Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus;

²and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.”

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

⁴because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

⁵Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.

⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod

⁷so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask.

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

⁹The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given;

¹⁰he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

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

¹²His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

¹⁷They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.

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

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

²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.

²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.

²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

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

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

³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

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

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

³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

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

³⁵After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him,

³⁶and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

²When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

³The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean.

⁴But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days.

⁵The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him seven days more.

⁶The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

⁷But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest.

⁸The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.

⁹When a person contracts a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest.

¹⁰The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling,

¹¹it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean.

¹²But if the disease breaks out in the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see,

¹³then the priest shall make an examination, and if the disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean.

¹⁴But if raw flesh ever appears on him, he shall be unclean;

¹⁵the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease.

¹⁶But if the raw flesh again turns white, he shall come to the priest;

¹⁷the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.

¹⁸When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed,

¹⁹and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest.

²⁰The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a leprous disease, broken out in the boil.

²¹But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days.

²²If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased.

²³But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴Or, when the body has a burn on the skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white,

²⁵the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a leprous disease; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease.

²⁶But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white, and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days.

²⁷The priest shall examine him the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease.

²⁸But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.

²⁹When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard,

³⁰the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard.

³¹If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days.

³²On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin,

³³he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more.

³⁴On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean.

³⁵But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean,

³⁶the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.

³⁷But if in his eyes the itch is checked, and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

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

³⁹the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald but he is clean.

⁴¹If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean.

⁴²But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead.

⁴³The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a leprous disease in the skin of the body,

⁴⁴he is leprous, he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.

⁴⁵The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.”

⁴⁶He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

⁴⁷Concerning clothing: when a leprous disease appears in it, in woolen or linen cloth,

⁴⁸in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in a skin or in anything made of skin,

⁴⁹if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a leprous disease and shall be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰The priest shall examine the disease, and put the diseased article aside for seven days.

⁵¹He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, this is a spreading leprous disease; it is unclean.

⁵²He shall burn the clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof, woolen or linen, or anything of skin, for it is a spreading leprous disease; it shall be burned in fire.

⁵³If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has not spread in the clothing, in warp or woof or in anything of skin,

⁵⁴the priest shall command them to wash the article in which the disease appears, and he shall put it aside seven days more.

⁵⁵The priest shall examine the diseased article after it has been washed. If the diseased spot has not changed color, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether the leprous spot is on the inside or on the outside.

⁵⁶If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is washed, he shall tear the spot out of the cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin.

⁵⁷If it appears again in the garment, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading; you shall burn with fire that in which the disease appears.

⁵⁸But the cloth, warp or woof, or anything of skin from which the disease disappears when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.

⁵⁹This is the ritual for a leprous disease in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide whether it is 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; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³This is my defense to those who would examine me.

⁴Do we not have the right to our food and drink?

⁵Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

⁶Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

⁷Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?

⁸Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same?

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?

¹⁰Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop.

¹¹If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits?

¹²If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

¹³Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar?

¹⁴In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

¹⁵But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that — no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting!

¹⁶If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!

¹⁷For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission.

¹⁸What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them.

²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law.

²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law.

²²To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.

²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

²⁴Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.

²⁵Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.

²⁶So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air;

²⁷but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

¹See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

²Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.

³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

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

⁶No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

⁸Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

⁹Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God.

¹⁰The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.

¹¹For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

¹²We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.

¹⁵All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.

¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

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

¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

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

²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God;

²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

²³And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

¹“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord?

²Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook?

³Will it make many supplications to you? Will it speak soft words to you?

⁴Will it make a covenant with you to be taken as your servant forever?

⁵Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls?

⁶Will traders bargain over it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay hands on it; think of the battle; you will not do it again!

⁹Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed; were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it?

¹⁰No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it?

¹¹Who can confront it and be safe? — under the whole heaven, who?

¹²“I will not keep silence concerning its limbs, or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame.

¹³Who can strip off its outer garment? Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?

¹⁴Who can open the doors of its face? There is terror all around its teeth.

¹⁵Its back is made of shields in rows, shut up closely as with a seal.

