Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus.

²“This is John the Baptist,” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

⁴since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful for you to have her.”

⁵Though Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the crowd since they regarded John as a prophet.

⁶When Herod’s birthday celebration came, Herodias’s daughter danced before them and pleased Herod.

⁷So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

⁸Prompted by her mother, she answered, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”

⁹Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests.

¹⁰So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison.

¹¹His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

¹²Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.

¹³When Jesus heard about it, he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns.

¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

¹⁵When evening came, the disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶“They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to him.

¹⁸“Bring them here to me,” he said.

¹⁹Then he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

²⁰Everyone ate and was satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.

²¹Now those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

²²Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

²³After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone.

²⁴Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.

²⁵Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning.

²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear.

²⁷Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹He said, “Come.” And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

³⁴When they had crossed over, they came to shore at Gennesaret.

³⁵When the men of that place recognized him, they alerted the whole vicinity and brought to him all who were sick.

³⁶They begged him that they might only touch the end of his robe, and as many as touched it were healed.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

²“When a person has a swelling, scab, or spot on the skin of his body, and it may be a serious disease on the skin of his body, he is to be brought to the priest Aaron or to one of his sons, the priests.

³The priest will examine the sore on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

⁴But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the stricken person for seven days.

⁵The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the sore remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine him for another seven days.

⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean; it is a scab. The person is to wash his clothes and will become clean.

⁷But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing, he is to present himself again to the priest.

⁸The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a serious skin disease.

⁹“When a case of serious skin disease may have developed on a person, he is to be brought to the priest.

¹⁰The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,

¹¹it is a chronic serious disease on the skin of his body, and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He need not quarantine him, for he is unclean.

¹²But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the stricken person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see,

¹³the priest will look, and if the skin disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the stricken person clean. Since he has turned totally white, he is clean.

¹⁴But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean.

¹⁵When the priest examines the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; this is a serious skin disease.

¹⁶But if the raw flesh changes and turns white, he is to go to the priest.

¹⁷The priest will examine him, and if the sore has turned white, the priest must pronounce the stricken person clean; he is clean.

¹⁸“When a boil appears on the skin of someone’s body and it heals,

¹⁹and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, the person is to present himself to the priest.

²⁰The priest will make an examination, and if the spot seems to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a case of serious skin disease that has broken out in the boil.

²¹But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.

²²If it spreads further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a disease.

²³But if the spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil. The priest is to pronounce him clean.

²⁴“When there is a burn on the skin of one’s body produced by fire, and the patch made raw by the burn becomes reddish-white or white,

²⁵the priest is to examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a serious skin disease.

²⁶But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in the spot and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.

²⁷The priest will reexamine him on the seventh day. If it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a case of serious skin disease.

²⁸But if the spot has remained where it was and has not spread on the skin but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest is to pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.

²⁹“When a man or woman has a condition on the head or chin,

³⁰the priest is to examine the condition. If it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and sparse, the priest must pronounce the person unclean. It is a scaly outbreak, a serious skin disease of the head or chin.

³¹When the priest examines the scaly condition, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest will quarantine the person with the scaly condition for seven days.

³²The priest will reexamine the condition on the seventh day. If the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,

³³the person is to shave himself but not shave the scaly area. Then the priest will quarantine the person who has the scaly outbreak for another seven days.

³⁴The priest will examine the scaly outbreak on the seventh day, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce the person clean. He is to wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

³⁵But if the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing,

³⁶the priest is to examine the person. If the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.

³⁷But if as far as he can see, the scaly outbreak remains unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed; he is clean. The priest is to pronounce the person clean.

³⁸“When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin of the body,

³⁹the priest is to make an examination. If the spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is only a rash that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.

⁴⁰“If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

⁴¹Or if he loses the hair at his hairline, he is bald on his forehead, but he is clean.

⁴²But if there is a reddish-white condition on the bald head or forehead, it is a serious skin disease breaking out on his head or forehead.

⁴³The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the condition on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of a serious skin disease on his body,

⁴⁴the man is afflicted with a serious skin disease; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head.

