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Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam
24 And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to [a]encounter (A)omens, but he set his face toward the (B)wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his [b]discourse and said,
“(D)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;
4 The oracle of him who (E)hears the [c]words of God,
Who beholds the (F)vision of [d]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like [e]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like (G)aloes planted by Yahweh,
Like (H)cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be lifted up higher than (I)Agag,
(J)And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 (K)God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
(L)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will gnaw their bones in pieces,
And [f]shatter them with his (M)arrows.
9 (N)He [g]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [h]lion, who [i]dares rouse him?
(O)Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his [j]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly these three times! 11 So now, [k]flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(P)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the [l]command of Yahweh, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [m]accord. (R)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? 14 So now, behold, (S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the last days.”
Oracle of Balaam
15 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“(T)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered,
16 The oracle of him who hears the [n]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [o]Most High,
Who beholds the vision of the [p]Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened.
17 I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
(U)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(V)And shall crush through the [q]forehead of Moab,
And [r]tear down all the sons of [s]Sheth.
18 (W)And Edom shall be a possession,
(X)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 And one from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will make the survivor perish from the city.”
20 Then he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
21 Then he looked at the (Z)Kenite and took up his discourse and said,
“Your habitation is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will (AA)Asshur [u]keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Woe, who can live except when God has ordained it?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of (AB)Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict (AC)Eber;
(AD)So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose and went and returned to (AE)his place, and Balak also went his way.
Israel Sacrifices to Baal
25 And Israel remained at (AF)Shittim, and the people began (AG)to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. 2 Indeed (AH)they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So (AI)Israel joined themselves to [v]Baal of Peor, and the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all who are the heads of the people and execute them [w]in broad daylight before Yahweh, (AJ)so that the burning anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.” 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you (AK)kill his men who have joined themselves to [x]Baal of Peor.”
6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought near to his brothers a (AL)Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, (AM)while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 7 (AN)And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, so he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the [y]tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the [z]body. (AO)Then the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. 9 (AP)So those who died by the plague were 24,000.
The Jealousy of Phinehas
10 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “(AQ)Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel (AR)in My jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘(AS)Behold, I give him My (AT)covenant of peace; 13 and it shall be for him and his seed after him, a covenant of a (AU)perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and (AV)made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”
14 Now the name of the [aa]slain man of Israel who was [ab]slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman, who was struck down, was (AW)Cozbi the daughter of (AX)Zur, [ac]who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.
16 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “(AY)Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them, 18 for they have been hostile to you with their deceptive tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”
Jesus Is Born in Bethlehem
2 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from (A)Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of (B)all [a]the inhabited earth. 2 [b]This was the first census taken while [c]Quirinius was governor of (C)Syria. 3 And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because (D)he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child. 6 Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. 7 And she (E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a [d]manger, because there was no place for them in the [e]guest room.
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And (F)an angel of the [f]Lord (G)stood before them, and the glory of the [g]Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. 11 For today in the city of David there has been born for you a (I)Savior, who is [h](J)Christ (K)the Lord. 12 (L)And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a [i]manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
15 And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the [k]manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary (O)was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, (P)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.
Jesus Presented at the Temple
21 And when (Q)eight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, (R)His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 (S)And when the days for their cleansing according to the Law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the [l]Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the [m]Lord, “(T)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the [n]Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the [o]Lord, “(U)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was (V)righteous and devout, (W)waiting for the [p](X)comfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And (Y)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not (Z)see death before he had seen the [q]Lord’s [r]Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus [s](AA)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Master, You are releasing Your slave in peace,
(AB)According to Your word.
30 For my eyes have (AC)seen Your salvation,
31 Which You prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 (AD)A Light for revelation to the Gentiles,
And for the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His father and (AE)mother were marveling at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary (AF)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for (AG)the fall and [t]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well—that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Deliver Me from My Enemies
For the choir director. [a]Al-tashheth. Of David. A [b]Mikhtam. [c]When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to put him to death.
59 (A)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from (C)workers of iniquity
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (E)have lain in wait for my soul;
[e]Fierce men [f](F)launch an attack against me,
(G)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Yahweh,
4 [g](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(I)Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see!
5 You, (J)O Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [h](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in [i]iniquity. [j]Selah.
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And go around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)pour forth speech with their mouth;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, O Yahweh, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)mock all the nations.
9 Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)stronghold.
10 [l]My God (V)in His lovingkindness will approach me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon [m]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (X)or my people will forget;
(Y)Make them wander about by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouth and the word of their lips,
Let them even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and [o]lies which they utter.
13 [p](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [q]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (AE)know that God [r]rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [s]for food
And [t]growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I shall (AH)sing of Your strength;
And I shall (AI)joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)stronghold
And a (AL)refuge in the day of my distress.
17 (AM)O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)stronghold, the [u]God who shows me lovingkindness.
14 Where there is no (A)guidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is salvation.
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