is Named
21 (C)A week later, when the time came for the baby to be circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22 The time came for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification, as the Law of Moses commanded. So they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, 23 (D)as it is written in the law of the Lord: “Every first-born male is to be dedicated to the Lord.” 24 (E)They also went to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law of the Lord.
25 At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him 26 and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah. 27 Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, 28 Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God:
29 “Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,
and you may let your servant go in peace.
30 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:
32 (F)A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles
and bring glory to your people Israel.”
33 The child's father and mother were amazed at the things Simeon said about him. 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against 35 and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart.”
(A)A Prayer for Safety[a]
59 Save me from my enemies, my God;
protect me from those who attack me!
2 Save me from those evil people;
rescue me from those murderers!
3 Look! They are waiting to kill me;
cruel people are gathering against me.
It is not because of any sin or wrong I have done,
4 nor because of any fault of mine, O Lord,
that they hurry to their places.
5 Rise, Lord God Almighty, and come to my aid;
see for yourself, God of Israel!
Wake up and punish the heathen;
show no mercy to evil traitors!
6 They come back in the evening,
snarling like dogs as they go about the city.
7 Listen to their insults and threats.
Their tongues are like swords in their mouths,
yet they think that no one hears them.
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;
you mock all the heathen.
9 I have confidence in your strength;
you are my refuge, O God.
10 My God loves me and will come to me;
he will let me see my enemies defeated.
11 Do not kill them, O God, or my people may forget.
Scatter them by your strength and defeat them,
O Lord, our protector.
12 Sin is on their lips; all their words are sinful;
may they be caught in their pride!
Because they curse and lie,
13 destroy them in your anger;
destroy them completely.
Then everyone will know that God rules in Israel,
that his rule extends over all the earth.
14 My enemies come back in the evening,
snarling like dogs as they go about the city,
15 like dogs roaming about for food
and growling if they do not find enough.
16 But I will sing about your strength;
every morning I will sing aloud of your constant love.
You have been a refuge for me,
a shelter in my time of trouble.
17 I will praise you, my defender.
My refuge is God,
the God who loves me.
14 (A)A nation will fall if it has no guidance. Many advisers mean security.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.