sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people. And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee. Also the word that God putteth in my mouth, that will I speak. But if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into an high place, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people. And Balaam took up his parable, and said:

Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram,

Saying, Come curse me Jacob, and defy me Israel.

How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed?

Or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath
not defied?

For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him.

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!

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! And Balaam answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?

And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me into another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all; and curse me them from thence. And he brought Balaam into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord now spoken? And Balaam took up his parable, and said:

Rise up, Balak, and hear;

Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor.
God is not a man, that he should lie;
Neither the son of man, that he should re-
pent:

Hath he said, and shall he not do it?

Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Behold, I have received commandment to bless;

Yea, he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse

it.

Then Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse thou them at all, nor bless them at all! But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that must I do?

Then was Balak's anger kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together, and said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and I was minded to reward thee richly. And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not unto thee, saying, 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 I will speak.

NUMBERS XXXII

Romans

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. When therefore they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle, they came and spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, this is a place for cattle; and thy servants have cattle. If now we have found favour in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan with our brethren.

And Moses said unto them, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? And wherefore discourage ye your brethren from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up unto the valley of Eschol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of their brethren, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them; so they wandered to and fro in the wilderness forty years. And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, to sin against the Lord by discouraging the heart of thy brethren! And if ye turn away from them, then shall these thy brethren also be left to wander in the wilderness.

Then came they near unto Moses, and said, This will thy servants do: We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones; but we ourselves will go before our brethren until we have brought them unto their place. We will not return to our houses, until every man of them has entered into his inheritance. And Moses said unto them, If ye will surely do this thing, ye shall be guiltless towards the Lord, and towards thy brethren; and this land shall be unto you for a possession, as ye have said. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find Ye shall therefore go before your you out. brethren, and help them; until the Lord have given rest to your brethren, even as he hath given you.

For we that are strong ought to help them that are weak; not looking each one to his own things, but each one also to the things of others. For he that herein serveth his neighbour is wellpleasing to God, and approved of men.

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

DEUTERONOMY IV

Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the Lord my God commanded me. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is whensoever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever a people hear the voice of God as thou hast heard? Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, according to all that the Lord your God did for you? Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else besides him. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he