Numbers 23 Cross References - ISV

¹ Balaam’s First SacrificeBalaam told Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare here for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
² So Balak did just as Balaam instructed. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³ Then Balaam instructed Balak, “Stand by your offering and leave me alone by myself. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. I’ll tell you whatever he reveals to me.”
And so he went to a high place, ⁴ where the LORD met with Balaam, who told him, “I’ve prepared seven altars and offered bulls and rams on an altar.”
⁵ Then the LORD gave Balaam this message. “Return to Balak and speak to him.”
⁶ So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by all the Moabite officials.
⁷ Balaam’s First ProphecyThen Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram, from the eastern mountains, and told me, ‘Come and curse Jacob for me. Come and curse Israel.’ ⁸ But how can I curse those whom God hasn’t cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD hasn’t denounced? ⁹ I saw them from the top of the rocks. I watched them from the hills. Truly this is a people that lives by itself and doesn’t matter among the nations. ¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Jacob? Who can number the dust of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may I end up like him.”
¹¹ “What are you doing to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, not pronounce a blessing!”
¹² But in response, Balaam asked, “Shouldn’t I be careful to communicate only what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
¹³ Balaam’s Second Sacrifice“Come with me to another place where you can see them,” Balak replied. “You’ll only see a portion of them, because you won’t be able to see them completely. Come and curse them from there for me.”
¹⁴ So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, and from there to the top of Mount Pisgah, where he built seven altars and then offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Then he told Balak, “Stand by your offering while I go alone to meet the LORD.”
¹⁶ Then the LORD met with Balaam and gave a message to him. “Now go back to Balak and speak to him.” ¹⁷ So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by the Moabite officials.
“What did the LORD say?” Balak asked him.
¹⁸ Balaam’s Second ProphecyIn response, Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “Stand up, Balak, and pay attention! Listen to me, you son of Zippor! ¹⁹ God is not a human male— he doesn’t lie, nor is he a human being— he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he’s going to act, isn’t he? Once he makes a promise, he’ll fulfill it, won’t he? ²⁰ Look! I’ve received a blessing, and so I will bless. I won’t withdraw it. ²¹ He has not responded to iniquity in Jacob or gazed at mischief in Israel. The LORD his God is with them, and the triumphant cry of a king is among them. ²² From Egypt God brought them— his strength was like a wild ox! ²³ No Satanic plan against Jacob nor divination against Israel can ever prevail. When the time is right, it is to be asked about Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God accomplished?’ ²⁴ Look! The people are like lions. Like the lion, he rises up! He does not lie down again until he has consumed his prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”
²⁵ Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them or bless them!”
²⁶ “Didn’t I tell you,” Balaam responded to Balak, “that I’ll say whatever the LORD tells me to say?”
²⁷ Balaam’s Third SacrificeSo Balak exhorted Balaam, “Let’s go right now! I’ll take you to another place. Maybe God will agree to have you curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which overlooks the open wilderness.
²⁹ Balaam told Balak, “Build seven altars for me right here. Then prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰ Balak did just what Balaam had instructed—he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

²⁴ You are to make an altar of earth for me, and you are to sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. Everywhere I cause my name to be remembered, I’ll come to you and bless you.

¹ The Altar“You are to make the altar of acacia wood. It is to be five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar is to be a square, and it is to be three cubits high. ² You are to make horns on its four corners. Its corners are to be of one piece with it, and you are to overlay it with bronze. ³ You are to make pans for removing its ashes, shovels, bowls, forks, and fire-pans for it, and you are to make all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ You are to make a lattice, a netting of bronze for it, and you are to make four bronze rings on the netting at its four corners. ⁵ You are to put it under the ledge of the altar, so that the netting extends halfway up the altar. ⁶ You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze. ⁷ The poles for it are to be put through the rings, so the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it’s carried. ⁸ You are to make it hollow out of boards—just as it was shown you on the mountain, that’s how they are to make it.”

²⁹ Balaam told Balak, “Build seven altars for me right here. Then prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”

³² Eight Days of Celebration: Day Seven“On the seventh day, you are to present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen one year old lambs, all without defects,

²² Samuel said, “Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

²² ‘“Of course, you might tell me, “We rely on the LORD our God!” But isn’t it he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has demolished, all the while telling Jerusalem, “You’re to worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem?”’

²⁶ As God helped the descendants of Levi who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

²¹ where they brought seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering on behalf of the kingdom, the Holy Place, and Judah. He ordered that the priests, as descendants of Aaron, place the offerings on the LORD’s altar.

