NUMBERS 23

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The Prophecies of Balaam  23:1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2 Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.
    4 Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6 So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7 He took up his discourse and said,

“From Aram Balak has brought me,

Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,

‘Come curse Jacob for me,

And come, denounce Israel!’

8 “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?

And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

9 “As I see him from the top of the rocks,

And I look at him from the hills;

Behold, a people who dwells apart,

And will not be reckoned among the nations.

10 “Who can count the dust of Jacob,

Or number the fourth part of Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright,

And let my end be like his!”

    11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!” 12 He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
    13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the LORD over there.” 16 Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?” 18 Then he took up his discourse and said,

“Arise, O Balak, and hear;

Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!

19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent;

Has He said, and will He not do it?

Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

20 “Behold, I have received a command to bless;

When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it.

21 “He has not observed misfortune in Jacob;

Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;

The LORD his God is with him,

And the shout of a king is among them.

22 “God brings them out of Egypt,

He is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

23 “For there is no omen against Jacob,

Nor is there any divination against Israel;

At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob

And to Israel, what God has done!

24 “Behold, a people rises like a lioness,

And as a lion it lifts itself;

It will not lie down until it devours the prey,

And drinks the blood of the slain.”

    25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”
    27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the wasteland. 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30 Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

PSALM 59

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Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.

2 Deliver me from those who do iniquity

And save me from men of bloodshed.

3 For behold, they have set an ambush for my life;

Fierce men launch an attack against me,

Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD,

4 For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.

Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!

5 You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel,

Awake to punish all the nations;

Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.

6 They return at evening, they howl like a dog,

And go around the city.

7 Behold, they belch forth with their mouth;

Swords are in their lips,

For, they say, “Who hears?”

8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them;

You scoff at all the nations.

9 Because of his strength I will watch for You,

For God is my stronghold.

10 My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;

God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.

11 Do not slay them, or my people will forget;

Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield.

12 On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,

Let them even be caught in their pride,

And on account of curses and lies which they utter.

13 Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more;

That men may know that God rules in Jacob

To the ends of the earth. Selah.

14 They return at evening, they howl like a dog,

And go around the city.

15 They wander about for food

And growl if they are not satisfied.

16 But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;

Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,

For You have been my stronghold

And a refuge in the day of my distress.

17 O my strength, I will sing praises to You;

For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

PSALM 60

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Lament over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.For the choir director; according to Shushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60:1 O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us;

You have been angry; O, restore us.

2 You have made the land quake, You have split it open;

Heal its breaches, for it totters.

3 You have made Your people experience hardship;

You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger.

4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,

That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

5 That Your beloved may be delivered,

Save with Your right hand, and answer us!

6 God has spoken in His holiness:

“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.

7 “Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;

Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;

Judah is My scepter.

8 “Moab is My washbowl;

Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;

Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!”

9 Who will bring me into the besieged city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

10 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?

And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

11 O give us help against the adversary,

For deliverance by man is in vain.

12 Through God we shall do valiantly,

And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.

PROVERBS 22

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On Life and Conduct22:1 A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,

Favor is better than silver and gold.

2 The rich and the poor have a common bond,

The LORD is the maker of them all.

3 The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,

But the naive go on, and are punished for it.

4 The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD

Are riches, honor and life.

5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;

He who guards himself will be far from them.

6 Train up a child in the way he should go,

Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

7 The rich rules over the poor,

And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

8 He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,

And the rod of his fury will perish.

9 He who is generous will be blessed,

For he gives some of his food to the poor.

10 Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out,

Even strife and dishonor will cease.

11 He who loves purity of heart

And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.

12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge,

But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man.

13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;

I will be killed in the streets!”

14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;

He who is cursed of the LORD will fall into it.

15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;

The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

16 He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself

Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,

And apply your mind to my knowledge;

18 For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

That they may be ready on your lips.

19 So that your trust may be in the LORD,

I have taught you today, even you.

20 Have I not written to you excellent things

Of counsels and knowledge,

21 To make you know the certainty of the words of truth

That you may correctly answer him who sent you?

22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor,

Or crush the afflicted at the gate;

23 For the LORD will plead their case

And take the life of those who rob them.

24 Do not associate with a man given to anger;

Or go with a hot-tempered man,

25 Or you will learn his ways

And find a snare for yourself.

26 Do not be among those who give pledges,

Among those who become guarantors for debts.

27 If you have nothing with which to pay,

Why should he take your bed from under you?

28 Do not move the ancient boundary

Which your fathers have set.

29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before obscure men.