⁴⁵“The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

⁴⁶He will remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

⁴⁷“If a fabric is contaminated with mildew — in wool or linen fabric,

⁴⁸in the warp or weft of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather —

⁴⁹and if the contamination is green or red in the fabric, the leather, the warp, the weft, or any leather article, it is a mildew contamination and is to be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰The priest is to examine the contamination and quarantine the contaminated fabric for seven days.

⁵¹The priest is to reexamine the contamination on the seventh day. If it has spread in the fabric, the warp, the weft, or the leather, regardless of how it is used, the contamination is harmful mildew; it is unclean.

⁵²He is to burn the fabric, the warp or weft in wool or linen, or any leather article, which is contaminated. Since it is harmful mildew it must be burned.

⁵³“When the priest examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article,

⁵⁴the priest is to order whatever is contaminated to be washed and quarantined for another seven days.

⁵⁵After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine the contamination. If the appearance of the contaminated article has not changed, it is unclean. Even though the contamination has not spread, you must burn the fabric. It is a fungus on the front or back of the fabric.

⁵⁶“If the priest examines it, and the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he is to cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, the leather, or the warp or weft.

⁵⁷But if it reappears in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, it has broken out again. You must burn whatever is contaminated.

⁵⁸But if the contamination disappears from the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, which have been washed, it is to be washed again, and it will be clean.

⁵⁹“This is the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, warp or weft, or any leather article, in order to pronounce it clean or unclean.”

¹Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

²If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, because you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³My defense to those who examine me is this:

⁴Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?

⁵Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife like the other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas?

⁶Or do only Barnabas and I have no right to refrain from working?

⁷Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?

⁸Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing?

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain. Is God really concerned about oxen?

¹⁰Isn’t he really saying it for our sake? Yes, this is written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing the crop.

¹¹If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?

¹²If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right; instead, we endure everything so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ.

¹³Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?

¹⁴In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.

¹⁵For my part I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that they may be applied in my case. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!

¹⁶For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach  — and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

¹⁷For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a commission.

¹⁸What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.

²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law — though I myself am not under the law  — to win those under the law.

²¹To those who are without the law, like one without the law — though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ — to win those without the law.

²²To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.

²³Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.

²⁴Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.

²⁵Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.

²⁶So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air.

²⁷Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

¹See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children — and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him.

²Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.

³And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

⁴Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

⁵You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him.

⁶Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him.

⁷Children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

⁸The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.

⁹Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God.

¹⁰This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

¹¹For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another,

¹²unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

¹³Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.

¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

¹⁶This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

¹⁷If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him — how does God’s love reside in him?

¹⁸Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

¹⁹This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.

²¹Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God

²²and receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight.

²³Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us.

²⁴The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us.

¹Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie his tongue down with a rope?

²Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

³Will he beg you for mercy or speak softly to you?

⁴Will he make a covenant with you so that you can take him as a slave forever?

⁵Can you play with him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?

⁶Will traders bargain for him or divide him among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay a hand on him. You will remember the battle and never repeat it!

⁹Any hope of capturing him proves false. Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

¹⁰No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan; who then can stand against me?

¹¹Who confronted me, that I should repay him? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹²I cannot be silent about his limbs, his power, and his graceful proportions.

¹³Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?

¹⁴Who can open his jaws, surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

¹⁵His pride is in his rows of scales, closely sealed together.

¹⁶One scale is so close to another that no air can pass between them.

¹⁷They are joined to one another, so closely connected they cannot be separated.

¹⁸His snorting flashes with light, while his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

¹⁹Flaming torches shoot from his mouth; fiery sparks fly out!

²⁰Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

²¹His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour out of his mouth.

²²Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances before him.

²³The folds of his flesh are joined together, solid as metal and immovable.

²⁴His heart is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone!

²⁵When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw because of his thrashing.

²⁶The sword that reaches him will have no effect, nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.

²⁷He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.

²⁸No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him.

²⁹A club is regarded as stubble, and he laughs at the sound of a javelin.

³⁰His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.

³¹He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like an ointment jar.

