Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said,

²"Why do Your disciples violate the tradition (religious laws) handed down by the [Jewish] elders? For Your disciples do not [ceremonially] wash their hands before they eat."

³He replied to them, "Why also do you violate the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders]?

⁴For God said [through Moses], 'Honor your father and mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of or insults or treats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.'

⁵But you say, 'If anyone says to his father or mother, "Whatever [money or resource that] I have that would help you is [already dedicated and] given to God,"

⁶he is not to honor his father or his mother [by helping them with their need].' So by this you have invalidated the word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect] for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders].

⁷You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,

⁸'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.

⁹'But in vain do they worship Me, For they teach as doctrines the precepts of men.'"

¹⁰After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said, "Listen and understand this:

¹¹It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him."

¹²Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you say this?"

¹³He answered, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be torn up by the roots.

¹⁴Leave them alone; they are blind guides[leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

¹⁵Peter asked Him, "Explain this parable [about what defiles a person] to us."

¹⁶And He said, "Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]?

¹⁷Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

¹⁸But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming).

²⁰These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man."

²¹After leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

²²And a Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon."

²³But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], "Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us."

²⁴He answered, "I was commissioned by God and sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

²⁵But she came and began to kneel down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

²⁶And He replied, "It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the children's bread and throw it to the pet dogs."

²⁷She said, "Yes, Lord; but even the pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters' table."

²⁸Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that moment.

²⁹Jesus went on from there and passed along by [the eastern shore of] the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on the hillside and was sitting there.

³⁰And great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they put them down at His feet; and He healed them.

³¹So the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised and glorified the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, "I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing [left] to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, because they might faint [from exhaustion] on the way [home]."

³³The disciples said to Him, "Where are we to get enough bread in this isolated place to feed so large a crowd?"

³⁴And Jesus asked them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have?" They replied, "Seven, and a few small fish."

³⁵He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground,

³⁶and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and when He had given thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the people.

³⁷And they all ate and were satisfied, and they gathered up seven full baskets of the broken pieces that were left over.

³⁸[Among] those who ate were 4,000 men, not counting women and children.

³⁹Then Jesus sent the crowds away, got into the boat and went to the district of Magadan.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his [ceremonial] cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest [at a meeting place outside the camp];

³the priest shall go out of the camp [to meet him]; and the priest shall examine him, and if the leper has been healed of the infection of leprosy,

⁴then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and hyssop for the one to be cleansed.

⁵Next the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed [as a sacrifice] in an earthenware container over [fresh] running water.

⁶As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird sacrificed over the running water.

⁷He shall sprinkle [the blood] seven times on the one to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him [ceremonially] clean. Then he shall let the live bird go free over the open field.

⁸The one to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water; and he shall be clean. After that he may come into the camp, but he shall stay outside of his tent for seven days.

⁹On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair [on his body]. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and be clean.

¹⁰"Now on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and a yearling ewe lamb without blemish, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil as a grain offering, and one log (about a pint) of oil;

¹¹and the priest who cleanses him shall present the man to be cleansed and his offerings before the LORD at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

¹²"Then the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, with the log of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the LORD.

¹³He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the sacred place [the courtyard of the tabernacle]; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy.

¹⁴"The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

¹⁵The priest shall also take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand;

¹⁶and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the LORD.

¹⁷"Of the rest of the oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

¹⁸The remaining oil that is in the priest's palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed. The priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.

¹⁹Next the priest shall offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness, and afterward kill the burnt offering.

²⁰The priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

²¹"But if the cleansed leper is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil,

²²and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he can afford, one shall be a sin offering, the other a burnt offering.

²³He shall bring them on the eighth day for his [ceremonial] cleansing to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, before the LORD.

²⁴The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering, and the log of oil, and shall present them as a wave offering before the LORD.

²⁵Next he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

²⁶The priest shall pour some of the oil into his left palm,

²⁷and with his right finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the LORD.