⁸ So take seven bulls and seven rams and bring them to my servant Job. And bring a whole burnt offering for yourselves and my servant Job will pray for you. I’ll encourage him by not responding as your disgraceful folly deserves, since you didn’t speak about me correctly as did my servant Job.

⁸ I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices; indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me. ⁹ I will no longer accept a sacrificial bull from your household; nor goats from your pens.

⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

¹¹ “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?” the LORD is asking. “I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. ¹² “When you come to present yourselves in my presence, who has required you to trample on my courts? ¹³ Stop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly. ¹⁴ As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals, I abhor them. They’ve become a burden to me; I’ve grown weary of carrying that burden. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I’ll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won’t listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity.”

³¹ Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don’t do what you say— because they’re seeking only their own desires, they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests.

²³ Each day during the seven days of the festival, he is to provide a burnt offering to the LORD, consisting of seven bulls and seven rams without defect, offered each day throughout the seven days, along with a male goat offered each day as a sin offering.

¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.

¹¹ How terrible it will be for them! For they lived like Cain did, rushed headlong into Balaam’s error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves, as happened in Korah’s rebellion.

¹⁴ So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, and from there to the top of Mount Pisgah, where he built seven altars and then offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

³⁰ Balak did just what Balaam had instructed—he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings on it from every clean animal and every clean bird.

² God said, “Please take your son, your unique son whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you.”

⁷ Abraham Answers Isaac’s QuestionIsaac addressed his father Abraham: “My father!”
“I’m here, my son,” Abraham replied.
Isaac asked, “The fire and the wood are here, but where’s the lamb for the burnt offering?”
⁸ Abraham answered, “God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
The two of them went on together

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and behind him to see a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went over, grabbed the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

¹² Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to dine with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

¹ Burnt OfferingsThe LORD told Moses from the middle of the Tent of Meeting,

⁸ In answer, Balaam told them, “Stay here for the night and I’ll bring back a message to you, depending on what the LORD says to me.” So the officers of Moab stayed with Balaam overnight.
⁹ God Forbids Balaam to CooperateGod visited Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men with you?”

³¹ Then the LORD enabled Balaam to see, so he observed the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with an unsheathed sword in his hand. So he bowed down and prostrated himself on his face.
³² Then the angel of the LORD asked him, “Why did you beat your donkey in the space of only three footsteps? I’ve come to oppose you, because I say that what you’re doing is perverted. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned in front of me in the space of those three footsteps. ³⁴ If she hadn’t turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and left her alive!”
At this, Balaam replied to the angel of the LORD, “I’ve sinned! I didn’t know that you were standing to meet me on the road. So now, since it displeases you, let me go back.”
³⁵ But the angel of the LORD told Balaam, “Go with the men, but deliver only the message that I’m going to give you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

¹⁵ Then he told Balak, “Stand by your offering while I go alone to meet the LORD.”

¹ Balaam’s Third ProphecyWhen Balaam noticed that the LORD was pleased that Balaam was blessing Israel, he didn’t behave as he had time after time before, that is, to practice divination. Instead, he turned with his face to the wilderness,

⁹ God Forbids Balaam to CooperateGod visited Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men with you?”

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.”

¹ Balaam’s First SacrificeBalaam told Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare here for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

¹⁶ Then the LORD met with Balaam and gave a message to him. “Now go back to Balak and speak to him.”

³ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they ask, ‘but you do not see? ‘Why have we humbled ourselves,’ they ask, ‘but you take no notice?’”
Fasting that God Approves “Look! On your fast day you serve your own interest and oppress all your workers. ⁴ “Look! You fast only for quarreling, and for fighting, and for hitting with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice heard on high.

¹² ‘These last fellows worked only one hour, but you paid them the same as us, and we’ve been working all day, enduring the scorching heat!’

¹² I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’

² You’ll be thrown out of the synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he’s serving God.

²⁷ What, then, is there to boast about? That has been eliminated. On what principle? On that of actions? No, but on the principle of faith.

⁹ and not the result of actions, to put a stop to all boasting.

³⁵ But the angel of the LORD told Balaam, “Go with the men, but deliver only the message that I’m going to give you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet like you from among their relatives, and I will place my words in his mouth so that he may expound everything that I have commanded to them.

¹ Wisdom’s Blessings People do the planning, but the end result is from the LORD.

⁹ A person plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

¹⁶ I have put my words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of my hand, so that I could plant the heavens and lay the earth’s foundations, to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’

²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “And my Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, won’t depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and forever.”

