Numbers 22 Cross References - MSB

¹ Then the Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho. ² Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³ and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites. ⁴ So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time, ⁵ he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. ⁶ So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.” ⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak. ⁸ “Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and I will give you the answer that the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’” ¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your homeland, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” ¹⁵ Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first messengers. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ¹⁷ for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’” ¹⁸ But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. ¹⁹ So now, please stay here overnight as the others did, that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.” ²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.” ²¹ So in the morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. ²² Then God’s anger was kindled because Balaam was going along, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into a field. So Balaam beat her to return her to the path. ²⁴ Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between two vineyards, with walls on either side. ²⁵ And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD and pressed herself against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her once again. ²⁶ And the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he became furious and beat her with his staff. ²⁸ Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” ²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” ³⁰ But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not the donkey you have ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied. ³¹ Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. And Balaam bowed low and fell facedown. ³² The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, then by now I would surely have killed you and let her live.” ³⁴ “I have sinned,” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me. And now, if this is displeasing in your sight, I will go back home.” ³⁵ But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. ³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. ³⁷ And he said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why did you not come to me? Am I really not able to richly reward you?” ³⁸ “See, I have come to you,” Balaam replied, “but can I say just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.” ³⁹ So Balaam accompanied Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and he gave portions to Balaam and the princes who were with him. ⁴¹ The next morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the camp of the people.

²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.

¹⁹ Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”

⁴⁸ They set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. ⁴⁹ And there on the plains of Moab they camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim. ⁵⁰ On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,

¹⁵ These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

¹³ These are the commandments and ordinances that the LORD gave the Israelites through Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

⁵ On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:

⁸ At that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon—

¹ Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead as far as Dan,

⁸ The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

¹⁶ the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

³ And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.

²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland. ²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ²³ But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. ²⁴ And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. ²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored. ²⁸ For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights. ²⁹ Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. ³⁰ But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.” ³¹ So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. ³² After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei. ³⁴ But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they struck down Og, along with his sons and his whole army, until no remnant was left. And they took possession of his land.

²⁵ Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

¹⁵ Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,

²⁵ This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”

¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. ¹¹ When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.

²⁴ “The LORD has surely delivered the entire land into our hands,” they said to Joshua. “Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us.”

²⁴ The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.

⁵ There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.

⁵ When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.

² Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,

⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak.

¹⁷ I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁵ And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. ¹⁶ And the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. ¹⁸ For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

⁸ Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

²¹ all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land. ²² The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword.

³⁸ On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.

¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.

⁷ but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. ⁸ Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. ¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

⁷ And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

⁴ For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

²² The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword.

⁹ Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

¹ At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, ² because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).

²⁴ And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,

⁵ My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹¹ Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.

³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

²⁹ May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”

¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”

¹⁷ for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’”

⁷ And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’ ⁸ How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?

⁹ He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”

⁴³ “Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁶ So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

⁸ The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

¹³ Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold now, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”

² because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).

¹⁷ The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him. ¹⁸ The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.

²⁸ Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.

² Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

¹² So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror! ¹³ You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.

⁶ They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.

⁹ Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, ¹⁰ and from the least to the greatest they heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.”

¹⁶ One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.

²³ For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’

¹ And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness.

⁷ “If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.”

¹¹ Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

¹⁹ You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

¹¹ Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

⁹ Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

¹¹ who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

⁶ He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.

¹⁹ So now, please stay here overnight as the others did, that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.” ²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”

¹² But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

² You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.

³¹ So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

⁹ But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” ¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

⁹ And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

⁸ “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.

³ One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

²⁴ But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

²⁵ At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

² And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”

¹⁴ Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” “They came from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.” ¹⁵ “What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked. “They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

⁴⁵ And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

³¹ While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you. ³² You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”

²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

⁵¹ Caiaphas did not say this on his own. Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation,

² I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

¹⁶ saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸ And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

³ “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.” ¹⁴ So Balak took him 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 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”

¹⁹ God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? ²⁰ I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.

⁵ Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

²⁹ Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”

¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds, ¹⁶ He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings ¹⁷ to turn a man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,

¹⁵ Blessed are the people of whom this is so; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

⁶ And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ⁷ “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

²⁹ For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

¹⁴ And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹³ So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your homeland, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

³⁷ And he said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why did you not come to me? Am I really not able to richly reward you?”

⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak. ⁸ “Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and I will give you the answer that the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants. ⁸ He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa.

⁶ So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.”

² So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³ “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,

²⁹ Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰ So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹¹ Therefore, flee at once to your home! I said I would richly reward you, but instead the LORD has denied your reward.”

⁹ You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain.

¹¹ Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.

⁹ Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.

⁸ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”

⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.

²⁶ What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

³⁸ “See, I have come to you,” Balaam replied, “but can I say just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.”

²⁶ But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”

¹³ that even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD? I will speak whatever the LORD says.

¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”

¹³ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever my God tells me.”

¹⁷ In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him.

²⁰ But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction will not sleep.

³⁵ But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

⁵ Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”

¹⁶ And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”

⁵ “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.” ⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. ⁷ And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king. ⁸ Just as they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹ Now listen to them, but you must solemnly warn them and show them the manner of the king who will reign over them.”

¹² But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king. ¹³ Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you. ¹⁴ If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God, then all will be well. ¹⁵ But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Now, therefore, stand and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. ¹⁹ They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”

¹⁰ The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples. ¹¹ The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.

³⁰ Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths, ³¹ God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.

¹² So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

²⁹ Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’

² And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him according to his great idolatry, ⁵ so that I may take hold of the hearts of the people of Israel. For because of their idols, they are all estranged from Me.’

¹¹ So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.

⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, ¹⁰ and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. ¹¹ For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, ¹² in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.

¹⁵ my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path. ¹⁶ For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶ the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?” ⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered. ⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

²⁴ Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.

²⁰ Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

³² The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse before me.

²⁰ And Jehu commanded, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they announced it.

⁴ He has bent His bow like an enemy; His right hand is positioned. Like a foe He has killed all who were pleasing to the eye; He has poured out His wrath like fire on the tent of the Daughter of Zion.

⁴ Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.

⁴ Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there— ⁵ the LORD is the God of Hosts—the LORD is His name of renown.

¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

¹⁶ When David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

⁷ Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.

⁹ My companions saw the light and were terrified, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.

²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast in His presence.

¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning. ¹⁴ They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night. ¹⁵ He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.

¹² So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!

¹¹ O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

⁶ Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way.

¹⁶ A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.

³ A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both. ⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

¹⁹ So then, my beloved brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

¹¹ And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

¹⁰ A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.

¹⁶ A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

³ This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

⁸ Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped.

⁴ the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

¹⁶ the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸ As the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria. ²⁰ When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” Then the LORD opened their eyes, and they looked around and discovered that they were in Samaria.

²⁰ Lay terror upon them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah

¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.

³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.

⁶ When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

²² Then God’s anger was kindled because Balaam was going along, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

²⁸ Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”

⁴ Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

⁹ The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.

⁹ He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.

² He who walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him.

⁶ Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse.

¹⁸ He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

¹¹ So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”

¹⁰ and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed. ¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

³⁷ those men who had brought out the bad report about the land—were struck down by a plague before the LORD.

³³ They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. ³⁴ At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” ³⁵ And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

²⁴ As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. ²⁵ And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived. ²⁶ When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.” ²⁷ Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it, ²⁸ and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said. “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”

¹ Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.

⁴⁰ Early the next morning they got up and went up toward the ridge of the hill country. “We have indeed sinned,” they said, “but we will go to the place the LORD has promised.”

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

³⁰ “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”

¹⁷ and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.

²¹ Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.

⁷ This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.

³¹ Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more. ³² Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

³⁴ When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.

¹⁸ or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.

⁴ “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.” ⁵ So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.” ²¹ So in the morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

²⁶ Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble. ²⁷ Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown. ²⁸ But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me. ²⁹ Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

² And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

²⁹ Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.

⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.

¹³ From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon,

²⁴ “Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.

¹⁸ Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.

¹⁰ Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

² Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon:

²⁰ Moab is put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out! Declare by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.

¹⁵ The brothers there had heard about us and traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and gave thanks to God.

¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ¹⁷ for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’”

⁶ For exaltation comes neither from east nor west, nor out of the desert,

⁶ “I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.

⁴⁴ How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

¹⁸ But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.

¹⁰ The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

¹⁰ Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

²¹ Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

²⁵ who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,

¹⁰ I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

² So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁴ So Balak took him 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.

³⁰ So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁶ For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.

²⁸ For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights.

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”

² who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods. ³ So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.

² Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

¹⁵ And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.

³⁵ In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.