Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain.

²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

³He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry:

⁴how he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence — which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?

⁵Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?

⁶I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.

⁷If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.

⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹Moving on from there, he entered their synagogue.

¹⁰There he saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse him they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?

¹²A person is worth far more than a sheep; so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might kill him.

¹⁵Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all.

¹⁶He warned them not to make him known,

¹⁷so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁸Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

¹⁹He will not argue or shout, and no one will hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick, until he has led justice to victory.

²¹The nations will put their hope in his name.

²²Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to him. He healed him, so that the man could both speak and see.

²³All the crowds were astounded and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

²⁴When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, he told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.

²⁶If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

²⁷And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

²⁸If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²⁹How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

³⁰Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

³¹Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

³⁴Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

³⁵A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.

³⁶I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak.

³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

⁴⁰For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look — something greater than Jonah is here.

⁴²The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look — something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³“When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any.

⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order.

⁴⁵Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”

⁴⁶While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him.

⁴⁷Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

⁴⁸He replied to the one who was speaking to him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”

⁴⁹Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

²“Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals.

³You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud.

⁴But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these: camels, though they chew the cud, do not have divided hooves — they are unclean for you;

⁵hyraxes, though they chew the cud, do not have hooves — they are unclean for you;

⁶hares, though they chew the cud, do not have hooves — they are unclean for you;

⁷pigs, though they have divided hooves, do not chew the cud — they are unclean for you.

⁸Do not eat any of their meat or touch their carcasses — they are unclean for you.

⁹“This is what you may eat from all that is in the water: You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or streams.

¹⁰But these are to be abhorrent to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales among all the swarming things and other living creatures in the water.

¹¹They are to remain abhorrent to you; you must not eat any of their meat, and you must abhor their carcasses.

¹²Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales will be abhorrent to you.

¹³“You are to abhor these birds. They must not be eaten because they are abhorrent: eagles, bearded vultures, Egyptian vultures,

¹⁴kites, any kind of falcon,

¹⁵every kind of raven,

¹⁶ostriches, short-eared owls, gulls, any kind of hawk,

¹⁷little owls, cormorants, long-eared owls,

¹⁸barn owls, eagle owls, ospreys,

¹⁹storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, and bats.

²⁰“All winged insects that walk on all fours are to be abhorrent to you.

²¹But you may eat these kinds of all the winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.

²²You may eat these: any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, and grasshopper.

²³All other winged insects that have four feet are to be abhorrent to you.

²⁴“These will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

²⁵and whoever carries any of their carcasses is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

²⁶All animals that have hooves but do not have a divided hoof and do not chew the cud are unclean for you. Whoever touches them becomes unclean.

²⁷All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

²⁸and anyone who carries their carcasses is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.

²⁹“These creatures that swarm on the ground are unclean for you: weasels, mice, any kind of large lizard,

³⁰geckos, monitor lizards, common lizards, skinks, and chameleons.

³¹These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

³²When any one of them dies and falls on anything it becomes unclean — any item of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work. It is to be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.

³³If any of them falls into any clay pot, everything in it will become unclean; you are to break it.

³⁴Any edible food coming into contact with that unclean water will become unclean, and any drinkable liquid in any container will become unclean.

³⁵Anything one of their carcasses falls on will become unclean. If it is an oven or stove, it is to be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.

³⁶A spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but someone who touches a carcass in it will become unclean.

³⁷If one of their carcasses falls on any seed that is to be sown, it is clean;

³⁸but if water has been put on the seed and one of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean for you.

³⁹“If one of the animals that you use for food dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.

⁴⁰Anyone who eats some of its carcass is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries its carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

⁴¹“All the creatures that swarm on the earth are abhorrent; they must not be eaten.

⁴²Do not eat any of the creatures that swarm on the earth, anything that moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet, for they are abhorrent.

⁴³Do not become contaminated by any creature that swarms; do not become unclean or defiled by them.

⁴⁴For I am the LORD your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. Do not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.

⁴⁵For I am the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.

⁴⁶“This is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground,

⁴⁷in order to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the animals that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.”

¹Now in response to the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to use a woman for sex.”

²But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.

³A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband.

⁴A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.

⁵Do not deprive one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command.

⁷I wish that all people were as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one person has this gift, another has that.

⁸I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am.

⁹But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, since it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

¹⁰To the married I give this command  — not I, but the Lord — a wife is not to leave her husband.

¹¹But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband — and a husband is not to divorce his wife.

¹²But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

¹³Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce her husband.

¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is made holy by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.

¹⁶Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.

¹⁷Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.

¹⁸Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

¹⁹Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter. Keeping God’s commands is what matters.

²⁰Let each of you remain in the situation in which he was called.

²¹Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.

²²For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave.

²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of people.

²⁴Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.

²⁵Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is faithful.

²⁶Because of the present distress, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

²⁸However, if you do get married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

²⁹This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none,

³⁰those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn’t own anything,

³¹and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.

³²I want you to be without concerns. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord — how he may please the Lord.

³³But the married man is concerned about the things of the world — how he may please his wife —

³⁴and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world — how she may please her husband.

³⁵I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

³⁶If any man thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage, and he feels he should marry — he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married.

³⁷But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own will ) and has decided in his heart to keep her as his fiancée, will do well.

³⁸So then he who marries his fiancée does well, but he who does not marry will do better.

³⁹A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants — only in the Lord.

⁴⁰But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

¹What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life —

²that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us  —

³what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

⁴We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.

⁶If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.

⁷If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁰If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

¹Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the deer in labor?

²Can you count the months they are pregnant so you can know the time they give birth?

³They crouch down to give birth to their young; they deliver their newborn.

⁴Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return.

⁵Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from its harness?

