My other websites: Catholic, Prophets today, For Kids

Read Today’s Bible Verses following here:

Numbers 22

Then the Israelites moved on and encamped in the plains of Moab^* on the other side of the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Balaam Summoned.

2Now Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel did to the Amorites,

3and Moab feared the Israelites greatly because they were numerous. Moab was in dread of the Israelites.

4So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will devour everything around us as an ox devours the grass of the field.” At that time Balak, son of Zippor, was king of Moab;

5and he sent messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor on the river, in the land of the Ammonites,^* to summon him with these words, “A people has come out of Egypt! They have covered up the earth and are settling down opposite me!

6Now come, curse this people for me,^* since they are stronger than I am. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed and whoever you curse is cursed.”

7So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, themselves experts in divination,^* left and went to Balaam, to whom they gave Balak’s message.

8He said to them, “Stay here overnight, and I will give you whatever answer the LORD gives me.” So the princes of Moab lodged with Balaam.

9Then God came to Balaam and said: Who are these men with you?

10Balaam answered God, “Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me the message:

11‘This people that has come out of Egypt has covered up the earth. Now come, lay a curse on them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight them and drive them out.’”

12But God said to Balaam: Do not go with them and do not curse this people, for they are blessed.

13The next morning Balaam arose and told the princes of Balak, “Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

14So the princes of Moab went back to Balak with the report, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Second Appeal to Balaam.

15Balak yet again sent princes, who were more numerous and more distinguished than the others.

16On coming to Balaam they told him, “Thus says Balak, son of Zippor: Please do not refuse to come to me.

17I will reward you very handsomely and will do anything you ask of me. Come, lay a curse on this people for me.”

18^a But Balaam replied to Balak’s servants, “Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD, my God.

19But, you too stay here overnight, so that I may learn what else the LORD may say to me.”

20That night God came to Balaam and said to him: If these men have come to summon you, go back with them; yet only on the condition that you do exactly as I tell you.

21So the next morning when Balaam arose, he saddled his donkey,^* and went off with the princes of Moab.

The Talking Donkey.

22But now God’s anger flared up^* at him for going, and the angel of the LORD took up a position on the road as his adversary. As Balaam was riding along on his donkey, accompanied by two of his servants,

23the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with sword drawn. The donkey turned off the road and went into the field, and Balaam beat the donkey to bring her back on the road.

24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow lane between vineyards with a stone wall on each side.

25When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD there, she pressed against the wall; and since she squeezed Balaam’s leg against the wall, he beat her again.

26Then the angel of the LORD again went ahead, and stood next in a passage so narrow that there was no room to move either to the right or to the left.

27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD there, she lay down under Balaam. Balaam’s anger flared up and he beat the donkey with his stick.

28^b Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you beat me these three times?”

29“You have acted so willfully against me,” said Balaam to the donkey, “that if I only had a sword at hand, I would kill you here and now.”

30But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have always ridden until now? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way before?” “No,” he replied.

31Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, so that he saw the angel of the LORD standing on the road with sword drawn; and he knelt and bowed down to the ground.

32But the angel of the LORD said to him: “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come as an adversary because this rash journey of yours is against my will.

33When the donkey saw me, she turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, you are the one I would have killed, though I would have spared her.”

34Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. Yet I did not know that you took up a position to oppose my journey. Since it has displeased you, I will go back home.”

35But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam: “Go with the men; but you may say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

36When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at Ar-Moab on the border formed by the Arnon, at its most distant point.

37And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send an urgent summons to you? Why did you not come to me? Did you think I could not reward you?”

38Balaam answered Balak, “Well, I have come to you after all. But what power have I to say anything? I can speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

39Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

40Here Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent portions to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

The First Oracle.

41The next morning Balak took Balaam up on Bamoth-baal, and from there he could see some of the people.

Numbers 23

1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and here prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

2So Balak did as Balaam had ordered, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I go over there. Perhaps the LORD will meet me, and then I will tell you whatever he lets me see.” And so he went out on the barren height.

4Then God met Balaam, and Balak said to him: “I have erected the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”

5The LORD put an utterance in Balaam’s mouth, and said: Go back to Balak, and speak accordingly.

6So he went back to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with all the princes of Moab.

7Then Balaam recited his poem:

From Aram^* Balak has led me here,

Moab’s king, from the mountains of Qedem:^a

“Come, curse for me Jacob,

come, denounce Israel.”