⁹ The LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, “Look, I’ve put my words in your mouth.

¹² because at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you are to say.”

⁵¹ Now he did not say this on his own initiative. As high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

²² Shem’s sons included Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

² Instead, get up, travel to Paddan-aram, and visit the household of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of Laban’s daughters, since he’s your mother’s brother.

⁷ After Jacob had obeyed his father and mother’s instructions to set out for Paddan-aram,

⁵ He sent messengers to Beor’s son Balaam in Pethor, near the Euphrates River, the land where the descendants of his people originated, to summon his aid. He said, “Look! A group of 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. 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.”

¹¹ ‘Look! A group of 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.’”

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’s Second ProphecyIn response, Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “Stand up, Balak, and pay attention! Listen to me, you son of Zippor!

³ Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “A declaration by Beor’s son Balaam, a declaration by the strong, blind man.

¹⁵ Balaam’s Final PropheciesThen Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “The declaration by Beor’s son Balaam, a declaration by the strong, blind man.

²¹ Balaam also uttered this prophetic statement about the Kenites: “Your dwelling places are stable, because your nest is carved in solid rock.

²³ Finally, he uttered this prophetic statement: “Ah, who can live, unless God makes it happen?

⁴ because they didn’t come to meet you with food and water along the way as you were coming out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Beor’s son Balaam from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

¹⁰ The Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me one man and let’s fight together.”

²⁵ “Did all of you see this man coming up?” one Israeli asked. “He comes up to defy Israel, and the king will richly reward the man who kills him. He will give his daughter to him and will make his father’s house tax free in Israel.”
²⁶ David asked the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he defied the armies of the living God.”

⁴⁵ Then David told the Philistine, “You come at me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.

²¹ When he defied Israel, David’s brother Shimeah’s son Jonathan killed him.

⁹ Next was Dodai the Ahohite’s son Eleazar. Eleazar, who also was one of the Three, was with David when they challenged the Philistines. When the Philistines had assembled in battle array, the Israeli army retreated,

¹ Job Asserts His InnocenceJob continued with his discussion and said:

¹ Job Wishes for the Old DaysThen Job continued with his discourse:

² I will tell a parable, speaking riddles from long ago—

² Like a fluttering sparrow or a swallow in flight, a curse without cause will not alight.

² “Son of Man, compose a riddle and relate a parable to Israel’s house.

⁴⁹ Ezekiel’s Complaint to GodThen I said, “O Lord GOD! They’re saying about me, ‘Isn’t he one to propound parables?’”

⁴ “When this happens, someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully, ‘We are completely ruined! He has given my people’s heritage to others. How he has removed it from me, dividing up our fields!’

⁶ Judgment on the Plunderer of Nations“Will not all of these ridicule him with mocking scorn? They will say, ‘Woe to the one who hordes for himself what isn’t his. How long will you enrich yourself by extortion?’

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom from heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

³⁵ This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet when he said, “I will open my mouth to speak in parables. I will declare what has been hidden since the creation of the world.”

¹² They were trying to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. Realizing that he had spoken this parable against them, they left him alone and went away.

¹² But God told Balaam, “Don’t go with them. Don’t curse the people, because they’re blessed.”

²⁰ Look! I’ve received a blessing, and so I will bless. I won’t withdraw it.

²³ No Satanic plan against Jacob nor divination against Israel can ever prevail. When the time is right, it is to be asked about Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God accomplished?’

²⁵ who frustrates the omens of idle talkers, and drives diviners mad, who turns back the wise, and makes their knowledge foolish;

¹² “But stand up now with your spells and your many incantations, at which you have labored from your childhood until today, ¹³ according to your multiple schemes. Let them stand up now— those who conjure the heavens and gaze at the stars, predicting at the new moons— and save you from what is about to happen to them.

⁵ And now if you carefully obey me and keep my covenant, you are to be my special possession out of all the peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me, ⁶ but you are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to me.’ These are the words you are to declare to the Israelis.”

¹⁶ Otherwise, how shall it be known that your people and I have received favor from you, unless you go with us and that we, your people and I, are distinguished from all the people on the surface of the earth?”

⁸ When the Most High gave nations as their inheritance, when he separated the human race, he set boundaries for the people according to the number of the children of God.

²⁸ So Israel lives in confidence, isolated as the fountain of Jacob in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens rain down dew.

² because they and their sons have married foreign women. As a result, the holy people have mingled themselves among the peoples of these lands. As a matter of fact, the senior officials and the rulers have been foremost in this sin.”

