Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

²He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow;

³red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!

⁴Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ” Then Jesus left them and went away.

⁵Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread.

⁶“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.

⁸Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread?

⁹Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up?

¹⁰Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up?

¹¹Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

¹²Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

¹⁵Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

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

¹⁷Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

¹⁸Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

¹⁹And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

²⁰Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

²¹From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

²²But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

²⁵If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

²⁶And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

²⁷For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

²⁸And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Any man who has a bodily discharge is ceremonially unclean.

³This defilement is caused by his discharge, whether the discharge continues or stops. In either case the man is unclean.

⁴Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies and anything on which he sits will be ceremonially unclean.

⁵So if you touch the man’s bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

⁶If you sit where the man with the discharge has sat, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

⁷If you touch the man with the discharge, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

⁸If the man spits on you, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

⁹Any saddle blanket on which the man rides will be ceremonially unclean.

¹⁰If you touch anything that was under the man, you will be unclean until evening. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

¹¹If the man touches you without first rinsing his hands, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

¹²Any clay pot the man touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil he touches must be rinsed with water.

¹³“When the man with the discharge is healed, he must count off seven days for the period of purification. Then he must wash his clothes and bathe himself in fresh water, and he will be ceremonially clean.

¹⁴On the eighth day he must get two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle and give his offerings to the priest.

¹⁵The priest will offer one bird for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. Through this process, the priest will purify the man before the LORD for his discharge.

¹⁶“Whenever a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his entire body in water, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until the next evening.

¹⁷Any clothing or leather with semen on it must be washed in water, and it will remain unclean until evening.

¹⁸After a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, they must each bathe in water, and they will remain unclean until the next evening.

¹⁹“Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her during that time will be unclean until evening.

²⁰Anything on which the woman lies or sits during the time of her period will be unclean.

²¹If any of you touch her bed, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

²²If you touch any object she has sat on, you must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

²³This includes her bed or any other object she has sat on; you will be unclean until evening if you touch it.

²⁴If a man has sexual intercourse with her and her blood touches him, her menstrual impurity will be transmitted to him. He will remain unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will be unclean.

²⁵“If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will be unclean as long as the discharge continues.

²⁶Any bed she lies on and any object she sits on during that time will be unclean, just as during her normal menstrual period.

²⁷If any of you touch these things, you will be ceremonially unclean. You must wash your clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until evening.

²⁸“When the woman’s bleeding stops, she must count off seven days. Then she will be ceremonially clean.

²⁹On the eighth day she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons and present them to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

³⁰The priest will offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. Through this process, the priest will purify her before the LORD for the ceremonial impurity caused by her bleeding.

³¹“This is how you will guard the people of Israel from ceremonial uncleanness. Otherwise they would die, for their impurity would defile my Tabernacle that stands among them.

³²These are the instructions for dealing with anyone who has a bodily discharge — a man who is unclean because of an emission of semen

³³or a woman during her menstrual period. It applies to any man or woman who has a bodily discharge, and to a man who has sexual intercourse with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.”

¹And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

²I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you.

³But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

⁴A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying.

⁵But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head.

⁶Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.

⁷A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory.

⁸For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man.

⁹And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man.

¹⁰For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.

¹¹But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women.

¹²For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.

¹³Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head?

¹⁴Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair?

¹⁵And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering.

¹⁶But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.

¹⁷But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together.

¹⁸First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it.

¹⁹But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!

²⁰When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper.

²¹For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.

²²What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!

²³For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread

²⁴and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁵In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people — an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

²⁶For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

²⁷So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

²⁸That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

²⁹For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

³⁰That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

³¹But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.

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

³³So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other.

³⁴If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.

²We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.

³Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

⁵And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross — not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.

⁷So we have these three witnesses —

⁸the Spirit, the water, and the blood — and all three agree.

⁹Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.

¹⁰All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

¹¹And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

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

¹⁴And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

¹⁵And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

¹⁶If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it.

¹⁷All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

¹⁸We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

¹⁹We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

²¹Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

¹These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

²“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

³What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?

⁴Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.

⁵The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.

⁶The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.

⁷Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.

⁸Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

⁹History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

¹⁰Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.

¹¹We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

¹²I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.

¹³I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.

¹⁴I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind.

¹⁵What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.

¹⁶I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.”

¹⁷So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

¹⁸The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

¹Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.

²Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

³Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD.

⁴Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.

⁵Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

⁶you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷He is the LORD our God. His justice is seen throughout the land.

⁸He always stands by his covenant — the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

⁹This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.

¹⁰He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

¹¹“I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”

¹²He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.

¹³They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.

¹⁴Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:

¹⁵“Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

¹⁶He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply.

¹⁷Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them — Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

¹⁸They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar.

¹⁹Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character.

²⁰Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.