²⁸The priest shall put some of the oil in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the places where he has put the blood of the guilt offering.

²⁹The rest of the oil that is in the priest's palm shall be put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD.

³⁰Then he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, which are within his means.

³¹He shall offer what he can afford, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. The priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one to be cleansed.

³²This is the law for the one in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose means are limited for his [ceremonial] cleansing."

³³The LORD further spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

³⁴"When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in your land,

³⁵then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, 'I have seen something that looks like a mark of leprosy in my house.'

³⁶The priest shall order that they empty the house before he goes in to examine the mark, so that everything in the house will not have to be declared unclean; afterward he shall go in to see the house.

³⁷He shall examine the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface,

³⁸the priest shall go out of the house, to the doorway, and quarantine the house for seven days.

³⁹The priest shall return on the seventh day and look; and if the mark has spread on the walls of the house,

⁴⁰he shall order them to tear out the contaminated stones and throw them into an unclean place outside the city.

⁴¹He shall have the entire inside area of the house scraped, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

⁴²Then they shall take new stones and replace the [contaminated] stones, and he shall take plaster and replaster the house.

⁴³"If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has removed the stones and has scraped and replastered the house,

⁴⁴then the priest shall come and look again, and if the mark has spread in the house, it is a malignant leprosy in the house; it is [ceremonially] unclean.

⁴⁵He shall tear down the house—its stones and its timber and all the plaster of the house—and shall take everything outside the city to an unclean place.

⁴⁶Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that it is quarantined becomes unclean until evening.

⁴⁷And whoever lies down in the house [to rest] shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

⁴⁸"But if the priest comes in and inspects it and the mark has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared.

⁴⁹To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and scarlet string and hyssop;

⁵⁰and he shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware container over running water,

⁵¹and he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

⁵²So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string.

⁵³But he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."

⁵⁴This is the law for any mark of leprosy—even for a scale,

⁵⁵and for the leprous garment or house,

⁵⁶and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot on the skin—

⁵⁷to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy [in regard to both persons and property].

¹For I do not want you to be unaware, believers, that our fathers were all under the cloud [in which God's presence went before them] and they all passed [miraculously and safely] through the [Red] Sea;

²And all [of them] were baptized into Moses [into his safekeeping as their leader] in the cloud and in the sea;

³and all [of them] ate the same spiritual food;

⁴and all [of them] drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

⁵Nevertheless, God was not well-pleased with most of them, for they were scattered along the ground in the wilderness [because their lack of self-control led to disobedience which led to death].

⁶Now these things [the warnings and admonitions] took place as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did.

⁷Do not be worshipers of handmade gods, as some of them were; just as it is written [in Scripture], "The people sat down to eat and drink [after sacrificing to the golden calf at Horeb], and stood up to play [indulging in immoral activities]."

⁸We must not indulge in [nor tolerate] sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand [suddenly] fell [dead] in a single day!

⁹We must not tempt the Lord [that is, test His patience, question His purpose or exploit His goodness], as some of them did—and they were killed by serpents.

¹⁰And do not murmur [in unwarranted discontent], as some of them did—and were destroyed by the destroyer.

¹¹Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

¹²Therefore let the one who thinks he stands firm [immune to temptation, being overconfident and self-righteous], take care that he does not fall [into sin and condemnation].

¹³No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].

¹⁴Therefore, my beloved, run [keep far, far away] from [any sort of] idolatry [and that includes loving anything more than God, or participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul].

¹⁵I am speaking as to wise and sensible people; judge [carefully and thoughtfully consider] for yourselves what I say.

¹⁶Is the cup of blessing which we bless [at the Lord's Supper] not a sharing in the blood of Christ? [Indeed it is.] Is the bread which we break not a sharing in the body of Christ? [Indeed it is.]

¹⁷Since there is one bread, we [believers] who are many are [united into] one body; for we all partake of the one bread [which represents the body of Christ].