⁸ Then Haman told King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and divided among the people throughout the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different than all the other people, they don’t obey the king’s laws, and it’s not in the king’s best interest to leave them alone.

²⁸ “As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid, and Israel, don’t be dismayed,” declares the LORD, “for I am with you. Indeed, I’ll make an end of all the nations where I scattered you; but I won’t make an end of you! I’ll discipline you justly, but I’ll certainly not leave you unpunished.”

⁹ “Look! I’m giving the order: I will sift the house of Israel throughout all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, yet not a single kernel will reach the ground!

⁸ For I tell you that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth in order to confirm the promises given to our ancestors, ⁹ so that the gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “That is why I will praise you among the gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”
¹⁰ Again he says, “Rejoice, you gentiles, with his people!”

¹⁷ Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.

¹² At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. You had no hope and were in the world without God. ¹³ But now, in union with the Messiah Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.
¹⁴ For it is he who is our peace. Through his mortality he made both groups one by tearing down the wall of hostility that divided them.

¹⁴ He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deeds of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁶ I’ll make your descendants as plentiful as the specks of dust of the earth, so that if one could count the specks of dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

¹⁷ I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies.

¹⁴ Your descendants are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

⁹ All those numbered by division in the camp of Judah total 186,400. They are to be the first to travel.”

¹⁶ All those numbered by division in the camp of Reuben total 151,450. They are to be the second to travel.”

²⁴ All those numbered by division in the camp Ephraim total 108,100. They are to be the third to travel.”

³¹ All those numbered by division in the camp of Dan total 157,600. They are to be the last to travel under their standards.”

³⁷ Observe the blameless! Take note of the upright! Indeed, the future of that man is peace.

¹⁵ In the sight of the LORD, the death of his faithful ones is valued.

³² The wicked person is thrown down by his own wrongdoing, but the righteous person has a place of safety in death.

¹ Israel’s Idolatry “Also the righteous are perishing, but no one takes it to heart; devout people are taken away, while no one understands that the righteous person is taken away from calamity. ² Then he enters into peace, and they’ll rest on his couches, each one living righteously.

²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace according to your promise, ³⁰ because my eyes have seen your salvation,

²¹ So let no one boast about human beings, since everything belongs to you, ²² whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, the present, or the future—everything belongs to you,

⁵³ For what is decaying must be clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying must be clothed with what cannot die. ⁵⁴ Now, when what is decaying is clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying is clothed with what cannot die, then the written word will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up by victory!” ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
⁵⁶ Now death’s stinger is sin, and sin’s power is the Law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah!

¹ We know that if the earthly tent we live in is torn down, we have a building in heaven that comes from God, an eternal house not built by human hands.

²¹ For to me, to go on living is the Messiah, and to die is gain. ²² Now if I continue living, fruitful labor is the result, so I do not know which I would prefer. ²³ Indeed, I cannot decide between the two. I have the desire to leave this life and be with the Messiah, for that is far better.

⁶ I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. ⁸ The victor’s crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing.

¹³ Yet I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I am living in this bodily tent, ¹⁴ because I know that the removal of my bodily tent will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, has shown me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort to see that you will always remember these things after I am gone.

¹³ I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: How blessed are the dead, that is, those who die in the Lord from now on!” “Yes,” says the Spirit. “Let them rest from their labors, for their actions follow them.”

⁷ Balaam’s First ProphecyThen Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram, from the eastern mountains, and told me, ‘Come and curse Jacob for me. Come and curse Israel.’ ⁸ But how can I curse those whom God hasn’t cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD hasn’t denounced?

¹⁰ Balak flew into a rage and he started hitting his fists together. “I called you to curse my enemies,” he yelled at Balaam. “But look here! You’ve blessed them three times!

² because they did not greet the Israelis with food and water, but instead hired Balaam to oppose them by cursing them, even though our God turned the curse into a blessing.

¹⁷ He loved to curse—may his curses return upon him! He took no delight in blessing others— so may blessings be far from him. ¹⁸ He wore curses like a garment— may they enter his inner being like water and his bones like oil. ¹⁹ May those curses wrap around him like a garment, or like a belt that one always wears. ²⁰ May this be the way the LORD repays my accuser, those who speak evil against me.

³⁸ Balaam answered Balak, “Well, I’m here now. I’ve come to you, but I can’t just say anything, can I? I’ll speak only what God puts in my mouth to say.”