⁶I made the desert its home, and the salty wasteland its dwelling.

⁷It scoffs at the noise of the village and never hears the shouts of a driver.

⁸It roams the mountains for its pastureland, searching for anything green.

⁹Would the wild ox be willing to serve you? Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?

¹⁰Can you hold the wild ox to a furrow by its harness? Will it plow the valleys behind you?

¹¹Can you depend on it because its strength is great? Would you leave it to do your hard work?

¹²Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?

¹³The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?

¹⁴She abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed in the sand.

¹⁵She forgets that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them.

¹⁶She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own, with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.

¹⁷For God has deprived her of wisdom; he has not endowed her with understanding.

¹⁸When she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane?

²⁰Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting fills one with terror.

²¹He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.

²²He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing; he does not run from the sword.

²³A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and a javelin.

²⁴He charges ahead with trembling rage; he cannot stand still at the trumpet’s sound.

²⁵When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly. He smells the battle from a distance; he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.

²⁶Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south?

²⁷Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high?

²⁸It lives on a cliff where it spends the night; its stronghold is on a rocky crag.

²⁹From there it searches for prey; its eyes penetrate the distance.

³⁰Its brood gulps down blood, and where the slain are, it is there.

¹A psalm of David. [1] I will sing of faithful love and justice; I will sing praise to you, LORD.

²I will pay attention to the way of integrity. When will you come to me? I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.

³I will not let anything worthless guide me. I hate the practice of transgression; it will not cling to me.

⁴A devious heart will be far from me; I will not be involved with evil.

⁵I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor; I cannot tolerate anyone with haughty eyes or an arrogant heart.

⁶My eyes favor the faithful of the land so that they may sit down with me. The one who follows the way of integrity may serve me.

⁷No one who acts deceitfully will live in my palace; the one who tells lies will not be retained here to guide me.

⁸Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, wiping out all evildoers from the LORD’s city.

¹Doesn’t wisdom call out? Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?

²At the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads, she takes her stand.

³Beside the gates leading into the city, at the main entrance, she cries out:

⁴“People, I call out to you; my cry is to the children of Adam.

⁵Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced; develop common sense, you who are foolish.

⁶Listen, for I speak of noble things, and what my lips say is right.

⁷For my mouth tells the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips.

⁸All the words from my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse.

⁹All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge.

¹⁰Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can equal it.

¹²I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion.

¹³To fear the LORD is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

¹⁴I possess good advice and sound wisdom; I have understanding and strength.

¹⁵It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law;

¹⁶by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges.

¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me.

¹⁸With me are riches and honor, lasting wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver.

²⁰I walk in the ways of righteousness, along the paths of justice,

²¹giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

²²“The LORD acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago.

²³I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began.

²⁴I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth —

²⁶before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth.

²⁷I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,

²⁸when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,

²⁹when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth.

³⁰I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him.

³¹I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam.

³²“And now, sons, listen to me; those who keep my ways are happy.

³³Listen to instruction and be wise; don’t ignore it.

³⁴Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway.

³⁵For the one who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,

³⁶but the one who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

¹During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the LORD. The LORD answered, “It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”

²The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.

³He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on the LORD’s inheritance?”

⁴The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for silver and gold from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.” “Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.

⁵They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel,

⁶let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the LORD’s chosen.” The king answered, “I will hand them over.”

⁷David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD that was between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son.

⁸But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, who were the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, and the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite

⁹and handed them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged them on the hill in the presence of the LORD; the seven of them died together. They were executed in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹⁰Rizpah, Aiah’s daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until the rain poured down from heaven on the bodies. She kept the birds of the sky from them by day and the wild animals by night.

¹¹When it was reported to David what Saul’s concubine Rizpah daughter of Aiah had done,

¹²he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.

¹³David had the bones brought from there. They gathered up the bones of Saul’s family who had been hanged

¹⁴and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God was receptive to prayer for the land.

¹⁵The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted.

¹⁶Then Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giant, whose bronze spear weighed about eight pounds and who wore new armor, intended to kill David.

¹⁷But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giant.

¹⁹Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath of Gath. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.

²⁰At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — twenty-four in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.

²¹When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.

²²These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.

¹This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

²“Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the temple of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.”

³So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons — the entire house of the Rechabites —

⁴and I brought them into the temple of the LORD to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God, who had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.

⁵I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.

⁷You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a resident alien.’

⁸We have obeyed Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life — we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.

⁹We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed.

¹⁰But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.

¹¹However, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched into the land, we said, ‘Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.’ So we have been living in Jerusalem.”

¹²Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

¹³“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not accept discipline by listening to my words? — this is the LORD’s declaration.

¹⁴The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his descendants not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again, and you have not obeyed me!

¹⁵Time and time again I have sent you all my servants the prophets, proclaiming, “Turn, each one from his evil way, and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay attention or obey me.

¹⁶Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.

¹⁷Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring on Judah and on all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done everything he commanded you,

¹⁹this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.’”

¹After they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

²As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.”

⁴Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a large number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.

⁵But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.

⁶When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too,

⁷and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king — Jesus.”

⁸The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset.

⁹After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.

¹⁰As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹²Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting the crowds.

¹⁴Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there.

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

¹⁸Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?” Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities” — because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, “May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting?

²⁰Because what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these things mean.”

²¹Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.

²²Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect.

²³For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it  — he is Lord of heaven and earth  — does not live in shrines made by hands.

²⁵Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.

²⁶From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.

²⁷He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

²⁸For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’

²⁹Since we are God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

³⁰“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent,

³¹because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³²When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, “We’d like to hear from you again about this.”

³³So Paul left their presence.

³⁴However, some people joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.