²¹Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.

²²He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.

²³Then Israel arrived in Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.

²⁴And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel until they became too mighty for their enemies.

²⁵Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites, and they plotted against the LORD’s servants.

²⁶But the LORD sent his servant Moses, along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.

²⁷They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians, and wonders in the land of Ham.

²⁸The LORD blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had defied his commands to let his people go.

²⁹He turned their water into blood, poisoning all the fish.

³⁰Then frogs overran the land and even invaded the king’s bedrooms.

³¹When the LORD spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians, and gnats swarmed across Egypt.

³²He sent them hail instead of rain, and lightning flashed over the land.

³³He ruined their grapevines and fig trees and shattered all the trees.

³⁴He spoke, and hordes of locusts came — young locusts beyond number.

³⁵They ate up everything green in the land, destroying all the crops in their fields.

³⁶Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home, the pride and joy of each family.

³⁷The LORD brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.

³⁸Egypt was glad when they were gone, for they feared them greatly.

³⁹The LORD spread a cloud above them as a covering and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.

⁴⁰They asked for meat, and he sent them quail; he satisfied their hunger with manna — bread from heaven.

⁴¹He split open a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry wasteland.

⁴²For he remembered his sacred promise to his servant Abraham.

⁴³So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy, his chosen ones with rejoicing.

⁴⁴He gave his people the lands of pagan nations, and they harvested crops that others had planted.

⁴⁵All this happened so they would follow his decrees and obey his instructions. Praise the LORD!

¹To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

²The LORD approves of those who are good, but he condemns those who plan wickedness.

³Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.

⁴A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones.

⁵The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

⁶The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the godly save lives.

⁷The wicked die and disappear, but the family of the godly stands firm.

⁸A sensible person wins admiration, but a warped mind is despised.

⁹Better to be an ordinary person with a servant than to be self-important but have no food.

¹⁰The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.

¹¹A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.

¹²Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

¹³The wicked are trapped by their own words, but the godly escape such trouble.

¹⁴Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.

¹⁵Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.

¹⁶A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

¹⁷An honest witness tells the truth; a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.

¹⁹Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.

²⁰Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!

²¹No harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

²²The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.

²³The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness.

²⁴Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.

²⁵Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

²⁶The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.

²⁷Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.

²⁸The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death.

¹King David was now very old, and no matter how many blankets covered him, he could not keep warm.

²So his advisers told him, “Let us find a young virgin to wait on you and look after you, my lord. She will lie in your arms and keep you warm.”

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

⁴The girl was very beautiful, and she looked after the king and took care of him. But the king had no sexual relations with her.

⁵About that time David’s son Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, began boasting, “I will make myself king.” So he provided himself with chariots and charioteers and recruited fifty men to run in front of him.

⁶Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “Why are you doing that?” Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome.

⁷Adonijah took Joab son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest into his confidence, and they agreed to help him become king.

⁸But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s personal bodyguard refused to support Adonijah.

⁹Adonijah went to the Stone of Zoheleth near the spring of En-rogel, where he sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened calves. He invited all his brothers — the other sons of King David — and all the royal officials of Judah.

¹⁰But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the king’s bodyguard or his brother Solomon.

¹¹Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her, “Haven’t you heard that Haggith’s son, Adonijah, has made himself king, and our lord David doesn’t even know about it?

¹²If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my advice.

¹³Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, didn’t you make a vow and say to me, “Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’

¹⁴And while you are still talking with him, I will come and confirm everything you have said.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba went into the king’s bedroom. (He was very old now, and Abishag was taking care of him.)

¹⁶Bathsheba bowed down before the king. “What can I do for you?” he asked her.

¹⁷She replied, “My lord, you made a vow before the LORD your God when you said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne.’

¹⁸But instead, Adonijah has made himself king, and my lord the king does not even know about it.

¹⁹He has sacrificed many cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and he has invited all the king’s sons to attend the celebration. He also invited Abiathar the priest and Joab, the commander of the army. But he did not invite your servant Solomon.

²⁰And now, my lord the king, all Israel is waiting for you to announce who will become king after you.

²¹If you do not act, my son Solomon and I will be treated as criminals as soon as my lord the king has died.”

²²While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived.

²³The king’s officials told him, “Nathan the prophet is here to see you.” Nathan went in and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²⁴Nathan asked, “My lord the king, have you decided that Adonijah will be the next king and that he will sit on your throne?

²⁵Today he has sacrificed many cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and he has invited all the king’s sons to attend the celebration. He also invited the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. They are feasting and drinking with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

²⁶But he did not invite me or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or your servant Solomon.

²⁷Has my lord the king really done this without letting any of his officials know who should be the next king?”

²⁸King David responded, “Call Bathsheba!” So she came back in and stood before the king.