³²He leaves a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had gray hair!

³³He has no equal on earth — a creature devoid of fear!

³⁴He surveys everything that is haughty; he is king over all the proud beasts.

¹Of David. [1] My soul, bless the LORD, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

²My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits.

³He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases.

⁴He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.

⁵He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.

⁶The LORD executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷He revealed his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.

⁸The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.

⁹He will not always accuse us or be angry forever.

¹⁰He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

¹⁴For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass — he blooms like a flower of the field;

¹⁶when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known.

¹⁷But from eternity to eternity the LORD’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren

¹⁸of those who keep his covenant, who remember to observe his precepts.

¹⁹The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Bless the LORD, all his angels of great strength, who do his word, obedient to his command.

²¹Bless the LORD, all his armies, his servants who do his will.

²²Bless the LORD, all his works in all the places where he rules. My soul, bless the LORD!

¹Solomon’s proverbs: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.

²Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.

³The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry, but he denies the wicked what they crave.

⁴Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.

⁵The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸A wise heart accepts commands, but foolish lips will be destroyed.

⁹The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰A sly wink of the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will be destroyed.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of the one who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool hastens destruction.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

¹⁶The reward of the righteous is life; the wages of the wicked is punishment.

¹⁷The one who follows instruction is on the path to life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray.

¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is prudent.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The LORD’s blessing enriches, and he adds no painful effort to it.

²³As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desire will be given to them.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the honorable, but destruction awaits the malicious.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not remain on the earth.

³¹The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate, but the mouth of the wicked, only what is perverse.

¹These are the last words of David: The declaration of David son of Jesse, the declaration of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob. This is the most delightful of Israel’s songs.

²The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me, his word was on my tongue.

³The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

⁴is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”

⁵Is it not true my house is with God? For he has established a permanent covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. Will he not bring about my whole salvation and my every desire?

⁶But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside; they can never be picked up by hand.

⁷The man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. They will be completely burned up on the spot.

⁸These are the names of David’s warriors: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite was chief of the officers. He wielded his spear against eight hundred men that he killed at one time.

⁹After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle,

¹⁰but Eleazar stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops came back to him, but only to plunder the dead.

¹¹After him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled in formation where there was a field full of lentils. The troops fled from the Philistines,

¹²but Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹³Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.

¹⁵David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!”

¹⁶So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.

¹⁷David said, “LORD, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

¹⁸Abishai, Joab’s brother and son of Zeruiah, was leader of the Three. He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three.

¹⁹Was he not more honored than the Three? He became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

²⁰Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the son of a brave man from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

²¹He also killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went down to him with a club, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear.

²²These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors.

²³He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴Among the Thirty were Joab’s brother Asahel, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

²⁷Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

²⁹Heleb son of Baanah the Netophahite, Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjaminites,

³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash,

³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan son of

³³Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai son of the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

³⁵Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

³⁶Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer for Joab son of Zeruiah,

³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

³⁹and Uriah the Hethite. There were thirty-seven in all.

¹Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king in the land of Judah in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made him king.

²He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the LORD that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

³Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, requesting, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”

⁴Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks among the people, for he had not yet been put into the prison.

⁵Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶The word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah:

⁷“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king, who is sending you to inquire of me: ‘Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

⁸The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it.

⁹This is what the LORD says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will leave us for good,” for they will not leave.

¹⁰Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, and there remained among them only the badly wounded men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city.’”

¹¹When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army,

¹²Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.

¹³But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”

¹⁴“That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not defecting to the Chaldeans!” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials.

¹⁵The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

¹⁶So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and stayed there many days.

¹⁷King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah responded. He continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison?

¹⁹Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land’?

²⁰So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

²¹So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard. He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples

²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other tongues and to prophesy.

⁷Now there were about twelve men in all.

⁸Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,

¹²so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.

¹⁵The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

¹⁸And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,

¹⁹while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed.

²¹After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”

²²After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.

²⁴For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.

²⁵When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.

²⁷Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

³⁰Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him.

³¹Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven?

³⁶Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.”

⁴¹After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.