¹Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lᴏʀᴅ to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. ³Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, ⁴The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: ⁵“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! ⁶Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lᴏʀᴅ, Like cedars beside the waters. ⁷He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸“God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. ⁹‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.” ¹⁰Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! ¹¹Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lᴏʀᴅ has kept you back from honor.” ¹²So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lᴏʀᴅ says, that I must speak’? ¹⁴And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” ¹⁵So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; ¹⁶The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: ¹⁷“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. ¹⁸“And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly. ¹⁹Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.” ²⁰Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.” ²¹Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; ²²Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” ²³Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? ²⁴But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.” ²⁵So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! ²Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. ³Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. ⁴All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah ⁵Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men. ⁶He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him. ⁷He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah ⁸Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, ⁹Who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to be moved. ¹⁰For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. ¹¹You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. ¹²You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. ¹³I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, ¹⁴Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. ¹⁵I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats. Selah ¹⁶Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. ¹⁷I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. ¹⁸If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lᴏʀᴅ will not hear. ¹⁹But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. ²⁰Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

¹To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah ²That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. ³Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. ⁴Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah ⁵Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. ⁶Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. ⁷God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

¹For the Lᴏʀᴅ will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. ²Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lᴏʀᴅ; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors. ³It shall come to pass in the day the Lᴏʀᴅ gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, ⁴that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! ⁵The Lᴏʀᴅ has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; ⁶He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. ⁷The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. ⁸Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, ‘Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.’ ⁹“Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. ¹⁰They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? ¹¹Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’ ¹²“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! ¹³For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ ¹⁵Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. ¹⁶“Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, ¹⁷Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ ¹⁸“All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; ¹⁹But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. ²⁰You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. ²¹Prepare slaughter for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities.” ²²“For I will rise up against them,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts, “And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²³“I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts. ²⁴The Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand: ²⁵That I will break the Assyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders. ²⁶This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. ²⁷For the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?” ²⁸This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died. ²⁹“Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. ³⁰The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant. ³¹Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.” ³²What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lᴏʀᴅ has founded Zion, And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.

¹Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, ²as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. ⁴Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” ⁷Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” ⁸and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. ⁹But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. ¹¹Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, ¹²having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. ¹³Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— ¹⁶as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. ¹⁸Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ²²“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; ²³who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.