Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and putting Jesus to the test, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

²But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

³And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern theappearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times?

⁴An evil and adulterous generation wants asign; and so asign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

⁵And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread.

⁶And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of theleaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.”

⁸But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

⁹Do you not yet understand nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up?

¹⁰Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up?

¹¹How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of theleaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

¹²Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.”

¹⁵He *said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, SimonBarjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

¹⁸And I also say to you that you arePeter, and upon thisrock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever youbind on earthshall have been bound in heaven, and whatever youloose on earthshall have been loosed in heaven.”

²⁰Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ.

²¹From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day.

²²And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!”

²³But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind onGod’s purposes, but men’s.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

²⁵For whoever wants to save hislife will lose it; but whoever loses hislife for My sake will find it.

²⁶For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, butforfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?

²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO HISDEEDS.

²⁸“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

¹The LORD also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.

³This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge.

⁴Every bed on which the man with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean.

⁵Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening;

⁶and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

⁷Also whoever touches the man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

⁸Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

⁹Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides becomes unclean.

¹⁰Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and the one who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

¹¹Likewise, whomever the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

¹²However, an earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.

¹³‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean.

¹⁴Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young doves, and come before the LORD to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest;

¹⁵and the priest shall offer them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD because of his discharge.

¹⁶‘Now if a man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening.

¹⁷As for any garment or any leather on which there is a seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening.

¹⁸If a man sleeps with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

¹⁹‘When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.

²⁰Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean.

²¹Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

²²Whoever touches any object on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

²³Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.

²⁴If a man actually sleeps with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

²⁵‘Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, for all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean.

²⁶Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every object on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time.

²⁷Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

²⁸When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean.

²⁹Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young doves, and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting.

³⁰And the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering, and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD because of her impure discharge.’

³¹“And so you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.”

³²This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it,

³³and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.

¹Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

²Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you.

³But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

⁴Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.

⁵But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

⁶For if a woman does not cover her head, have her also cut her hair off; however, if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, have her cover her head.

⁷For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

⁸For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;

⁹for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.

¹⁰Therefore the woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

¹¹However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

¹²For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.

¹³Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

¹⁴Does even nature itself not teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,

¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her as a covering.

¹⁶But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor have the churches of God.

¹⁷Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.

¹⁹For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

²⁰Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,

²¹for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.

²²What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I do not praise you.

²³For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread;

²⁴and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁵In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

²⁷Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

²⁸But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body.

³⁰For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep.

³¹But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

³²But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

³³So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

³⁴If anyone is hungry, have him eat at home, so that you do not come together for judgment. As to the remaining matters, I will give instructions when I come.

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

⁵Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

⁷For there are three that testify:

⁸the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

⁹If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.

¹⁰The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.

¹¹And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

¹²The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

¹⁴This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that.

¹⁷All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

¹⁸We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

¹The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “Futility of futilities! All is futility.”

³What advantage does a person have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

⁴A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

⁵Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hurrying to its place it rises there again.

⁶Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.

⁷All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

⁸All things are wearisome; No one can tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been, it is what will be, And what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? It has already existed for ages Which were before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of the earlier things, And of the later things as well, which will occur, There will be no remembrance of them Among those who will come later still.

¹²I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled.

¹⁴I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is futility and striving after wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

¹⁸Because in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

¹Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make His deeds known among the peoples.

²Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Tell of all His wonders.

³Boast in His holy name; May the heart of those who seek the LORD be joyful.

⁴Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.

⁵Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments spoken by His mouth,

⁶You descendants of Abraham, His servant, You sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

⁷He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

⁸He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

⁹The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac.

¹⁰Then He confirmed it to Jacob as a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

¹¹Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the portion of your inheritance,”

¹²When they were only a few people in number, Very few, and strangers in it.

¹³And they wandered from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people,

¹⁴He allowed no one to oppress them, And He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,

¹⁵“Do not touch My anointed ones, And do not harm My prophets.”

¹⁶And He called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.

¹⁷He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

¹⁸They forced his feet into shackles, He was put in irons;

¹⁹Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD refined him.

²⁰The king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free.

²¹He made him lord of his house, And ruler over all his possessions,

²²To imprison his high officials at will, That he might teach his elders wisdom.

²³Israel also came into Egypt; So Jacob lived in the land of Ham.

²⁴And He made His people very fruitful, And made them stronger than their enemies.

²⁵He turned their heart to hate His people, To deal cunningly with His servants.

²⁶He sent His servant Moses, And Aaron, whom He had chosen.

²⁷They performed His wondrous acts among them, And miracles in the land of Ham.

²⁸He sent darkness and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His words.

²⁹He turned their waters into blood, And caused their fish to die.

³⁰Their land swarmed with frogs Even in the chambers of their kings.

³¹He spoke, and a swarm of flies And gnats invaded all their territory.

³²He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land.

³³He also struck their vines and their fig trees, And smashed the trees of their territory.

³⁴He spoke, and locusts came, And creeping locusts, beyond number,

³⁵And they ate all the vegetation in their land, And ate the fruit of their ground.

³⁶He also fatally struck all the firstborn in their land, The first fruits of all their vigor.

³⁷Then He brought the Israelites out with silver and gold, And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.