¹⁸Consider the people of Israel; are those who eat the sacrifices not partners of the altar [united in their worship of the same God]? [Indeed they are.]

¹⁹What do I mean then? That a thing offered to idols is anything [special or changed simply because it is offered], or that an idol is anything?

²⁰On the contrary, the things which the Gentiles (pagans) sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons [in effect], and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons [by eating at feasts in pagan temples].

²¹You cannot drink [both] the Lord's cup and the cup of demons. You cannot share in both the Lord's table and the table of demons [thereby becoming partners with them].

²²Do we [really] provoke the Lord to jealousy [when we eat food sacrificed to handmade "gods" at pagan feasts]? Are we [spiritually] stronger than He? [Certainly not! He knows that the idols are nothing. But we deeply offend Him.]

²³All things are lawful [that is, morally legitimate, permissible], but not all things are beneficial or advantageous. All things are lawful, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].

²⁴Let no one seek [only] his own good, but [also] that of the other person.

²⁵[Regarding meat offered to idols:] Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking any questions for the sake of your conscience,

²⁶For the [whole] earth is the Lord's, and everything that is in it.

²⁷If one of the unbelievers invites you [to a meal at his home] and you want to go, eat whatever is served to you without asking questions [about its source] for the sake of your conscience.

²⁸But if anyone says to you, "This meat has been offered in sacrifice to an idol," do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who told you, and for conscience's sake—

²⁹and by conscience I mean for the sake of the other man's, not yours. For why is my freedom [of choice] judged by another's conscience [another's ethics—another's sense of right and wrong]?

³⁰If I take my share [of food] with thankfulness, why am I accused because of something for which I give thanks?

³¹So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of [our great] God.

³²Do not offend Jews or Greeks or even the church of God [but live to honor Him];

³³just as I please everyone in all things [as much as possible adapting myself to the interests of others], not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, so that they [will be open to the message of salvation and] may be saved.

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.

²By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source];

³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son's true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].

⁵They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them.

⁶We [who teach God's word] are from God [energized by the Holy Spirit], and whoever knows God [through personal experience] listens to us [and has a deeper understanding of Him]. Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know [without any doubt] the spirit of truth [motivated by God] and the spirit of error [motivated by Satan].

⁷Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience].

⁸The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

⁹By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him.

¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God's requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath].

¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us [in this incredible way], we also ought to love one another.

¹²No one has seen God at any time. But if we love one another [with unselfish concern], God abides in us, and His love [the love that is His essence abides in us and] is completed and perfected in us.

¹³By this we know [with confident assurance] that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given to us His [Holy] Spirit.

¹⁴We [who were with Him in person] have seen and testify [as eye-witnesses] that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵Whoever confesses and acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

¹⁶We have come to know [by personal observation and experience], and have believed [with deep, consistent faith] the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him.

¹⁷In this [union and fellowship with Him], love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him]; because as He is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God's judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God's love].

¹⁹We love, because He first loved us.

²⁰If anyone says, "I love God," and hates (works against) his [Christian] brother he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²¹And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should also [unselfishly] love his brother and seek the best for him.

¹Then Job answered the LORD and said,

²"I know that You can do all things, And that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained.

³"[You said to me] 'Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge?' Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

⁴'Hear, please, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct [and answer] me.'

⁵"I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, But now my [spiritual] eye sees You.

⁶"Therefore I retract [my words and hate myself] And I repent in dust and ashes."

⁷It came about that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

⁸Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has."

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.

¹⁰The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

¹¹Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

¹²And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

¹³He had seven sons and three daughters.

¹⁴And he called the name of the first [daughter] Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.

¹⁵In all the land there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

¹⁶After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.

¹⁷So Job died, an old man and full of days.

¹Bless and affectionately praise the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

²[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,

³Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,

⁴Who makes winds His messengers, Flames of fire His ministers.

⁵He established the earth on its foundations, So that it will not be moved forever and ever.

⁶You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains.