¹⁶One is so near to another that no air can come between them.

¹⁷They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated.

¹⁸Its sneezes flash forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

¹⁹From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out.

²⁰Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

²¹Its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of its mouth.

²²In its neck abides strength, and terror dances before it.

²³The folds of its flesh cling together; it is firmly cast and immovable.

²⁴Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as the lower millstone.

²⁵When it raises itself up the gods are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.

²⁶Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail, nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.

²⁷It counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.

²⁸The arrow cannot make it flee; slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.

²⁹Clubs are counted as chaff; it laughs at the rattle of javelins.

³⁰Its underparts are like sharp potsherds; it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.

³¹It makes the deep boil like a pot; it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

³²It leaves a shining wake behind it; one would think the deep to be white-haired.

³³On earth it has no equal, a creature without fear.

³⁴It surveys everything that is lofty; it is king over all that are proud.”

¹Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits —

³who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

⁴who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

⁵who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.

¹⁰He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

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

¹²as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.

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

¹⁴For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field;

¹⁶for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

¹⁷But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,

¹⁸to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

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

²⁰Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word.

²¹Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will.

²²Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.

²Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.

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

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

⁸The wise of heart will heed commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but the one who rebukes boldly makes peace.

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

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

¹³On the lips of one who has understanding wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise lay up knowledge, but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

¹⁶The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but one who rejects a rebuke goes astray.

¹⁸Lying lips conceal hatred, and whoever utters slander is a fool.

¹⁹When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the mind of the wicked is of little worth.

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

²²The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

²³Doing wrong is like sport to a fool, but wise conduct is pleasure to a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dread will come upon them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are established forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so are the lazy to their employers.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not remain in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

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

¹Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:

²The spirit of the LORD speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.

³The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God,

⁴is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

⁵Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

⁶But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand;

⁷to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

⁸These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹Next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew,

¹⁰but he stood his ground. He struck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the people came back to him — but only to strip the dead.

¹¹Next to him was Shammah son of Agee, the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the army fled from the Philistines.

¹²But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.

¹³Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

¹⁴David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

¹⁵David said longingly, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!”

¹⁶Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the LORD,

¹⁷for he said, “The LORD forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.

¹⁸Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them, and won a name beside the Three.

¹⁹He was the most renowned of the Thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the Three.

²⁰Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant warrior from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.

²¹And he killed an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.

²²Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the three warriors.

²³He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴Among the Thirty were Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

²⁵Shammah of Harod; Elika of Harod;

²⁶Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa;

²⁷Abiezer of Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite;

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai of Netophah;

²⁹Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah; Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites;

³⁰Benaiah of Pirathon; Hiddai of the torrents of Gaash;

³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth of Bahurim;

³²Eliahba of Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen: Jonathan

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

³⁴Eliphelet son of Ahasbai of Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite;

³⁵Hezro of Carmel; Paarai the Arbite;

³⁶Igal son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani the Gadite;

³⁷Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;

³⁸Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;

³⁹Uriah the Hittite — thirty-seven in all.

¹Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, succeeded Coniah son of Jehoiakim.

²But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

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

⁴Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.

⁵Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

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

⁷Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt.

⁸And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire.

⁹Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away.

¹⁰Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.

¹¹Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army,

¹²Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property among the people there.

¹³When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

¹⁴And Jeremiah said, “That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

¹⁵The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had been made a prison.

¹⁶Thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days.

¹⁷Then King Zedekiah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

¹⁸Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison?

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

²⁰Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there.”

²¹So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard; and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

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

²He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”

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

⁵On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied —

⁷altogether there were about twelve of them.

⁸He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God.

⁹When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

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

¹¹God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,

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

¹³Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

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

¹⁵But the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.

¹⁷When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.

¹⁸Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices.

¹⁹A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.

²⁰So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

²¹Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.”

²²So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.

²³About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way.

²⁴A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans.

²⁵These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business.

²⁶You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

²⁷And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”

²⁸When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travel companions.

³⁰Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him;

³¹even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater.

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

³³Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.

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

³⁵But when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven?

³⁶Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.

³⁷You have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another.

³⁹If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly.

⁴⁰For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.”

⁴¹When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.