³⁸Egypt was glad when they departed, For the dread of them had fallen upon the Egyptians.

³⁹He spread out a cloud as a covering, And fire to illumine by night.

⁴⁰They asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

⁴¹He opened the rock and water flowed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.

⁴²For He remembered His holy word With His servant Abraham;

⁴³And He led out His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.

⁴⁴He also gave them the lands of the nations, So that they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,

⁴⁵And that they might keep His statutes And comply with His laws; Praise the LORD!

¹One who loves discipline loves knowledge, But one who hates rebuke is stupid.

²A good person will obtain favor from the LORD, But He will condemn a person who devises evil.

³A person will not be established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous will not be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked wait in ambush for blood, But the mouth of the upright will rescue them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A person will be praised according to his insight, But one of perverse mind will be despised.

⁹Better is one who is lightly esteemed and has a servant, Than one who honors himself and lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous person has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹One who works his land will have plenty of bread, But one who pursues worthless things lacks sense.

¹²The wicked person desires the plunder of evil people, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³An evil person is ensnared by the offense of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble.

¹⁴A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a person’s hands will return to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a person who listens to advice is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent person conceals dishonor.

¹⁷One who declares truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips will endure forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.

²¹No harm happens to the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

²³A prudent person conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy hand will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous person is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷A lazy person does not roast his prey, But the precious possession of a person is diligence.

²⁸In the way of righteousness there is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with garments, but he could not keep warm.

²So his servants said to him, “Have them search for a young virgin for my lord the king, and have her attend the king and become his nurse; and have her lie on your chest, so that my lord the king may keep warm.”

³So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

⁴The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not become intimate with her.

⁵Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run before him.

⁶And his father had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.

⁷Now he had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and they allied themselves with Adonijah.

⁸But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

⁹Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened steers by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants.

¹⁰But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or his brother Solomon.

¹¹Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it?

¹²So now come, please let me give you advice, and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’

¹⁴Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba entered to the king in the bedroom. Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.

¹⁶Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself before the king. And the king said, “What is on your mind?”

¹⁷So she said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying, ‘Your son Solomon certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’

¹⁸But now, behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know it.

¹⁹He has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

²⁰And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to announce to them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

²¹Otherwise it will come about, as soon as my lord the king lies down with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered offenders.”

²²And behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

²³They informed the king, saying, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And when he came into the king’s presence, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.

²⁴Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you yourself said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?

²⁵For he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking in his presence; and they say, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

²⁶But me, even me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited.

²⁷Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not let your servants know who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

²⁸Then King David responded and said, “Summon Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.

²⁹Then the king vowed and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

³⁰certainly as I vowed to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.”

³¹Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever.”

³²Then King David said, “Summon to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence.

³³And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

³⁴And have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

³⁵Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say the same.

³⁷Just as the LORD has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.

³⁹And Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”

⁴⁰And all the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise.

⁴¹Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard this as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the city making such an uproar?”

⁴²While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a valiant man and you bring good news.”

⁴³But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “On the contrary! Our lord King David has made Solomon king!

⁴⁴The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have mounted him on the king’s mule.

⁴⁵Furthermore, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, so that the city is going wild. This is the noise which you have heard.

⁴⁶Besides, Solomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom.

⁴⁷Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne!’ And the king bowed himself on the bed.

⁴⁸The king has also said this: ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’ ”

⁴⁹Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and got up, and each went on his way.

⁵⁰Adonijah also was afraid of Solomon, and he got up, and went, and took hold of the horns of the altar.

⁵¹Now it was reported to Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

⁵²And Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.”

⁵³So King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

¹Now when Jerusalem was captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it;

²in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was breached.

³Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.

⁵But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

⁶Then the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.

⁷He then blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in shackles of bronze to bring him to Babylon.

⁸The Chaldeans also burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁹And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon.

¹⁰But some of the poorest people, who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

¹¹Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying,

¹²“Take him and look after him, and do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.”

¹³So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;

¹⁴they even sent word and took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

¹⁵Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying,

¹⁶“Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.

¹⁷But I will save you on that day,” declares the LORD, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid.

¹⁸For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as plunder, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the LORD.’ ”

¹Now when we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos, and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara;

²and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for the ship was to unload its cargo there.

⁴After looking up the disciples, we stayed there for seven days; and they kept telling Paul, through the Spirit, not to set foot in Jerusalem.

⁵When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

⁶Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting the brothers and sisters, we stayed with them for a day.

⁸On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.

¹⁰As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹And he came to us and took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, we became quiet, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

¹⁵After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to stay.

¹⁷After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us gladly.

¹⁸And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard about them, they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

²¹and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³Therefore, do as we tell you: we have four men who have a vow upon themselves;

²⁴take them along and purify yourself together with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also conform, keeping the Law.

²⁵But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we sent a letter, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took along the men, and the next day, after purifying himself together with them, he went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

²⁷When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who instructs everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place!”

²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple.

³⁰Then the whole city was provoked and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹While they were intent on killing him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

³²He immediately took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

³⁴But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks.

³⁵When Paul got to the stairs, it came about that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

³⁶for the multitude of people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!”

³⁷As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he *said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?

³⁸Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying,