And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel abiding in their tents by their tribes: and the spirit of God rushing upon him,3 He took up his parable and said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man hath said, whose eye ire stopped up:4 The hearer of the words of God hath said, he that hath beheld the vision of the Almighty, he that falleth, and so his eyes are opened:5 How beautiful are thy tabernacles, O Jacob, and thy tents, O Israel!6 As woody valleys, as watered gardens near the rivers, as tabernacles which the Lord hath pitched, as cedars by the waterside.7 Water shall flow out of his bucket, and his seed shall be in many waters. For Agag his king shall be removed, and his kingdom shall be taken awry.15 Therefore taking up his parable, again he said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man whose eye is stopped up, hath said:16 The hearer of the words of God hath said, who knoweth the doctrine of the Highest, and seeth the visions of the Almighty, who falling hath his eyes opened:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near. A STAR SHALL RISE out of Jacob and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth.
Moses himself [wrote] in the book of Numbers: "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a man shall arise out of Israel." For this cause, therefore, being God, he took upon him flesh, that, becoming a mediator between God and man, having overcome death, he might by his guidance lead man to God.
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
Ps 24:4-5
Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause. Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.5 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long.6 Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world.7 The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.8 The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.9 He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways.
Now the ways of the Lord are, we may say, certain courses taken in a good life, guided by Christ, who says, "I am the way, and the truth and the life." The way, then, is the surpassing power of God, for Christ is our way, and a good way, too, is he, a way that has opened the kingdom of heaven to believers. Moreover, the ways of the Lord are straight, as it is written: "Make your ways known to me, O Lord." Chastity is a way, faith is a way, abstinence is a way. There is, indeed, a way of virtue, and there is a way of wickedness; for it is written, "And see if there is any way of wickedness in me."
And when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: By what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority?24 Jesus answering, said to them: I also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:26 If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet.27 And answering Jesus, they said: We know not. He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
But some one will say in opposition to this, that it was absurd to ask by what authority Jesus did these things. For that it could not be that He would answer, that He did these by the Devil’s authority; and He would not tell them as it truly was, that He did them by His own power. If it should be said, that the rulers put this question to Him in order to deter Him from His proceedings; as when we say to one who is dealing with what is ours in a way which we do not like, we say to him, Who bade thee do this? meaning to deter him from what he is so doing;—if it is to be taken so, what means Christ’s answer, Do you tell Me this, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Perhaps therefore, the place should be understood as follows. There are in the general two opposite powers, one on the side of God, the other on the side of the Devil; but of particular powers there are many; for it was not one and the same power that wrought in all the Prophets to enable them to do miracles, but one in these, another in those; and, it may be, for lesser things a lesser power, for greater things a greater power. The Chief Priests had seen Jesus working many miracles, whereupon they desired to know the special degree and properties of that power which wrought in Him. For others who have wrought miracles wrought them at first in one power, and afterwards when more advanced in another and greater power; but the Saviour wrought all in one power, that which He received of the Father. But because they were not worthy to hear such mysteries, therefore He gives them no answer, but on the contrary put a question to them.
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)