8How can I lay a curse on the one whom God has not cursed?

How denounce the one whom the LORD has not denounced?

9For from the top of the crags I see him,

from the heights I behold him.

Here is a people that lives apart^*

and does not reckon itself among the nations.

10Who has ever counted the dust of Jacob,

who numbered Israel’s dust-cloud?^*

May I die the death of the just,

may my end be like theirs!

11“What have you done to me?” cried Balak to Balaam. “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I brought you here; but instead, you have blessed them!”

12Balaam replied, “Is it not what the LORD puts in my mouth that I take care to repeat?”

The Second Oracle.

13Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place^* from which you can see them; but you will see only some, not all of them, and from there lay a curse on them for me.”

14So he brought him to a lookout post on the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each of them.

15Balaam then said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I seek a meeting over there.”

16Then the LORD met Balaam, and, having put an utterance in his mouth, said to him: Return to Balak, and speak accordingly.

17So he went to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with the princes of Moab. When Balak asked him, “What did the LORD say?”

18Balaam recited his poem:

Rise, Balak, and listen;

give ear to my testimony, son of Zippor!

19God is not a human being who speaks falsely,

nor a mortal, who feels regret.

Is God one to speak and not act,

to decree and not bring it to pass?

20I was summoned to bless;

I will bless; I cannot revoke it!

21Misfortune I do not see in Jacob,

nor do I see misery^* in Israel.

The LORD, their God, is with them;

among them is the war-cry of their King.

22They have the like of a wild ox’s horns:^*

God who brought them out of Egypt.^b

23No, there is no augury against Jacob,

nor divination against Israel.

Now it is said of Jacob,

of Israel, “Look what God has done!”

24Here is a people that rises up like a lioness,

and gets up like a lion;

It does not rest till it has devoured its prey

and has drunk the blood of the slain.^c

25“Neither lay a curse on them nor bless them,” said Balak to Balaam.

26But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Everything the LORD tells me I must do’?”

The Third Oracle.

27Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me bring you to another place; perhaps God will approve of your laying a curse on them for me from there.”

28So he took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks Jeshimon.

29Balaam then said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here; and here prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

30And Balak did as Balaam had ordered, offering a bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers 24

Balaam, however, perceiving that the LORD was pleased to bless Israel, did not go aside as before to seek omens, but turned his gaze toward the wilderness.

2When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him,

3and he recited his poem:

The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eye is true,

4The oracle of one who hears what God says,

and knows what the Most High knows,

Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,

in rapture^* and with eyes unveiled:

5How pleasant are your tents, Jacob;

your encampments, Israel!

6Like palm trees spread out,

like gardens beside a river,

Like aloes the LORD planted,

like cedars beside water;

7Water will drip from their buckets,

their seed will have plentiful water;

Their king will rise higher than Agag^*

and their dominion will be exalted.

8They have the like of a wild ox’s horns:

God who brought them out of Egypt.

They will devour hostile nations,

break their bones, and crush their loins.^a

9Crouching, they lie like a lion,

or like a lioness; who will arouse them?

Blessed are those who bless you,

and cursed are those who curse you!^b

10In a blaze of anger at Balaam, Balak clapped his hands^* and said to him, “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I summoned you here; yet three times now you have actually blessed them!^c

11Now flee to your home. I promised to reward you richly, but the LORD has withheld the reward from you!”

12Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not even tell the messengers whom you sent to me,

13‘Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything, good or evil, contrary to the command of the LORD’? Whatever the LORD says I must say.^d

The Fourth Oracle.

14“But now that I am about to go to my own people, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”

15Then he recited his poem:

The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eye is true,

16The oracle of one who hears what God says,

and knows what the Most High knows,

Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,

in rapture and with eyes unveiled.

17I see him, though not now;

I observe him, though not near:

A star shall advance from Jacob,

and a scepter^* shall rise from Israel,

That will crush the brows of Moab,^e

and the skull of all the Sethites,

18Edom will be dispossessed,

and no survivor is left in Seir.

Israel will act boldly,

19and Jacob will rule his foes.

20Upon seeing Amalek, Balaam recited his poem:

First^* of the nations is Amalek,

but their end is to perish forever.^f

21Upon seeing the Kenites,^* he recited his poem:

Though your dwelling is safe,

and your nest is set on a cliff;

22Yet Kain will be destroyed

when Asshur^* takes you captive.