⁷At Your rebuke they fled; At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.

⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them.

⁹You set a boundary [for the waters] that they may not cross over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.

¹⁰You send springs into the valleys; Their waters flow among the mountains.

¹¹They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst there.

¹²Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests; They lift up their voices and sing among the branches.

¹³He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

¹⁴He causes grass to grow for the cattle, And all that the earth produces for cultivation by man, So that he may bring food from the earth—

¹⁵And wine which makes the heart of man glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And bread to sustain and strengthen man's heart.

¹⁶The trees of the LORD drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He has planted,

¹⁷Where the birds make their nests; As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

¹⁸The high mountains are for the wild goats; The rocks are a refuge for the shephanim.

¹⁹He made the moon for the seasons; The sun knows the [exact] place of its setting.

²⁰You [O LORD] make darkness and it becomes night, In which prowls about every wild beast of the forest.

²¹The young lions roar after their prey And seek their food from God.

²²When the sun arises, they withdraw And lie down in their dens.

²³Man goes out to his work And remains at his labor until evening.

²⁴O LORD, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.

²⁵There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Creatures both small and great.

²⁶There the ships [of the sea] sail, And Leviathan [the sea monster], which You have formed to play there.

²⁷They all wait for You To give them their food in its appointed season.

²⁸You give it to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are filled and satisfied with good [things].

²⁹You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their breath, they die And return to their dust.

³⁰You send out Your Spirit, they are created; You renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice and be glad in His works—

³²He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

³⁴May my meditation be sweet and pleasing to Him; As for me, I will rejoice and be glad in the LORD.

³⁵Let sinners be consumed from the earth, And let the wicked be no more. Bless and affectionately praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)

¹A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the LORD, But an accurate scale is His delight.

²When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then come dishonor and shame, But with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.

³The integrity and moral courage of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.

⁴Riches will not provide security in the day of wrath and judgment, But righteousness rescues from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will smooth their way and keep it straight, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will rescue them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.

⁷When the wicked man dies, his expectation will perish; And the hope of [godless] strong men perishes.

⁸The righteous is rescued from trouble, And the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge and discernment the righteous will be rescued.

¹⁰When it goes well for the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

¹¹By the blessing [of the influence] of the upright the city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

¹²He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a man of understanding keeps silent.

¹³He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets, But he who is trustworthy and faithful keeps a matter hidden.

¹⁴Where there is no [wise, intelligent] guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship without a helm], But in the abundance of [wise and godly] counselors there is victory.

¹⁵He who puts up security and guarantees a debt for an outsider will surely suffer [for his foolishness], But he who hates (declines) being a guarantor is secure [from its penalties].

¹⁶A gracious and good woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches [but not respect].

¹⁷The merciful and generous man benefits his soul [for his behavior returns to bless him], But the cruel and callous man does himself harm.

¹⁸The wicked man earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying].

¹⁹He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life, But he who pursues evil attains his own death.

²⁰The perverse in heart are repulsive and shamefully vile to the LORD, But those who are blameless and above reproach in their walk are His delight!

²¹Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be freed.

²²As a ring of gold in a swine's snout, So is a beautiful woman who is without discretion [her lack of character mocks her beauty].

²³The desire of the righteous brings only good, But the expectation of the wicked brings wrath.

²⁴There is the one who [generously] scatters [abroad], and yet increases all the more; And there is the one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want and poverty.

²⁵The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched, And he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].

²⁶The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it], But a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor and grace, But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

²⁸He who leans on and trusts in and is confident in his riches will fall, But the righteous [who trust in God's provision] will flourish like a green leaf.

²⁹He who troubles (mismanages) his own house will inherit the wind (nothing), And the foolish will be a servant to the wise-hearted.

³⁰The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity].

³¹If the righteous will be rewarded on the earth [with godly blessings], How much more [will] the wicked and the sinner [be repaid with punishment]!

¹Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He incited David against them to say, "Go, count [the people of] Israel and Judah."

