Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them.

²But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”

³Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

⁴He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat.

⁵And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?

⁶I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple!

⁷But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’

⁸For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

⁹Then Jesus went over to their synagogue,

¹⁰where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)

¹¹And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would.

¹²And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one!

¹⁴Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.

¹⁵But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them,

¹⁶but he warned them not to reveal who he was.

¹⁷This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:

¹⁸“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

¹⁹He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public.

²⁰He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.

²¹And his name will be the hope of all the world.”

²²Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see.

²³The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”

²⁴But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”

²⁵Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

²⁶And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.

²⁷And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.

²⁸But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.

²⁹For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger — someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

³⁰“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

³¹“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven — except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

³²Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.

³³“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.

³⁴You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.

³⁵A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.

³⁶And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.

³⁷The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

³⁸One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

³⁹But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.

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

⁴¹“The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here — but you refuse to repent.

⁴²The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here — but you refuse to listen.

⁴³“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none.

⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.

⁴⁵Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

⁴⁶As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

⁴⁷Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”

⁴⁸Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

⁴⁹Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers.

⁵⁰Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Of all the land animals, these are the ones you may use for food.

³You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cud.

⁴You may not, however, eat the following animals that have split hooves or that chew the cud, but not both. The camel chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is ceremonially unclean for you.

⁵The hyrax chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean.

⁶The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean.

⁷The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean.

⁸You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. They are ceremonially unclean for you.

⁹“Of all the marine animals, these are ones you may use for food. You may eat anything from the water if it has both fins and scales, whether taken from salt water or from streams.

¹⁰But you must never eat animals from the sea or from rivers that do not have both fins and scales. They are detestable to you. This applies both to little creatures that live in shallow water and to all creatures that live in deep water.

¹¹They will always be detestable to you. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies.

¹²Any marine animal that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you.

¹³“These are the birds that are detestable to you. You must never eat them: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

¹⁴the kite, falcons of all kinds,

¹⁵ravens of all kinds,

¹⁶the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all kinds,

¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

¹⁸the barn owl, the desert owl, the Egyptian vulture,

¹⁹the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.

²⁰“You must not eat winged insects that walk along the ground; they are detestable to you.

²¹You may, however, eat winged insects that walk along the ground and have jointed legs so they can jump.

²²The insects you are permitted to eat include all kinds of locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.

²³All other winged insects that walk along the ground are detestable to you.

²⁴“The following creatures will make you ceremonially unclean. If any of you touch their carcasses, you will be defiled until evening.

²⁵If you pick up their carcasses, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.

²⁶“Any animal that has split hooves that are not evenly divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. If you touch the carcass of such an animal, you will be defiled.

²⁷Of the animals that walk on all fours, those that have paws are unclean. If you touch the carcass of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening.

²⁸If you pick up its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening. These animals are unclean for you.

²⁹“Of the small animals that scurry along the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole rat, the rat, large lizards of all kinds,

³⁰the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.

³¹All these small animals are unclean for you. If any of you touch the dead body of such an animal, you will be defiled until evening.

³²If such an animal dies and falls on something, that object will be unclean. This is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or burlap. Whatever its use, you must dip it in water, and it will remain defiled until evening. After that, it will be ceremonially clean and may be used again.

³³“If such an animal falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be defiled, and the pot must be smashed.

³⁴If the water from such a container spills on any food, the food will be defiled. And any beverage in such a container will be defiled.

³⁵Any object on which the carcass of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is an oven or hearth, it must be destroyed, for it is defiled, and you must treat it accordingly.

³⁶“However, if the carcass of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean. But anyone who touches the carcass will be defiled.

³⁷If the carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean.

³⁸But if the seed is wet when the carcass falls on it, the seed will be defiled.

³⁹“If an animal you are permitted to eat dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening.

⁴⁰If you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.

⁴¹“All small animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them.

⁴²This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. All such animals that scurry along the ground are detestable, and you must never eat them.

⁴³Do not defile yourselves by touching them. You must not make yourselves ceremonially unclean because of them.

⁴⁴For I am the LORD your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves with any of these small animals that scurry along the ground.

⁴⁵For I, the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.

⁴⁶“These are the instructions regarding land animals, birds, marine creatures, and animals that scurry along the ground.

⁴⁷By these instructions you will know what is unclean and clean, and which animals may be eaten and which may not be eaten.”

¹Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations.

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

³The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.

⁴The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.

⁵Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

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

⁷But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.

⁸So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows — it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am.

⁹But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.

¹⁰But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband.

¹¹But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.

¹²Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her.

¹³And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.

¹⁴For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy.

¹⁵(But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.)

¹⁶Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?

¹⁷Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches.

¹⁸For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now.

¹⁹For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.

²⁰Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you.

²¹Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you — but if you get a chance to be free, take it.

²²And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ.

²³God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.

²⁴Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.

²⁵Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you.

²⁶Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are.

²⁷If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married.

²⁸But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.

²⁹But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage.

³⁰Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions.

³¹Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.

³²I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him.

³³But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife.

³⁴His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband.

³⁵I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.

³⁶But if a man thinks that he’s treating his fiancée improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her as he wishes. It is not a sin.

³⁷But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry.

³⁸So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.

³⁹A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord.

⁴⁰But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.

¹We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.