23Upon seeing^* [the Ishmaelites?] he recited his poem:

Alas, who shall survive of Ishmael,

24to deliver them from the hands of the Kittim?

When they have conquered Asshur and conquered Eber,

They too shall perish forever.

25Then Balaam set out on his journey home; and Balak also went his way.

Hebrews 4:1-13

The Sabbath Rest.

1Therefore, let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed.

2For in fact we have received the good news just as they did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened.

3For we who believed enter into [that] rest, just as he has said:^a

“As I swore in my wrath,

‘They shall not enter into my rest,’”

and yet his works were accomplished at the foundation of the world.

4For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works”;^b

5and again, in the previously mentioned place, “They shall not enter into my rest.”^c

6Therefore, since it remains that some will enter into it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,

7he once more set a day, “today,” when long afterwards he spoke through David, as already quoted:^d

“Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

‘Harden not your hearts.’”

8Now if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterwards of another day.^e

9Therefore, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God.

10And whoever enters into God’s rest, rests from his own works as God did from his.

11Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.

12Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.^f

13No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.^g

Sermons Rosary Prayers Catholic Answers

The complete Book of Numbers

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

The Book of Numbers derives its name from the account of the two censuses taken of the Hebrew people, one near the beginning and the other toward the end of the journey in the wilderness (chaps. 1 and 26). It continues the story of that journey begun in Exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the Israelites for a period of thirty-eight years, from the end of their encampment at Sinai to their arrival at the border of the promised land. Numerous legal ordinances are interspersed in the account, making the book a combination of law and history.

The book divides neatly into two parts. Each part begins with a census of the people (chaps. 1 and 26) and inaugurates a period of preparation prior to entering the promised land. In the first case these preparations come to a tragic end when scouts are sent forth to survey the promised land (chaps. 13–14). Upon their return, the people are so disheartened by the description of the native inhabitants and the seemingly impossible task that lies in front of them that they refuse to enter the land. This results in a decision to doom that entire generation to death and to allow another generation the chance to enter. After the death of the first generation, then, a second census is taken (chap. 26) and again preparations are made to enter the land. In this case, however, the birth of a new generation suggests these preparations will not be in vain. The book ends with the Israelites across the Jordan outside the land of Canaan, underscoring a chief theme of the Pentateuch as a whole: the people anticipating the fulfillment of God’s promise of the land.

In the New Testament numerous allusions to incidents in the Book of Numbers appear: the bronze serpent (Jn 3:14–15), the sedition of Korah and its consequences (1 Cor 10:10), the prophecies of Balaam (2 Pt 2:15–16), and the water gushing from the rock (1 Cor 10:4).

The chief divisions of the Book of Numbers are as follows:

Census and Preparation for the Departure from Sinai (1:1–10:10)
Departure, Rebellion, and Wandering in the Wilderness for Forty Years (10:11–25:18)
Second Census of a New Generation and Preparation to Enter the Promised Land (25:19–36:13)

I. CENSUS AND PREPARATION FOR THE DEPARTURE FROM SINAI

The book of Hebrews

THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS

As early as the second century, this treatise, which is of great rhetorical power and force in its admonition to faithful pilgrimage under Christ’s leadership, bore the title “To the Hebrews.” It was assumed to be directed to Jewish Christians. Usually Hebrews was attached in Greek manuscripts to the collection of letters by Paul. Although no author is mentioned (for there is no address), a reference to Timothy (Heb 13:23) suggested connections to the circle of Paul and his assistants. Yet the exact audience, the author, and even whether Hebrews is a letter have long been disputed.

The author saw the addressees in danger of apostasy from their Christian faith. This danger was due not to any persecution from outsiders but to a weariness with the demands of Christian life and a growing indifference to their calling (Heb 2:1; 4:14; 6:1–12; 10:23–32). The author’s main theme, the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus (Heb 3–10), is not developed for its own sake but as a means of restoring their lost fervor and strengthening them in their faith. Another important theme of the letter is that of the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem (11:10; 12:1–3, 18–29; 13:14). This theme is intimately connected with that of Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 9:11–10:22).