²⁶ “Didn’t I tell you,” Balaam responded to Balak, “that I’ll say whatever the LORD tells me to say?”

¹³ ‘Even if Balak gives me his palace full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the LORD and do anything—whether good or evil—on my own initiative, because I’m going to say whatever the LORD says.’

²⁵ Though he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven detestable things in his heart.

¹⁸ because such people are not serving the Messiah our Lord, but their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹⁶ They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

⁴¹ The next day, Balak brought Balaam up to Bamoth-baal, where he could see part of the community of Israel.

⁹ ‘Then Zippor’s son, King Balak of Moab, showed up and fought against Israel. He sent word to Balaam, summoning Beor’s son to put a curse on you.

²³ The Arameans are DefeatedSure enough, the advisors to the king of Aram told him, “Their gods are mountain gods. That’s why they were stronger than we were. But when we fight them on the plains, we’re certain to be the stronger army!

²⁸ Right about then, a man of God approached and told the king of Israel, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans keep saying “The LORD is a mountain god, but isn’t a valley god,” I’m going to deliver this entire vast army right into your control, so you’ll learn that I really am the LORD.’”

¹⁷ He loved to curse—may his curses return upon him! He took no delight in blessing others— so may blessings be far from him.

⁵ “My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated, and how Beor’s son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.”

⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. It should not be like this, my brothers!

²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley of Moab where their fields are, and from there to the top of Mount Pisgah, that looks down toward the open desert.

¹ Balaam’s First SacrificeBalaam told Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare here for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
² So Balak did just as Balaam instructed. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift your eyes toward the west, north, south, and east. Look with your own eyes, since you won’t be able to cross this Jordan River.

⁴⁹ and all the Arabah east of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah.

¹ Moses Ascends PisgahMoses ascended from the desert plain of Moab toward Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the entire land, from Gilgal as far as Dan,

¹⁰ “Listen to what the LORD says, you rulers of Sodom, and pay attention to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?” the LORD is asking. “I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

⁶ Those who pour out gold in a purse, weigh silver in a balance, hire a goldsmith in order to make a god, and then they bow down and even worship it.

¹¹ “There’s iniquity in Gilead, isn’t there? They have become truly vain. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; their altars are like piles of stone in furrowed fields.

⁸ In answer, Balaam told them, “Stay here for the night and I’ll bring back a message to you, depending on what the LORD says to me.” So the officers of Moab stayed with Balaam overnight.

³ Then Balaam instructed Balak, “Stand by your offering and leave me alone by myself. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. I’ll tell you whatever he reveals to me.”
And so he went to a high place,

⁵ Then the LORD gave Balaam this message. “Return to Balak and speak to him.”

¹⁷ Eli said, “What did the LORD say to you? Please don’t conceal anything from me. May God do this to you and even more if you conceal from me one word of all that he spoke to you.”

¹⁷ Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: “Is there a message from the LORD?”
Jeremiah said, “There is,” and then he said, “You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

²⁰ Ehud approached him while he was sitting by himself in the cool roof chamber of his palace. He said, “I have a message from God for you!” So when Eglon got up from his seat,

²⁹ Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he’s not a man that he should change his mind.”

¹⁷ Furthermore, this is a small thing to you, God, and yet you have spoken concerning your servant’s household for a great while to come, and you have seen in me the fulfillment of man’s purpose, LORD God.

³⁵ I have sworn by my holiness once for all: I will not lie to David.

⁹ I will not act in my anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, For I am God, and not a human— the Holy One among you— so I will not enter the city in anger.

²⁰ You will remain true to Jacob, and merciful to Abraham, as you promised our ancestors long ago.

³ For the revelation pertains to an appointed time— it speaks truthfully about the end. Though it delays, wait for it, because it will surely come about— it will not be late!

⁶ “Because I the LORD don’t change; therefore you children of Jacob aren’t destroyed.”

³³ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won’t ever disappear.”

²⁹ For God’s gifts and calling never change.

² which is based on the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.

¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

¹⁷ Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow.

² I’ll make a great nation of your descendants, I’ll bless you, and I’ll make your reputation great, so that you will be a blessing.

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.

¹³ “I am God; also from ancient days I am the one. And there is no one who can deliver out of my hand; when I act, who can reverse it?”

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, they’ll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is more important than anything, and no one can snatch it from the Father’s hand.

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is ours in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord.

⁵ Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of this era.

²¹ The LORD went in front of them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could travel both day and night.

⁴⁵ I’ll live among the Israelis, and I’ll be their God. ⁴⁶ They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of Egypt so that I may live among them. I am the LORD your God.”