²⁹And the king repeated his vow: “As surely as the LORD lives, who has rescued me from every danger,

³⁰your son Solomon will be the next king and will sit on my throne this very day, just as I vowed to you before the LORD, the God of Israel.”

³¹Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground before the king and exclaimed, “May my lord King David live forever!”

³²Then King David ordered, “Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came into the king’s presence,

³³the king said to them, “Take Solomon and my officials down to Gihon Spring. Solomon is to ride on my own mule.

³⁴There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. Blow the ram’s horn and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

³⁵Then escort him back here, and he will sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶“Amen!” Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied. “May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, decree that it happen.

³⁷And may the LORD be with Solomon as he has been with you, my lord the king, and may he make Solomon’s reign even greater than yours!”

³⁸So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the king’s bodyguard took Solomon down to Gihon Spring, with Solomon riding on King David’s own mule.

³⁹There Zadok the priest took the flask of olive oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon with the oil. Then they sounded the ram’s horn and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”

⁴⁰And all the people followed Solomon into Jerusalem, playing flutes and shouting for joy. The celebration was so joyous and noisy that the earth shook with the sound.

⁴¹Adonijah and his guests heard the celebrating and shouting just as they were finishing their banquet. When Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn, he asked, “What’s going on? Why is the city in such an uproar?”

⁴²And while he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. “Come in,” Adonijah said to him, “for you are a good man. You must have good news.”

⁴³“Not at all!” Jonathan replied. “Our lord King David has just declared Solomon king!

⁴⁴The king sent him down to Gihon Spring with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, protected by the king’s bodyguard. They had him ride on the king’s own mule,

⁴⁵and Zadok and Nathan have anointed him at Gihon Spring as the new king. They have just returned, and the whole city is celebrating and rejoicing. That’s what all the noise is about.

⁴⁶What’s more, Solomon is now sitting on the royal throne as king.

⁴⁷And all the royal officials have gone to King David and congratulated him, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s fame even greater than your own, and may Solomon’s reign be even greater than yours!’ Then the king bowed his head in worship as he lay in his bed,

⁴⁸and he said, ‘Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who today has chosen a successor to sit on my throne while I am still alive to see it.’”

⁴⁹Then all of Adonijah’s guests jumped up in panic from the banquet table and quickly scattered.

⁵⁰Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he rushed to the sacred tent and grabbed on to the horns of the altar.

⁵¹Word soon reached Solomon that Adonijah had seized the horns of the altar in fear, and that he was pleading, “Let King Solomon swear today that he will not kill me!”

⁵²Solomon replied, “If he proves himself to be loyal, not a hair on his head will be touched. But if he makes trouble, he will die.”

⁵³So King Solomon summoned Adonijah, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and bowed respectfully before King Solomon, who dismissed him, saying, “Go on home.”

¹In January of the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with his entire army to besiege Jerusalem.

²Two and a half years later, on July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, a section of the city wall was broken down.

³All the officers of the Babylonian army came in and sat in triumph at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, and Nebo-sarsekim, a chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer, the king’s adviser, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon.

⁴When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.

⁵But the Babylonian troops chased them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

⁶The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons at Riblah. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.

⁷Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains to lead him away to Babylon.

⁸Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned Jerusalem, including the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they tore down the walls of the city.

⁹Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles to Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had defected to him, and everyone else who remained.

¹⁰But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in the land of Judah, and he assigned them to care for the vineyards and fields.

¹¹King Nebuchadnezzar had told Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to find Jeremiah.

¹²“See that he isn’t hurt,” he said. “Look after him well, and give him anything he wants.”

¹³So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard; Nebushazban, a chief officer; Nergal-sharezer, the king’s adviser; and the other officers of Babylon’s king

¹⁴sent messengers to bring Jeremiah out of the prison. They put him under the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who took him back to his home. So Jeremiah stayed in Judah among his own people.

¹⁵The LORD had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison:

¹⁶“Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction,

¹⁷but I will rescue you from those you fear so much.

¹⁸Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”

¹After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara.

²There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia.

³We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

⁴We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.

⁵When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,

⁶and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.

⁷The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day.

⁸The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.

⁹He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

¹⁰Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.

¹¹He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’”

¹²When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

¹³But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

¹⁵After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers.

¹⁷When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.

¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.

¹⁹After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.

²¹But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs.

²²What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³“Here’s what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow.

²⁴Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws.

²⁵“As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.

²⁷The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him,

²⁸yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple — and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles. ”

²⁹(For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

³⁰The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him.

³¹As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.

³⁴Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress.

³⁵As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him.

³⁶And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”

³⁷As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?” “Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised.

³⁸“Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”

³⁹“No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.”

⁴⁰The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.