²So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, "Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], and conduct a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people."

³But Joab said to the king, "May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king want to do this thing?"

⁴Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king's presence to take a census of the people of Israel.

⁵They crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the south side of the city which is in the middle of the river valley [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on toward Jazer.

⁶Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon,

⁷and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba.

⁸So when they had gone about through all the land [taking the census], they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹And Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

¹⁰But David's heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly."

¹¹When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

¹²"Go and say to David, 'Thus says the LORD, "I am giving you three choices; select one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you."'"

¹³So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies as they pursue you? Or shall there be three days of pestilence (plague) in your land? Now consider this and decide what answer I shall return to Him who sent me."

¹⁴Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man."

¹⁵So the LORD sent a pestilence (plague) [lasting three days] upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.

¹⁶When the [avenging] angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the disaster and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand." And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he spoke to the LORD and said, "Behold, I [alone] am the one who has sinned and done wrong; but these sheep (people of Israel), what have they done [to deserve this]? Please let Your hand be [only] against me and my father's house (family)."

¹⁸Then Gad [the prophet] came to David that day and said to him, "Go up, set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite [where you saw the angel]."

¹⁹So David went up according to Gad's word, as the LORD commanded.

²⁰Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and he went out and bowed before the king with his face toward the ground.

²¹Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" And David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague may be held back from the people."

²²Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for the burnt offering, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.

²³All of this, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God be favorable to you."

²⁴But the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing." So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵David built an altar to the LORD there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was moved [to compassion] by [David's] prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.

¹Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal (also called Jehucal) the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,

²"So says the LORD, 'He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.'

³Thus says the LORD, 'This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will take it.'"

⁴Therefore the princes (court officials) said to the king, "Please [we implore you] let this man [Jeremiah] be put to death; for [speaking] in this way he discourages and weakens [the will of] the soldiers who remain in this city and he discourages and weakens [the will of] all the people by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but rather their harm."

⁵Then King Zedekiah [fearing the princes] said, "Listen, he is in your hand; for the king is in no position to do anything against you."

⁶So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down [into the cistern] with ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

⁷Now Ebed-melech the Ethiopian (Cushite), one of the eunuchs who was in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern, and while the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin,

⁸Ebed-melech went out of the king's palace and spoke to the king, saying,

⁹"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die [of hunger] where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city."

¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."

¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the palace of the king to a place under the storeroom and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah.

¹²Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Now put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits, then place the ropes under the padding"; and Jeremiah did so.

¹³So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and took him up out of the cistern; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.

¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; hide nothing from me."

¹⁵Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Even if I do give you advice, you will not listen to me."

¹⁶But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives, who made our lives, be assured that I will not put you to death or put you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life."

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If you will go out and surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live and this city will not be burned with fire; and you and your household will live.

¹⁸But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans [of Babylon] and they will set it on fire; and you yourself will not escape from their hand.'"

¹⁹Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews [my former subjects] who have deserted to join the Chaldeans, for the enemy may put me into their hand and they will mock me and abuse me."

²⁰But Jeremiah said, "They will not hand you over [to them]. Please obey [the voice of] the LORD [who speaks to you through me] in what I am saying to you. Then it will go well with you and you will live.

²¹But if you keep refusing to go out and surrender to them, this is the word [and the vision] which the LORD has shown me:

²²'Then behold, all the women who are left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon and those women will say [to you, King Zedekiah], "Your close friends Have prevailed against your better judgment and have overpowered and deceived you; While your feet were sunk in the mire [of trouble], They turned back."

²³Also, all your wives and your children will be brought out to the Chaldeans; and you yourself will not escape from their hand, but you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city [Jerusalem] will be burned down with fire.'"

²⁴Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no man know about this conversation and you will not die.

