Baal Worship at Peor
1 While Israel lived in eShittim, fthe people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 gThese invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, h“Take all the chiefs of the people and ihang1 them in the sun before the Lord, jthat the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to kthe judges of Israel, l“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”
6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were mweeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 nWhen Phinehas othe son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, pthose who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
The Zeal of Phinehas
10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he qwas jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in rmy jealousy. 12 Therefore say, s‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to this descendants after him the covenant of ua perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”
14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of vZur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian.
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 w“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their xwiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of yPeor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”
God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 eGod shall arise, his enemies shall be fscattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As gsmoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
has wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But ithe righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, jsing praises to his name;
klift up a song to him who lrides through mthe deserts;
his name is nthe Lord;
exult before him!
5 oFather of the fatherless and pprotector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God qsettles the solitary in a home;
he rleads out the prisoners to prosperity,
7 O God, when you uwent out before your people,
vwhen you marched through wthe wilderness, Selah
8 xthe earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God,1 the God of Israel.
9 yRain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock2 found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you zprovided for the needy.
11 The Lord gives athe word;
bthe women who announce the news are a great host:
12 c“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home ddivide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among ethe sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on fZalmon.
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God gdesired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 hThe chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 iYou ascended on high,
jleading a host of captives in your train
and kreceiving gifts among men,
even among lthe rebellious, mthat the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily nbears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
oand to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 pBut God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back qfrom Bashan,
rI will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may sstrike your feet in their blood,
that tthe tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24 Your procession is4 seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 uthe singers in front, vthe musicians last,
between them wvirgins playing tambourines:
26 x“Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you5 who are of yIsrael’s fountain!”
27 There is zBenjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of aZebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 bSummon your power, O God,6
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall cbear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke dthe beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of ebulls with the calves of the peoples.
fTrample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.7
31 Nobles shall come from gEgypt;
32 jO kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him kwho rides in lthe heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he msends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 nAscribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose opower is in pthe skies.
35 qAwesome is God from his8 rsanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives spower and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
An Oracle Concerning Moab
1 An woracle concerning fMoab.
Because gAr of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because hKir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to iDibon,
to the high places2 to weep;
Moab kwails.
On every head is lbaldness;
every beard is shorn;
3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4 mHeshbon and mElealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as nJahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to nEglath-shelishiyah.
For at the oascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to oHoronaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6 the waters of pNimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7 qTherefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of rDibon3 are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
sa lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
Wives and Husbands
1 Likewise, wives, kbe subject to your own husbands, so that leven if some do not obey the word, mthey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your nrespectful and pure conduct. 3 oDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be pthe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, qcalling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and rdo not fear anything that is frightening.
7 Likewise, shusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker tvessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
8 Finally, all of you, uhave unity of mind, sympathy, vbrotherly love, wa tender heart, and xa humble mind. 9 yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, zbless, for ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
b“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Now cwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 dBut even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. eHave no fear of them, fnor be troubled, 15 but gin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, halways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and irespect, 16 jhaving a good conscience, so that, kwhen you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For lit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also msuffered2 nonce for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, othat he might bring us to God, being put to death pin the flesh but made alive qin the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and qproclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, rwhen God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, swhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, teight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, unow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but vas an appeal to God for a good conscience, wthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and xis at the right hand of God, ywith angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