²This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.

³We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

⁴We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

⁵This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.

⁶So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.

⁷But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

⁹But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

¹“Do you know when the wild goats give birth? Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?

²Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery?

³They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring.

⁴Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave home and never return.

⁵“Who gives the wild donkey its freedom? Who untied its ropes?

⁶I have placed it in the wilderness; its home is the wasteland.

⁷It hates the noise of the city and has no driver to shout at it.

⁸The mountains are its pastureland, where it searches for every blade of grass.

⁹“Will the wild ox consent to being tamed? Will it spend the night in your stall?

¹⁰Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow? Will it plow a field for you?

¹¹Given its strength, can you trust it? Can you leave and trust the ox to do your work?

¹²Can you rely on it to bring home your grain and deliver it to your threshing floor?

¹³“The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.

¹⁴She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust.

¹⁵She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them or a wild animal might destroy them.

¹⁶She is harsh toward her young, as if they were not her own. She doesn’t care if they die.

¹⁷For God has deprived her of wisdom. He has given her no understanding.

¹⁸But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.

¹⁹“Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

²⁰Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust? Its majestic snorting is terrifying!

²¹It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength when it charges out to battle.

²²It laughs at fear and is unafraid. It does not run from the sword.

²³The arrows rattle against it, and the spear and javelin flash.

²⁴It paws the ground fiercely and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.

²⁵It snorts at the sound of the horn. It senses the battle in the distance. It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.

²⁶“Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar and spread its wings toward the south?

²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?

²⁸It lives on the cliffs, making its home on a distant, rocky crag.

²⁹From there it hunts its prey, keeping watch with piercing eyes.

³⁰Its young gulp down blood. Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”

¹I will sing of your love and justice, LORD. I will praise you with songs.

²I will be careful to live a blameless life — when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.

³I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

⁴I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.

⁵I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.

⁶I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.

⁷I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.

⁸My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked and free the city of the LORD from their grip.

¹Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice!

²On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads.

³By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud,

⁴“I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people.

⁵You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding.

⁶Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right,

⁷for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception.

⁸My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it.

⁹My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.

¹⁰Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

¹¹For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

¹²“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.

¹³All who fear the LORD will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.

¹⁴Common sense and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine.

¹⁵Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees.

¹⁶Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.

¹⁷“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.

¹⁸I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.

¹⁹My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!

²⁰I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.

²¹Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.

²²“The LORD formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else.

²³I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began.

²⁴I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters.

²⁵Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born —

²⁶before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.

²⁷I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans.

²⁸I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth.

²⁹I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,

³⁰I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.

³¹And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!

³²“And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful.

³³Listen to my instruction and be wise. Don’t ignore it.

³⁴Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home!

³⁵For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.

³⁶But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death.”

¹There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the LORD about it. And the LORD said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.”

²So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out.

³David asked them, “What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the LORD’s people again?”

⁴“Well, money can’t settle this matter between us and the family of Saul,” the Gibeonites replied. “Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.” “What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.”

⁵Then they replied, “It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel.

⁶So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the LORD at Gibeon, on the mountain of the LORD. ” “All right,” the king said, “I will do it.”

⁷The king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the LORD.

⁸But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah.

⁹The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the LORD. So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹⁰Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night.

¹¹When David learned what Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done,

¹²he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, the people of Jabesh-gilead stole their bodies from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them.)

¹³So David obtained the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed.

¹⁴Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land.

¹⁵Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel. And when David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted.

¹⁶Ishbi-benob was a descendant of the giants ; his bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds, and he was armed with a new sword. He had cornered David and was about to kill him.

¹⁷But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men declared, “You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?”

¹⁸After this, there was another battle against the Philistines at Gob. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, another descendant of the giants.

¹⁹During another battle at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of his spear was as thick as a weaver’s beam!

²⁰In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants.

²¹But when he defied and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimea.

²²These four Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them.

¹This is the message the LORD gave Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah:

²“Go to the settlement where the families of the Recabites live, and invite them to the LORD’s Temple. Take them into one of the inner rooms, and offer them some wine.”

³So I went to see Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah and all his brothers and sons — representing all the Recabite families.

⁴I took them to the Temple, and we went into the room assigned to the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was located next to the one used by the Temple officials, directly above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the Temple gatekeeper.

⁵I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink,

⁶but they refused. “No,” they said, “we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.

⁷And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’

⁸So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters.

⁹We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops.

¹⁰We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor.

¹¹But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Syrian armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here.”

¹²Then the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah:

¹³“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me.

¹⁴The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me.

¹⁵Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me.

¹⁶The descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.’

¹⁷“Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you refuse to listen or answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the disasters I have threatened.’”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah turned to the Recabites and said, “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions.’

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’”

¹Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

²As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

³He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

⁴Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

⁵But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

⁶Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

⁷And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

⁸The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

⁹So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

¹⁰That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

¹²As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.

¹⁴The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

¹⁵Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

¹⁷He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

¹⁸He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

¹⁹Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.

²⁰“You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

²¹(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

²²So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

²³for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

²⁴“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,

²⁵and human hands can’t serve his needs — for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

²⁷“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him — though he is not far from any one of us.

²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

³⁰“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

³¹For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

³²When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”

³³That ended Paul’s discussion with them,

³⁴but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.