²⁵But if the princes (court officials) hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say, 'Tell us now what you said to the king and what he said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not execute you,'

²⁶then you are to say to them, 'I was presenting my [humble] petition and plea to the king so that he would not send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'"

²⁷Then all the princes (court officials) came to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he reported to them in accordance with all that the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, since the conversation [with the king] had not been overheard.

²⁸So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured [by the Chaldeans of Babylon].

¹After the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had encouraged them he told them goodbye, and set off to go to Macedonia.

²After he had gone through those districts and had encouraged the believers, he came to Greece.

³And he stayed three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia (northern Greece).

⁴He was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and by Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

⁵These men went on ahead and were waiting for us (including Luke) at Troas.

⁶We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread (Passover week), and within five days we reached them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

⁷Now on the first day of the week (Sunday), when we were gathered together to break bread (share communion), Paul began talking with them, intending to leave the next day; and he kept on with his message until midnight.

⁸Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled,

⁹and there was a young man named Eutychus ("Lucky") sitting on the window sill. He was sinking into a deep sleep, and as Paul kept on talking longer and longer, he was completely overcome by sleep and fell down from the third story; and he was picked up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down and threw himself on him and embraced him, and said [to those standing around him], "Do not be troubled, because he is alive."

¹¹When Paul had gone back upstairs and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked [informally and confidentially] with them for a long time—until daybreak [in fact]—and then he left.

¹²They took the boy [Eutychus] home alive, and were greatly comforted and encouraged.

¹³But we went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for that was what he had arranged, intending himself to go [a shorter route] by land.

¹⁴So when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and sailed on to Mitylene.

¹⁵Sailing from there, we arrived the next day [at a point] opposite Chios; the following day we crossed over to Samos, and the next day we arrived at Miletus [about 30 miles south of Ephesus].

¹⁶Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus so that he would not end up spending time [unnecessarily] in [the province of] Asia (modern Turkey); for he was in a hurry to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷However, from Miletus he sent word to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church [to meet him there].

¹⁸And when they arrived he said to them: "You know well how I [lived when I] was with you, from the first day that I set foot in Asia [until now],

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and trials which came on me because of the plots of the Jews [against me];

²⁰[you know] how I did not shrink back in fear from telling you anything that was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public meetings, and from house to house,

²¹solemnly [and wholeheartedly] testifying to both Jews and Greeks, urging them to turn in repentance to God and [to have] faith in our Lord Jesus Christ [for salvation].

²²And now, compelled by the Spirit and obligated by my convictions, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

²³except that the Holy Spirit solemnly [and emphatically] affirms to me in city after city that imprisonment and suffering await me.

²⁴But I do not consider my life as something of value or dear to me, so that I may [with joy] finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify faithfully of the good news of God's [precious, undeserved] grace [which makes us free of the guilt of sin and grants us eternal life].

²⁵"And now, listen carefully: I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will see me again.

²⁶For that reason I testify to you on this [our parting] day that I am innocent of the blood of all people.

²⁷For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan of God.

²⁸Take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd (tend, feed, guide) the church of God which He bought with His own blood.

²⁹I know that after I am gone, [false teachers like] ferocious wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

³⁰even from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse and distorted things, to draw away the disciples after themselves [as their followers].

³¹Therefore be continually alert, remembering that for three years, night or day, I did not stop admonishing and advising each one [of you] with tears.

³²And now I commend you to God [placing you in His protective, loving care] and [I commend you] to the word of His grace [the counsel and promises of His unmerited favor]. His grace is able to build you up and to give you the [rightful] inheritance among all those who are sanctified [that is, among those who are set apart for God's purpose—all believers].

³³I had no desire for anyone's silver or gold or [expensive] clothes.

³⁴You know personally that these hands ministered to my own needs [working in manual labor] and to [those of] the people who were with me.

³⁵In everything I showed you [by example] that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed [and brings greater joy] to give than to receive.'"

³⁶When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷And they began to weep openly and threw their arms around Paul's neck, and repeatedly kissed him,

³⁸grieving and distressed especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see him again. And they accompanied him to the ship.