¹⁴ He said, “My presence will go with you, and I’ll give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then Moses told the LORD, “If your presence does not go with us, don’t bring us up from here. ¹⁶ Otherwise, how shall it be known that your people and I have received favor from you, unless you go with us and that we, your people and I, are distinguished from all the people on the surface of the earth?”

⁹ He said, “If I’ve found favor in your sight, LORD, please, LORD, walk among us. Certainly this is an obstinate people, but pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your own inheritance.”

⁵ The LORD was king of Jeshurun when the leaders of the people— all the tribes of Israel—gathered together.”

¹³ But Gideon replied, “Right… Sir, if the LORD is with us, then why has all of this happened to us? And where are all of his miraculous works that our ancestors recounted to us when they said, ‘The LORD brought us up from Egypt, didn’t he?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us over to Midian!”

¹² Now listen! God is with us to lead us, and his priests are about to sound their battle trumpets against you. Descendants of Israel, don’t fight against the LORD God of your ancestors, because you won’t succeed!”

⁴ Even when I walk through a valley of deep darkness, I will not be afraid because you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

² How blessed is the person against whom the LORD does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

⁵ My sin I acknowledged to you; my iniquity I did not hide. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin! Interlude

⁷ The LORD of the heavenly armies is with us; our refuge is the God of Jacob. Interlude

¹¹ The LORD of the heavenly armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Interlude

⁵ God has ascended on high with a shout, the LORD has ascended with the blast of a trumpet. ⁶ Sing songs to God! Sing songs! Sing songs to our King! Sing songs! ⁷ Indeed, God is king over all the earth; sing a song of praise.

¹⁵ How happy are the people who can worship joyfully! LORD, they walk in the light of your presence. ¹⁶ In your name they rejoice all day long; they exult in your justice. ¹⁷ For you are their strength’s grandeur; by your favor you exalted our power. ¹⁸ Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹ The LORD is King The LORD reigns! Let the earth rejoice! May many islands be glad!

¹² As distant as the east is from the west, that is how far he has removed our sins from us.

¹⁵ There’s exultation for deliverance in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD is victorious!

¹⁸ “Please come, and let’s reason together,” implores the LORD. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they’ll be white like snow. Though they’re like crimson, they’ll become like wool.

¹⁰ Take counsel together, but it will all be for nothing; go ahead and talk, but it will all be for nothing, for God is with us.”

⁶ Shout aloud, and sing for joy, you who live in Zion, because great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

²² For the LORD is our judge, and the LORD is our lawgiver; and the LORD is our king, and it is he who will save us.

¹⁷ Yes, it was for my own good that I suffered extreme anguish. But in love you have held back my life from the Pit in which it has been confined; you have tossed all my sins behind your back.

¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you; don’t be anxious, because I am your God. I keep on strengthening you; I’m truly helping you. I’m surely upholding you with my victorious right hand.”

²⁰ In those days and at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘the iniquity of Israel will be searched for, but there will be none; and the sin of Judah, but none will be found, because I’ll pardon those I leave as a remnant.’”

³⁵ A perimeter is to measure 18,000 units, and the name of the city from that time on is to be: ‘THE LORD IS THERE.’”

² Bring a prepared speech with you as you return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Take away all our iniquity, and accept what is good. Then we will present the fruit of our lips. ³ Assyria won’t save us; we won’t be riding on horses, Nor will we be saying anymore to the work of our hands, “You are our God.” Indeed, in you the orphan finds mercy.’ ⁴ “I will correct their apostasy, loving them freely, since my anger will have turned away from them.

¹⁸ Who is like God?Is there any God like you, forgiving iniquity, passing over transgressions by the survivors who are your heritage? He is not angry forever, because he delights in gracious love. ¹⁹ He will again show us compassion; he will subdue our iniquities. You will hurl all their sins into the deepest sea. ²⁰ You will remain true to Jacob, and merciful to Abraham, as you promised our ancestors long ago.

²³ “See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,”
which means, “God with us.”

³⁷ He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen. ³⁸ They said, “How blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

⁷ “How blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered! ⁸ How blessed is the person whose sins the Lord will never charge against him!”

¹⁴ For sin will not have mastery over you, because you are not under Law but under grace.

¹ The Spirit Gives LifeTherefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him.

¹⁹ for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us.

¹⁶ What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

¹⁶ However, I’ve kept you standing in order to show you my power and to declare my name in all the earth.

