Today’s
Reading : Numbers 23 – 25 and John 1
(KJV)
Numbers 23
Num
23:1 And Balaam said unto Balak,
Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
Num 23:2 And Balak did as
Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
Num 23:3 And Balaam said unto Balak,
Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to
meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell
thee. And he went to a high place.
Num 23:4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I
have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every
altar a bullock and a ram.
Num 23:5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth,
and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
Num 23:6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood
by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
Num 23:7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of
the mountains of the east, saying, Come,
curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
Num 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath
not defied?
Num 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and
from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be
reckoned among the nations.
Num 23:10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the
number of the fourth part of Israel? Let
me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
Num 23:11 And Balak said unto
Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and,
behold, thou hast blessed them
altogether.
Num 23:12 And he answered and said, Must I not take
heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
Num 23:13 And Balak said unto
him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see
but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them
all: and curse me them from thence.
Num 23:14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and
offered a bullock and a ram on every
altar.
Num 23:15 And he said unto Balak,
Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the
LORD yonder.
Num 23:16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in
his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say
thus.
Num 23:17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by
his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak
said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?
Num 23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise
up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
Num 23:19 God is
not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:
hath he said, and shall he not do it? or
hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Num 23:20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I
cannot reverse it.
Num 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither
hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
Num 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it
were the strength of a unicorn.
Num 23:23 Surely there
is no enchantment against Jacob, neither
is there
any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob
and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Num 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great
lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
Num 23:25 And Balak said unto
Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Num 23:26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?
Num 23:27 And Balak said unto
Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure
it will please God that thou mayest curse me them
from thence.
Num 23:28 And Balak brought
Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh
toward Jeshimon.
Num 23:29 And Balaam said unto Balak,
Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
Num 23:30 And Balak did as
Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every
altar.
Numbers 24
Num
24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD
to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but
he set his face toward the wilderness.
Num 24:2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw
Israel abiding in his tents
according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Num 24:3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam
the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are
open hath said:
Num 24:4 He hath said, which heard the words of God,
which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into
a trance,
but having his eyes open:
Num 24:5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
Num 24:6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as
gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign
aloes which the LORD hath planted, and
as cedar trees beside the waters.
Num 24:7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets,
and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher
than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
Num 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath
as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies,
and shall break their bones, and pierce them
through with his arrows.
Num 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a
great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is
he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth
thee.
Num 24:10 And Balak's anger
was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine
enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them
these three times.
Num 24:11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I
thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee
back from honour.
Num 24:12 And Balaam said unto Balak,
Spoke I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest
unto me, saying,
Num 24:13 If Balak would give
me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the
LORD, to do either good or bad of mine
own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
Num 24:14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and
I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter
days.
Num 24:15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam
the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are
open hath said:
Num 24:16 He hath said, which heard the words of God,
and knew the knowledge of the most High, which
saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into
a trance,
but having his eyes open:
Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold
him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall
rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the
children of Sheth.
Num 24:18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel
shall do valiantly.
Num 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have
dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the
city.
Num 24:20 And when he looked on Amalek,
he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be
that he perish forever.
Num 24:21 And he looked on the Kenites,
and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Num 24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite
shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away
captive.
Num 24:23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas,
who shall live when God doeth this!
Num 24:24 And ships shall
come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur,
and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish
forever.
Num 24:25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to
his place: and Balak also went his way.
Numbers 25
Num
25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim,
and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
Num 25:2 And they called the people unto the
sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Num 25:3 And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Num 25:4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the
heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the
fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
Num 25:5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel,
Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor.
Num 25:6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel
came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish
woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the
children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation.
Num 25:7 And when Phinehas,
the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and
took a javelin in his hand;
Num 25:8 And he went after the man of Israel into the
tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through
her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
Num 25:9 And those that died in the plague were twenty
and four thousand.
Num 25:10 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
Num 25:11 Phinehas, the son
of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned
my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake
among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
Num 25:12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my
covenant of peace:
Num 25:13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him,
even the covenant of an everlasting
priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the
children of Israel.
Num 25:14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain even that was slain with the Midianitish
woman, was Zimri,
the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.
Num 25:15 And the name of the Midianitish
woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
Num 25:16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
Num 25:17 Vex the Midianites,
and smite them:
Num 25:18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith
they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in
the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the
plague for Peor's sake.
John 1
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light
of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth
in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness
of the Light, that all men through him
might believe.
Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent
to bear witness of that Light.
Joh 1:9 That
was the true Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world.
Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made
by him, and the world knew him not.
Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received
him not.
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
Joh 1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying,
This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me
is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:16 And of his fullness have all we received, and
grace for grace.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Joh 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews
sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
Joh 1:20 And he confessed, and denied not; but
confessed, I am not the Christ.
Joh 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou
Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet?
And he answered, No.
Joh 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that
we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest
thou of thyself?
Joh 1:23 He said, I am
the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as
said the prophet Isaiah.
Joh 1:24 And they which were sent were of the
Pharisees.
Joh 1:25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor
Elijah, neither that prophet?
Joh 1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with
water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know
not;
Joh 1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred
before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
Joh 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara
beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a
man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be
made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the
Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to
baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt
see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Joh 1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the
Son of God.
Joh 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two
of his disciples;
Joh 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
Joh 1:37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and
they followed Jesus.
Joh 1:38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following,
and saith unto them, What
seek ye? They
said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
Joh 1:39 He saith unto them,
Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with
him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
Joh 1:40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon
Peter's brother.
Joh 1:41 He first findeth
his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have
found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
Joh 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus
beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Joh 1:43 The day following Jesus would go forth into
Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith
unto him, Follow me.
Joh 1:44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of
Andrew and Peter.
Joh 1:45 Philip findeth
Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of
whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son
of Joseph.
Joh 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any
good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto
him, Come and see.
Joh 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Joh 1:48 Nathanael saith
unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and
said unto him, Before that
Philip called thee, when thou wast
under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Joh 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith
unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Joh 1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest
thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
Joh 1:51 And he saith unto
him, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.