Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Davidic
A Prayer for Deliverance
35 Argue my case,[a] Lord,
against those who argue against me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up the buckler[b] and the shield,
and rise up to help me.
3 Take out the spear and the ax to confront the one who pursues me;
say to me, “I am your deliverer!”
4 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and disgraced;
let those who plot evil against me be driven back and confounded.
5 Make them like the chaff before the wind,
as the messenger of the Lord pushes them aside.
6 May their path be dark and slippery,
as the messenger of the Lord tracks them down.
7 Without justification they laid a snare for me;
without justification they dug a pit to trap me.
8 Let destruction come upon them[c] unawares,
and let the net that he hid catch him;
let him fall into destruction.
9 My soul will rejoice in the Lord
and be glad in his deliverance.
10 All my bones will say,
“Lord, who is like you?
Who delivers the weak from the one who is stronger than he,
and the weak and the needy from the one who wants to rob him?”
Balak Summons Balaam
22 The Israelis continued their travels, eventually[a] encamping on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River[b] opposite Jericho. 2 Zippor’s son Balak saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 As a result, Moab greatly feared the people, because they were so numerous. Because a sense of impending doom was afflicting the Moabites as they faced the Israelis, 4 the Moabites told the elders of Midian, “This horde of people is about to lick up everything around us, like an ox licks up the green ground.”
At that time, Zippor’s son Balak was the king of Moab. 5 He sent messengers to Beor’s son Balaam in Pethor, near the Euphrates[c] River, the land where the descendants of his people originated,[d] to summon his aid. He said, “Look! A group of[e] people have escaped from Egypt. They cover the surface of the whole earth, and are sitting here right in front of me. 6 So come right now and curse this people for me, because there are too many of them for me to handle.[f] Perhaps I’ll be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, since I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and Midian left to visit Balaam, bringing an honorarium with them,[g] and communicated Balak’s concerns to him. 8 In answer, Balaam[h] told them, “Stay here for the night and I’ll bring back a message[i] to you, depending on what the Lord says to me.” So the officers of Moab stayed with Balaam overnight.
God Forbids Balaam to Cooperate
9 God visited Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Then Balaam told God, “Zippor’s son Balak, king of Moab, sent them to me and said, 11 ‘Look! A group of[j] people have escaped from Egypt. They cover the surface of the whole earth! So come right now and curse them for me. Perhaps I’ll be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”
12 But God told Balaam, “Don’t go with them. Don’t curse the people, because they’re blessed.”
13 So Balaam got up the next morning and told Balak’s officials, “Go back to your homeland, because the Lord has refused me permission to go with you.”
14 So Balak’s officials got up, returned to Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 In response, Balak sent more officers—higher ranking ones, at that!— 16 who approached Balaam with this message: “This is what Zippor’s son Balak says: ‘Don’t let anything get in the way of your coming to me. 17 I’m determined to reward you generously, and I’ll do everything you tell me to do. So come right away and curse this people for me.’”
18 Balaam responded to Balak’s entourage by saying, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the Lord my God in even the slightest way.[k] 19 Meanwhile, stay here overnight so I may learn what the Lord might say to me.”
20 God came to visit Balaam that same night and told him, “If the men come to call on you, get up and go with them, but be sure to do only what I tell you to do.” 21 The next morning, Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started to leave, accompanied by the Moabite officials.
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers there welcomed us warmly.
18 The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, Paul[a] related one by one the things that God had done among the gentiles through his ministry. 20 When they heard about it, they praised God and told him, “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are zealous for the Law. 21 But they have been told about you—that you teach all the Jews living among the gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. 22 What is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. 24 Take these men, go through the purification ceremony with them, and pay their expenses to shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you are carefully observing and keeping the Law. 25 As for the gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our decision that they should keep away from food that has been sacrificed to idols, from blood,[b] from anything strangled,[c] and from sexual immorality.”
Paul is Arrested in the Temple
26 Then Paul took those men and the next day purified himself with them. Then he went into the Temple to announce the time when their days of purification would end and when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them.
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