Balak Summons Balaam

22 Then ^(A)the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. ² And ^(B)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And ^(C)Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. ⁴ And Moab said to ^(D)the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, ^5 (E)sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor ^(F)at Pethor, which is near the River^[a] in the land of the people of Amaw,^[b] to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. ^6 (G)Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷ So the elders of Moab and ^(H)the elders of Midian departed with ^(I)the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message. ⁸ And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ^9 (J)And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for ^(K)they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

¹⁵ Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. ¹⁶ And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ^17 (L)for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. ^(M)Come, curse this people for me.’” ¹⁸ But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^(N)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^(O)I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. ¹⁹ So you, too, ^(P)please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” ^20 (Q)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; ^(R)but only do what I tell you.” ²¹ So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam's Donkey and the Angel

²² But God's anger was kindled because he went, ^(S)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way ^(T)as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. ²⁵ And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went ahead 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 lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord ^(U)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” ³⁰ And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord ^(V)opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. ³² And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out ^(W)to oppose you because your way is perverse^[c] before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” ³⁴ Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, ^(X)“I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” ³⁵ And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^(Y)but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^(Z)on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. ³⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to ^(AA)honor you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? ^(AB)The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” ³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him.

⁴¹ And in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.

Balaam's First Oracle

23 And Balaam said to Balak, ^(AC)“Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ² Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam ^(AD)offered on each altar a bull and a ram. ³ And Balaam said to Balak, ^(AE)“Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come ^(AF)to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, ^4 (AG)and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” ⁵ And the Lord ^(AH)put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶ And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. ⁷ And Balaam ^(AI)took up his discourse and said,

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(AR)I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” ¹² And he answered and said, ^(AS)“Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam's Second Oracle

¹³ And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, ^(AT)and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, ^(AU)“Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam and ^(AV)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷ And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ^(BG)‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” ²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, ^(BH)“Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of ^(BI)Peor, which overlooks ^(BJ)the desert.^{[e] 29} And Balaam said to Balak, ^(BK)“Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ^30 (BL)And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

The Word Became Flesh

1 ^(A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and ^(C)the Word was with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (E)All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ^4 (F)In him was life,^[a] and ^(G)the life was the light of men. ^5 (H)The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man ^(I)sent from God, whose name was ^(J)John. ⁷ He came as a ^(K)witness, to bear witness about the light, ^(L)that all might believe through him. ^8 (M)He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

^9 (N)The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet ^(O)the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to ^(P)his own,^[b] and ^(Q)his own people^{[c] (R)}did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, ^(S)who believed in his name, ^(T)he gave the right ^(U)to become ^(V)children of God, ¹³ who ^(W)were born, ^(X)not of blood ^(Y)nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And ^(Z)the Word ^(AA)became flesh and ^(AB)dwelt among us, ^(AC)and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son^[d] from the Father, full of ^(AD)grace and ^(AE)truth. ¹⁵ (^(AF)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^(AG)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from ^(AH)his fullness we have all received, ^(AI)grace upon grace.^{[e] 17} For ^(AJ)the law was given through Moses; ^(AK)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ^18 (AL)No one has ever seen God; ^(AM)the only God,^[f] who is at the Father's side,^{[g] (AN)}he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹ And this is the ^(AO)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ^(AP)“Who are you?” ^20 (AQ)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? ^(AR)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(AS)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am ^(AT)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight^[h] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴ (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ²⁵ They asked him, ^(AU)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, ^(AV)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷ even ^(AW)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, ^(AX)the Lamb of God, who ^(AY)takes away the sin ^(AZ)of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ^(BA)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but ^(BB)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John ^(BC)bore witness: ^(BD)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and ^(BE)it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but ^(BF)he who sent me to baptize ^(BG)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, ^(BH)this is he who baptizes ^(BI)with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son^[i] of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

³⁵ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ^(BJ)the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ^(BK)“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, ^(BL)“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.^{[j] 40 (BM)}One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus^[k] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found ^(BN)the Messiah” (which means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ^(BO)John. You shall be called ^(BP)Cephas” (which means ^(BQ)Peter^[l]).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

^43 (BR)The next day Jesus decided ^(BS)to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(BT)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found ^(BU)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom ^(BV)Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus ^(BW)of Nazareth, ^(BX)the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, ^(BY)“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, ^(BZ)an Israelite indeed, ^(CA)in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to him, “How ^(CB)do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, ^(CC)“Rabbi, ^(CD)you are the Son of God! You are the ^(CE)King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,^[m] you will see ^(CF)heaven opened, and ^(CG)the angels of God ascending and descending on ^(CH)the Son of Man.”