Numbers 23

• 1. Balaam said to King Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice."
• 2. Balak followed his instructions, and the two of them sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar.
• 3. Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the LORD will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So Balaam went alone to the top of a hill,
• 4. and God met him there. Balaam said to him, "I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar."
• 5. Then the LORD gave Balaam a message for King Balak and said, "Go back to Balak and tell him what I told you."
• 6. When Balaam returned, the king was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.
• 7. This was the prophecy Balaam delivered: "Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. `Come,' he said, `curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel's doom.'
• 8. But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the LORD has not condemned?
• 9. I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.
• 10. Who can count Jacob's descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel's people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs."
• 11. Then King Balak demanded of Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!"
• 12. But Balaam replied, "Can I say anything except what the LORD tells me?"
• 13. Then King Balak told him, "Come with me to another place. There you will see only a portion of the nation of Israel. Curse at least that many!"
• 14. So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.
• 15. Then Balaam said to the king, "Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the LORD."
• 16. So the LORD met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
• 17. So Balaam returned to the place where the king and the officials of Moab were standing beside Balak's burnt offerings. "What did the LORD say?" Balak asked eagerly.
• 18. This was the prophecy Balaam delivered: "Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.
• 19. God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not a human, that he should change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
• 20. I received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
• 21. No misfortune is in sight for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the LORD their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.
• 22. God has brought them out of Egypt; he is like a strong ox for them.
• 23. No curse can touch Jacob; no sorcery has any power against Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob, `What wonders God has done for Israel!'
• 24. These people rise up like a lioness; like a majestic lion they stand. They refuse to rest until they have feasted on prey, drinking the blood of the slaughtered!"
• 25. Then Balak said to Balaam, "If you aren't going to curse them, at least don't bless them!"
• 26. But Balaam replied, "Didn't I tell you that I must do whatever the LORD tells me?"
• 27. Then King Balak said to Balaam, "Come, I will take you to yet another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them from there."
• 28. So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
• 29. Balaam again told Balak, "Build me seven altars and prepare me seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice."
• 30. So Balak did as Balaam ordered and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.

Psalms 64

• 1. O God, listen to my complaint. Do not let my enemies' threats overwhelm me.
• 2. Protect me from the plots of the wicked, from the scheming of those who do evil.
• 3. Sharp tongues are the swords they wield; bitter words are the arrows they aim.
• 4. They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly.
• 5. They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps. "Who will ever notice?" they ask.
• 6. As they plot their crimes, they say, "We have devised the perfect plan!" Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.
• 7. But God himself will shoot them down. Suddenly, his arrows will pierce them.
• 8. Their own words will be turned against them, destroying them. All who see it happening will shake their heads in scorn.
• 9. Then everyone will stand in awe, proclaiming the mighty acts of God, realizing all the amazing things he does.
• 10. The godly will rejoice in the LORD and find shelter in him. And those who do what is right will praise him.

Psalms 65

• 1. What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you,
• 2. for you answer our prayers, and to you all people will come.
• 3. Though our hearts are filled with sins, you forgive them all.
• 4. What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What joys await us inside your holy Temple.
• 5. You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas.
• 6. You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength.
• 7. You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.
• 8. Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.
• 9. You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry; they provide a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so.
• 10. You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.
• 11. You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
• 12. The wilderness becomes a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy.
• 13. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!

Isaiah 13

• 1. Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon:
• 2. "See the flags waving as the enemy attacks. Cheer them on, O Israel! Wave to them as they march against Babylon to destroy the palaces of the high and mighty.
• 3. I, the LORD, have assigned this task to these armies, and they will rejoice when I am exalted. I have called them to satisfy my anger."
• 4. Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the armies march! It is the noise and the shout of many nations. The LORD Almighty has brought them here to form an army.
• 5. They came from countries far away. They are the LORD's weapons; they carry his anger with them and will destroy the whole land.
• 6. Scream in terror, for the LORD's time has arrived--the time for the Almighty to destroy.
• 7. Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Even the strongest hearts melt
• 8. and are afraid. Fear grips them with terrible pangs, like those of a woman about to give birth. They look helplessly at one another as the flames of the burning city reflect on their faces.
• 9. For see, the day of the LORD is coming--the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be destroyed and all the sinners with it.
• 10. The heavens will be black above them. No light will shine from stars or sun or moon.
• 11. "I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and the haughtiness of the mighty.
• 12. Few will be left alive when I have finished my work. People will be as scarce as gold--more rare than the gold of Ophir.
• 13. For I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move from its place. I, the LORD Almighty, will show my fury and fierce anger."
• 14. Everyone will run until exhausted, rushing back to their own lands like hunted deer, wandering like sheep without a shepherd.
• 15. Anyone who is captured will be run through with a sword.
• 16. Their little children will be dashed to death right before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked and their wives raped by the attacking hordes.
• 17. For I will stir up the Medes against Babylon, and no amount of silver or gold will buy them off.
• 18. The attacking armies will shoot down the young people with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for the children.
• 19. Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
• 20. Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not allow their sheep to stay overnight.
• 21. Wild animals of the desert will move into the ruined city. The houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Ostriches will live among the ruins, and wild goats will come there to dance.
• 22. Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make their dens in its palaces. Babylon's days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.

New Living Translation: 134 of 365 days.