¹⁸ Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I receive honor by means of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

⁵ He sent messengers to Beor’s son Balaam in Pethor, near the Euphrates River, the land where the descendants of his people originated, to summon his aid. He said, “Look! A group of people have escaped from Egypt. They cover the surface of the whole earth, and are sitting here right in front of me.

⁸ God is bringing them out of Egypt with the strength of an ox. He’ll devour enemy nations, break their bones, and impale them with arrows.

¹⁷ May the firstborn of his bull be honorable to him, and may his horns be those of a wild ox. With them may he push people all together, to the ends of the earth. These are the myriads of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.”

⁹ Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he sleep at night near your feeding trough? ¹⁰ Can you bind the ox to plow a furrow with a rope? Will he harrow after you in the valley? ¹¹ Will you trust him because of his great strength and entrust your labor to him?

²¹ Deliver me from the mouth of the lion, from the horns of the wild oxen. You have answered me.

³⁵ You are awesome, God, from your sanctuaries. The God of Israel is the one who gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!

¹⁰ You’ve grown my strength like the horn of a wild ox; I was anointed with fresh oil.

¹⁵ “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

⁶ So come right now and curse this people for me, because there are too many of them for me to handle. 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, and communicated Balak’s concerns to him.

²² The Israelis also killed Beor’s son Balaam, the occult practitioner, executing him with a sword as one of those killed.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness that you have reserved for those who fear you, that you have set in place for those who take refuge in you, in the presence of the children of men.

¹ To the Director: An instruction of the Sons of Korah.
A Prayer in Times of Defeat God, we heard it with our ears; our ancestors told us about what you did in their day— a long time ago. ² With your hand you expelled the nations and established our ancestors. You afflicted nations and cast them out. ³ It was not with their sword that they inherited the land, nor did their own arm deliver them. But it was by your power, your strength, and by the light of your face; because you were pleased with them.

⁹ Everyone was gripped with fear and acknowledged God’s deeds, understanding what he had done.

² Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues formed joyful shouts. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” ³ The great things that the LORD has done for us gladden us.

¹³ To the one who split the Reed Sea in two for his gracious love is everlasting— ¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the middle of it, for his gracious love is everlasting— ¹⁵ and cast Pharaoh and his armies into the Reed Sea, for his gracious love is everlasting. ¹⁶ To the one who led his people into the wilderness, for his gracious love is everlasting— ¹⁷ to the one who struck down great kings, for his gracious love is everlasting— ¹⁸ and killed famous kings, for his gracious love is everlasting— ¹⁹ including Sihon king of the Amorites, for his gracious love is everlasting— ²⁰ and Og king of Bashan, for his gracious love is everlasting—

⁴ Who has performed and carried this out, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and will be with the last —I am the One!”

⁹ In all their distress he wasn’t distressed, but the angel of his presence saved them; in his acts of love and in his acts of pity he redeemed them; he carried them and lifted them up all the days of old. ¹⁰ Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; so he changed and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them. ¹¹ Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is the one who brought up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock? Where is the one who put his Holy Spirit among them, ¹² and who made his glorious arm march at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters in front of them to win an everlasting name,

¹⁵ ‘And now, Lord our God, who brought your people from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made a name for yourself that remains to this day—we’ve sinned. We’ve acted wickedly.

⁴ For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and ransomed you from the house of slavery, sending Moses, Aaron, and Miriam into your presence. ⁵ “My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated, and how Beor’s son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.”

¹⁵ As I did when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show you awesome things.

²⁵ He knew what they were thinking and told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

²⁷ If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own followers drive them out? That is why they will be your judges!

¹⁸ I tell you that you are Peter, and it is on this rock that I will build my congregation, and the powers of hell will not conquer it.

¹⁸ He told them, “I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you.

⁴⁷ So the high priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.

¹⁶ They said, “What should we do with these men? For it’s obvious to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable sign has been done by them, and we cannot deny it.

¹² The Apostles Perform Many MiraclesNow many signs and wonders were being performed by the apostles among the people, who were gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, believers were being added to the Lord in increasing numbers—both men and women.

³⁸ God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil.

¹² The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with all of you!

²³ The only thing they kept hearing was this: “The man who used to persecute us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy!” ²⁴ So they kept glorifying God for what had happened to me.

⁸ From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.
⁹ For people keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God

⁹ The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.

⁹ Judah is a lion cub. My son, you have gone up from the prey. Crouching like a lion, he lies down, Like a lioness, who would dare rouse him?

²⁷ On the Future of Benjamin“Benjamin is vicious like a wolf; what he kills in the morning he devours in the evening.”