The author calls this work a “message of encouragement” (Heb 13:22), a designation that is given to a synagogue sermon in Acts 13:15. Hebrews is probably therefore a written homily, to which the author gave an epistolary ending (Heb 13:22–25). The author begins with a reminder of the preexistence, incarnation, and exaltation of Jesus (Heb 1:3) that proclaimed him the climax of God’s word to humanity (Heb 1:1–3). He dwells upon the dignity of the person of Christ, superior to the angels (Heb 1:4–2:2). Christ is God’s final word of salvation communicated (in association with accredited witnesses to his teaching: cf. Heb 2:3–4) not merely by word but through his suffering in the humanity common to him and to all others (Heb 2:5–16). This enactment of salvation went beyond the pattern known to Moses, faithful prophet of God’s word though he was, for Jesus as high priest expiated sin and was faithful to God with the faithfulness of God’s own Son (Heb 2:17–3:6).

Just as the infidelity of the people thwarted Moses’ efforts to save them, so the infidelity of any Christian may thwart God’s plan in Christ (3:6–4:13). Christians are to reflect that it is their humanity that Jesus took upon himself, with all its defects save sinfulness, and that he bore the burden of it until death out of obedience to God. God declared this work of his Son to be the cause of salvation for all (Heb 4:14–5:10). Although Christians recognize this fundamental teaching, they may grow weary of it and of its implications, and therefore require other reflections to stimulate their faith (5:11–6:20).

Therefore, the author presents to the readers for their reflection the everlasting priesthood of Christ (Heb 7:1–28), a priesthood that fulfills the promise of the Old Testament (Heb 8:1–13). It also provides the meaning God ultimately intended in the sacrifices of the Old Testament (Heb 9:1–28): these pointed to the unique sacrifice of Christ, which alone obtains forgiveness of sins (Heb 10:1–18). The trial of faith experienced by the readers should resolve itself through their consideration of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and his perpetual intercession there on their behalf (Heb 7:25; 8:1–13). They should also be strengthened by the assurance of his foreordained parousia, and by the fruits of faith that they have already enjoyed (Heb 10:19–39).

It is in the nature of faith to recognize the reality of what is not yet seen and is the object of hope, and the saints of the Old Testament give striking example of that faith (Heb 11:1–40). The perseverance to which the author exhorts the readers is shown forth in the earthly life of Jesus. Despite the afflictions of his ministry and the supreme trial of his suffering and death, he remained confident of the triumph that God would bring him (Heb 12:1–3). The difficulties of human life have meaning when they are accepted as God’s discipline (Heb 12:4–13), and if Christians persevere in fidelity to the word in which they have believed, they are assured of possessing forever the unshakable kingdom of God (Heb 12:14–29).

The letter concludes with specific moral commandments (Heb 13:1–17), in the course of which the author recalls again his central theme of the sacrifice of Jesus and the courage needed to associate oneself with it in faith (Heb 13:9–16).

As early as the end of the second century, the church of Alexandria in Egypt accepted Hebrews as a letter of Paul, and that became the view commonly held in the East. Pauline authorship was contested in the West into the fourth century, but then accepted. In the sixteenth century, doubts about that position were again raised, and the modern consensus is that the letter was not written by Paul. There is, however, no widespread agreement on any of the other suggested authors, e.g., Barnabas, Apollos, or Prisc(ill)a and Aquila. The document itself has no statement about its author.

Among the reasons why Pauline authorship has been abandoned are the great difference of vocabulary and style between Hebrews and Paul’s letters, the alternation of doctrinal teaching with moral exhortation, the different manner of citing the Old Testament, and the resemblance between the thought of Hebrews and that of Alexandrian Judaism. The Greek of the letter is in many ways the best in the New Testament.

Since the letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, written about A.D. 96, most probably cites Hebrews, the upper limit for the date of composition is reasonably certain. While the letter’s references in the present tense to the Old Testament sacrificial worship do not necessarily show that temple worship was still going on, many older commentators and a growing number of recent ones favor the view that it was and that the author wrote before the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In that case, the argument of the letter is more easily explained as directed toward Jewish Christians rather than those of Gentile origin, and the persecutions they have suffered in the past (cf. Heb 10:32–34) may have been connected with the disturbances that preceded the expulsion of the Jews from Rome in A.D. 49 under the emperor Claudius. These were probably caused by disputes between Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and those who did not.

The principal divisions of the Letter to the Hebrews are the following:

1. Introduction (1:1–4)
2. The Son Higher than the Angels (1:5–2:18)
3. Jesus, Faithful and Compassionate High Priest (3:1–5:10)
4. Jesus’ Eternal Priesthood and Eternal Sacrifice (5:11–10:39)
5. Examples, Discipline, Disobedience (11:1–12:29)
6. Final Exhortation, Blessing, Greetings (13:1–25)