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Balaam Continues to Utter Oracles
24 And Balaam saw that it pleased[a] Yahweh to bless Israel, and he did not go as other times[b] to seek out[c] sorcery; instead, he set his face toward the desert. 2 Balaam lift up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of God was upon it.[d] 3 He uttered[e] his oracle and said,
“The declaration of Balaam son Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eyes are closed,
4 the declaration of the hearer of God’s words,[f]
who sees the revelation of Shaddai,[g]
falling down but whose eyes are uncovered.
5 How good are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwellings, O Israel!
6 They are spread out like valleys,
like gardens on a river,
like aloes planted by Yahweh,
like cedars at the waters.
7 He will pour water from his buckets,
and his offspring will be like many waters;
his king will be higher than Agag,
and his kingdom will be exalted.
8 God, who brings him out from Egypt,
is like the strength[h] of a wild ox for him.
He will devour the nations who are his enemies;
he will break their bones;
he will pierce them with his arrows.
9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion,
and like a lioness, who will rouse him?
They who bless you will be blessed,
and they who curse you will be cursed.”
10 Then Balak became angry with[i] Balaam, and he clapped his hands and said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but look, you have surely blessed them these three times. 11 Flee[j] to your place now. I said I would richly honor you, but look, Yahweh has withheld honor from you.” 12 Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak gave to me the fullness of his house full of silver and gold, I am not able to go beyond the command of Yahweh[k] to do good or evil, from my heart; what Yahweh speaks, I will speak’?[l] 14 And now, look, I am about to go to my people; I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the following days.”[m]
15 And he uttered[n] his oracle and said,
“The declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
and the declaration of the man whose eye is closed,
16 the declaration of the hearer of God’s words,[o]
and the knower of the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of Shaddai,[p]
who is falling, and his eyes are revealed.
17 I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
a star will go out from Jacob,
and a scepter will rise from Israel;
it will crush the foreheads of Moab
and destroy all the children of Seth.
18 Edom will be a captive;
Seir, its enemies, will be a captive,
and Israel will be acting courageously.[q]
19 Someone[r] from Jacob will rule
and will destroy a remnant[s] from the city.”
20 And he looked at Amalek, uttered[t] his oracle, and said,
“Amalek is first[u] of the nations,
but his future will be forever ruin.”
21 And he looked at the Kenites,[v] uttered[w] his oracle, and said,
“Steady is your dwelling place;
in the rock is your nest.
22 Nevertheless, the Kenite will be burned;
how long will Asshur keep[x] you captive?”
23 Again he uttered[y] his oracle and said,
“Woe, who will live when God establishes this?[z]
24 The ships will come from the hand of the Kittim,
and they will afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;
also he will be forever ruin.”
25 Then Balaam got up and went and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.
The Plague of Israel
25 When Israel dwelled in Shittim, the people began to prostitute[aa] themselves with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and worshiped their gods. 3 So Israel was joined together to Baal Peor, and Yahweh became angry[ab] with Israel. 4 Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the leaders[ac] of the people and kill them before the sun, so the fierce anger of Yahweh will turn from Israel.” 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill his men who are joined together with Baal Peor.”
6 And behold, a man from the Israelites[ad] came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of all of the community of the Israelites,[ae] and they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of assembly. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest saw, he got up from the midst of the community and took a spear in his hand. 8 He went after the man of Israel into the woman’s section of the tent, and he drove the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman, into her belly. And the plague among the Israelites[af] stopped. 9 The ones who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, turned away my anger from among the Israelites[ag] when he was jealous with my jealousy in their midst, and I did not destroy the Israelites[ah] with my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I am giving to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it will be for him and his offspring[ai] after him a covenant of an eternal priesthood because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.’”[aj]
14 The name of the man of Israel who was struck with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of the family[ak] of the Simeonites.[al] 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was struck was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a leader[am] of a tribe of the family[an] in Midian.
16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Attack the Midianites and strike them 18 because they were attacking you with their deception, with which they have deceived you on the matter of Peor and on the matter of Cozbi the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was struck on the day of the plague because of the matter of Peor.”
The Birth of Jesus Christ
2 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar[a] Augustus to register all the empire. 2 (This first registration took place when[b] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to be registered, each one to his own town. 4 So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered together with Mary, who was legally promised in marriage to him and[c] was pregnant. 6 And it happened that while they were there, the time came[d] for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And there were shepherds in the same region, living out of doors and keeping watch, guarding over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.[e] 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring good news to you of great joy which will be for all the people: 11 that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. 12 And this will be the sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace
among people with whom he is pleased!”[f]
15 And it happened that when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began to say[g] to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has revealed to us!” 16 And they went hurrying and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 And when they[h] saw it,[i] they made known the statement that had been told to them about this child. 18 And all who heard it[j] were astonished concerning what had been said to them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering them[k] in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.
21 And when eight days were completed so that he could be circumcised,[l] he was named Jesus, his name that he was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
22 And when the days of their purification were completed according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him[m] to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb will be called holy to the Lord”)[n] 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”[o]
The Prophecy of Simeon
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was[p] Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he would see the Lord’s Christ.[q] 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus so that they could do for him according to what was customary under the law, 28 he took him in his[r] arms and praised God and said,
29 “Now dismiss your slave in peace, Lord,
according to your word.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and mother were astonished at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed[s]— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul also, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed!”
A Prayer for Protection
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.
When Saul dispatched men and they watched the house to kill him.[a]
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God.
Protect[b] me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from workers of iniquity,
and from men of bloodshed save me.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life.[c]
The mighty attack[d] against me,
not because of my transgression or my sin, O Yahweh.
4 Without guilt on my part they run and ready themselves.
Awake to meet me and see.
5 And you, Yahweh, God of hosts, are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.
Do not be gracious to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[e]
while they prowl the city.
7 Look, they pour out talk with their mouth.
Swords are on their lips,
for they say, “Who hears?”
8 But you, O Yahweh, will laugh at them;
you will mock all the nations.
9 O my strength,[f] I will watch for you,
because you, O God, are my (high) stronghold.
10 My[g] God of loyal love will meet me;
God will cause me to look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, lest my people forget.
Make them to wander by your power,
and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 By the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
even in their pride, let them be trapped,
and for the curses[h] and lies[i] they proclaim.
13 Destroy in anger; destroy so they are no more,
so that they may know that God is ruling in Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[j]
while they prowl the city.
15 As for them, they wander for food.
If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.[k]
16 But as for me, I will sing of your strength,
and I will hail your loyal love in the morning,
because you have been my high stronghold
and a refuge in my time[l] of trouble.
17 O my strength, to you I will give praise,
because God is my high stronghold,
my God of loyal love.
14 Where there is no guidance, a nation[a] shall fall,
but there is safety in an abundance of counsel.
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