Day 82 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 51:1–6

¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. ²Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. ³For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. ⁵Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. ⁶Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

New Testament·Luke 1:22–43

²²When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained speechless. ²³And when the days of his service were complete, he returned home. ²⁴After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared, ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” ²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, ³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!” ³⁴“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her. ³⁹In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, ⁴⁰where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Old Testament·Numbers 22–23

¹Then the Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho. ²Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites. ⁴So 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, ⁵he 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. ⁶So 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.” ⁷The 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. ⁹Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰And 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.’” ¹²But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.” ¹³So 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.” ¹⁴And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” ¹⁵Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first messengers. ¹⁶They came to Balaam and said, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ¹⁷for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’” ¹⁸But 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. ¹⁹So now, please stay here overnight as the others did, that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.” ²⁰That 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.” ²¹So in the morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. ²²Then 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. ²³When 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. ²⁴Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between two vineyards, with walls on either side. ²⁵And 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. ²⁶And 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. ²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he became furious and beat her with his staff. ²⁸Then 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?” ²⁹Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” ³⁰But 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. ³¹Then 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. ³²The 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. ³³The 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.” ³⁵But 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. ³⁶When 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. ³⁷And 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.” ³⁹So Balaam accompanied Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and he gave portions to Balaam and the princes who were with him. ⁴¹The 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.

23Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” ²So 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, ⁴and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” ⁵Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.” ⁶So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab. ⁷And 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!’ ⁸How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced? ⁹For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations. ¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!” ¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!” ¹²But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?” ¹³Then 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.” ¹⁴So 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. ¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.” ¹⁶And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.” ¹⁷So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked. ¹⁸Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. ¹⁹God 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? ²⁰I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it. ²¹He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them. ²²God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox. ²³For 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!’ ²⁴Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.” ²⁵Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” ²⁶But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?” ²⁷“Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.” ²⁸And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. ²⁹Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.