⁸ God is bringing them out of Egypt with the strength of an ox. He’ll devour enemy nations, break their bones, and impale them with arrows. ⁹ He crouches, laying low like a lion. Who would awaken him? Those who bless you are blessed, and those who curse you are cursed.”

¹⁷ I can see him, but not right now. I observe him, but from a distance. A star streams forth from Jacob; a scepter arises from Israel. He will crush Moab’s forehead, along with all of Seth’s descendants.

²⁰ GadAbout Gad he said: “Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad! Like a roaring lion, he crouches, tearing arm and scalp.

¹² Like a lion they desire to rip us to pieces, like a young lion waiting in ambush.

³⁰ The lion, mighty among the beasts, retreats before nothing.

⁴ The LORD will Defend JerusalemFor this is what the LORD told me: “Just as a lion or a young lion growls over his objects of prey,— even when a whole band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not alarmed at their shouting or disturbed by their clamor— so the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

⁴⁴ “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

⁸ A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who will not prophesy?

⁸ The survivors of Jacob will live among the nations; they will live among many peoples, like a lion among flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, will trample and tear down with no one to deliver. ⁹ You will turn your power against your adversaries, and all of your enemies will be cut down.”

¹¹ Nineveh: the Lion’s Den DestroyedWhere is this lion’s den? Where is the place where the young lions fed, where the lion and its mate walked with their young, the place where they feared nothing?

⁴ From them arises the cornerstone and tent peg, from them the battle bow, from them arise all sorts of oppressive rulers. ⁵ They will be like mighty soldiers who trample mud in the streets during battle. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and the opposing horsemen will be confused.

⁶ ‘At that time, I will make the leaders of Judah like a brazier filled with blazing wood, or like a torch setting fire to harvested grain. They will devour all the invading armies, both on the right hand and on the left. As a result, Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its rightful place—as the real Jerusalem.’”

⁵ “Stop crying,” one of the elders told me. “Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered. He can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

¹¹ The Vision of the Coming of the MessiahThen I saw heaven standing open, and there was a white horse! Its rider is named Faithful and True. He administers justice and wages war righteously. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many royal crowns. He has a name written on him that nobody knows except himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, follow him on white horses. ¹⁵ A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod and tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe that covers his thigh he has a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
¹⁷ The Vision of the Angel’s InvitationThen I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great supper of God. ¹⁸ Eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, both unimportant and important.”
¹⁹ The Vision of the Judgment of the Beast and False ProphetThen I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed by the sword that belonged to the rider on the horse and that came from his mouth, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

¹ The Nations and God’s Anointed Why are the nations in an uproar, and their people involved in a vain plot? ² As the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and his anointed one, they say, ³ “Let us tear off their shackles from us, and cast off their chains.”

¹² But in response, Balaam asked, “Shouldn’t I be careful to communicate only what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
¹³ Balaam’s Second Sacrifice“Come with me to another place where you can see them,” Balak replied. “You’ll only see a portion of them, because you won’t be able to see them completely. Come and curse them from there for me.”

¹² But Balaam replied to Balak, “I told your messengers, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak gives me his palace full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the LORD and do anything—whether good or evil—on my own initiative, because I’m going to say whatever the LORD says.’

¹⁴ “As the LORD lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”

¹³ “As the LORD lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, ²⁰ for we cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men!

¹³ Balaam’s Second Sacrifice“Come with me to another place where you can see them,” Balak replied. “You’ll only see a portion of them, because you won’t be able to see them completely. Come and curse them from there for me.”

¹⁹ God is not a human male— he doesn’t lie, nor is he a human being— he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he’s going to act, isn’t he? Once he makes a promise, he’ll fulfill it, won’t he? ²⁰ Look! I’ve received a blessing, and so I will bless. I won’t withdraw it.

¹³ Job Stands Petrified Before God“But he is One—who can change him? He does whatever he wants to do.

²¹ Many plans occupy the mind of a man, but the LORD’s purposes will prevail.

³⁰ No wisdom, insight, or counsel can prevail against the LORD.

²⁷ For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

¹⁰ I declare from the beginning things to follow, and from ancient times things that have not yet been done; saying, ‘My purpose will stand, and he will accomplish everything that I please.’ ¹¹ I am calling a bird of prey from the east, and from a far country a man with his purpose. Indeed, I’ve spoken; I will certainly make it happen; I’ve planned it; and I will certainly carry it out.

²⁸ For they adopted the worship of Baal Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.