1 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went to a deserted height.
4 Then God met Balaam, who said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
6 So he returned to him, and he was still standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’
8 How can I curse one whom God has not cursed,
or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see them;
from the hills I watch them.
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let the end of my life be like theirs.”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!” 12 Balaam replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” 13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
14 So Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 17 When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
18 Balaam uttered his oracle, and said,
“Rise up, Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?
20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation as king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.
23 For there is no spell against Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time it must be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at what God has done!’
24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.”
25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, I must do’?”
27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wastelands. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
1 Listen to me, O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks.
2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,
from the crowd of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords;
they aim their arrows, a slanderous charge,
4 in order to shoot down the innocent in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation.
5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed.
They plan how to hide snares,
and boast, “Who will see them?”
6 They devise unjust schemes;
they disguise a well-conceived plot.
Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered.
7 But God will shoot at them;
suddenly they will be wounded by an arrow.
8 Their slander will bring about their demise.
All who see them will shudder,
9 and all people will fear.
They will proclaim what God has done,
and reflect on his deeds.
10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright will boast.
1 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
2 You hear prayers;
all people approach you.
3 Our record of sins overwhelms me,
but you forgive our acts of rebellion.
4 How blessed is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.
All the ends of the earth trust in you,
as well as those living across the wide seas.
6 You created the mountains by your power,
and demonstrated your strength.
7 You calmed the raging seas
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.
8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.
9 You visit the earth and give it rain;
you make it rich and fertile.
God’s streams are full of water;
you provide grain for the people of the earth,
for you have prepared the earth in this way.
10 You saturate its furrows,
and soak its plowed ground.
With rain showers you soften its soil,
and make its crops grow.
11 You crown the year with your good blessings,
and you leave abundance in your wake.
12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,
and the hills are clothed with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.
1 This is an oracle about Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2 On a bare hill raise a signal flag;
shout to them,
wave your hand,
so they might enter the gates of the princes!
3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers;
I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger—
my boasting, arrogant ones.
4 There is a loud noise on the mountains—
it sounds like a large army!
There is great commotion among the kingdoms—
nations are being assembled!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is mustering
forces for battle.
5 They come from a distant land,
from the horizon.
It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment,
coming to destroy the whole earth.
6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near;
it comes with all the destructive power of the Sovereign One.
7 For this reason all hands hang limp,
every human heart loses its courage.
8 They panic—
cramps and pain seize hold of them
like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.
They look at one another in astonishment;
their faces are flushed red.
9 Look, the Lord’s day of judgment is coming;
it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger,
destroying the earth
and annihilating its sinners.
10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations
no longer give out their light;
the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,
and the moon does not shine.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
and wicked people for their sin.
I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,
I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants.
12 I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold,
and people more scarce than gold from Ophir.
13 So I will shake the heavens,
and the earth will shake loose from its foundation,
because of the fury of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
in the day he vents his raging anger.
14 Like a frightened gazelle
or a sheep with no shepherd,
each will turn toward home,
each will run to his homeland.
15 Everyone who is caught will be stabbed;
everyone who is seized will die by the sword.
16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;
their houses will be looted
and their wives raped.
17 Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them;
they are not concerned about silver,
nor are they interested in gold.
18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons;
they have no compassion on a person’s offspring;
they will not look with pity on children.
19 Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride,
will be destroyed by God
just as Sodom and Gomorrah were.
20 No one will live there again;
no one will ever reside there again.
No bedouin will camp there,
no shepherds will rest their flocks there.
21 Wild animals will rest there,
the ruined houses will be full of hyenas.
Ostriches will live there,
wild goats will skip among the ruins.
22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,
jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces.
Her time is almost up,
her days will not be prolonged.
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing abroad (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia) who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by being set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with Jesus Christ’s blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure!
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. 7 Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away—and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. 11 They probed into what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ and his subsequent glory. 12 They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things angels long to catch a glimpse of.
13 Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, 15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” 17 And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence. 18 You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed—not by perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but by precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, namely Christ. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 You have purified your souls by obeying the truth in order to show sincere mutual love. So love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 23 You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For
all flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of the grass;
the grass withers and the flower falls off,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.
And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
