Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

²And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

³And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

⁴Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”

⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.

⁷And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

⁸And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹When they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

¹⁰And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things;

¹²but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but didto him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to sufferat their hands.”

¹³Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

¹⁴When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,

¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

¹⁶And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

¹⁷And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

¹⁸And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed at once.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faiththe size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

²¹

²²And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to behanded over to men;

²³and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

²⁴Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?”

²⁵He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs orpoll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”

²⁶When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons areexempt.

²⁷However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find astater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died.

²The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the atoning cover.

³Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering.

⁴He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.

⁵And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

⁶Then Aaron shall offer the bull as the sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household.

⁷He shall then take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁸Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat.

⁹Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering.

¹⁰But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

¹¹“Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

¹²He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil.

¹³He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, so that the cloud of incense may cover the atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die.

¹⁴Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover.

¹⁶He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities.

¹⁷When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

¹⁸Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.

¹⁹With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

²⁰“When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat.

²¹Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready.

²²Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.

²⁴And he shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

²⁵Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

²⁶The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.

²⁷But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.

²⁸Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

²⁹“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you;

³⁰for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

³¹It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

³²So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments,

³³and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

³⁴Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.

²You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.

³Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

⁶There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

⁷But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

⁸For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

¹⁰and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

¹¹But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

¹²For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

¹³For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For the body is not one part, but many.

¹⁵If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

¹⁶And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

¹⁸But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.

¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be?

²⁰But now there are many parts, but one body.

²¹And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

²²On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;

²³and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable,

²⁴whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,

²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.

²⁶And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.

²⁷Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

²⁸And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various kinds of tongues.

²⁹All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?

³⁰All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?

³¹But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.

¹The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth,

²because of the truth which remains in us and will be with us forever:

³Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received a commandment to do from the Father.

⁵Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

⁶And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you are to walk in it.

⁷For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

⁸Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

⁹Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting;

¹¹for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

¹²Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made complete.

¹³The children of your chosen sister greet you.

¹I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

²I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

³I explored with my mind how to refresh my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize foolishness, until I could see what good there is for the sons of mankind to do under heaven for the few years of their lives.

⁴I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself;

⁵I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

⁶I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

⁷I bought male and female slaves, and I had slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

⁸I also amassed for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

⁹Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

¹⁰All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.

¹¹So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold, all was futility and striving after wind, and there was no benefit under the sun.

¹²So I turned to consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?

¹³Then I saw that wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness.

¹⁴The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one and the same fate happens to both of them.

¹⁵Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is futility.”

¹⁶For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will soon be forgotten. And how the wise and the fool alike die!

¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

¹⁸So I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is futility.

²⁰Therefore I completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil.

²²For what does a person get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

²³Because all his days his activity is painful and irritating; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is futility.

²⁴There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

²⁶For to a person who is good in His sight, He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is futility and striving after wind.

¹Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His mercy is everlasting.

²Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD, Or can proclaim all His praise?

³How blessed are those who maintain justice, Who practice righteousness at all times!

⁴Remember me, LORD, in Your favor toward Your people. Visit me with Your salvation,

⁵So that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the joy of Your nation, That I may boast with Your inheritance.

⁶We have sinned like our fathers, We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.

⁷Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

⁸Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, So that He might make His power known.

⁹So He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, And He led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.

¹⁰So He saved them from the hand of one who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their adversaries; Not one of them was left.

¹²Then they believed His words; They sang His praise.

¹³They quickly forgot His works; They did not wait for His plan,

¹⁴But became lustfully greedy in the wilderness, And put God to the test in the desert.

¹⁵So He gave them their request, But sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶When they became envious of Moses in the camp, And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And engulfed the company of Abiram.

¹⁸And a fire blazed up in their company; The flame consumed the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped a cast metal image.

²⁰So they exchanged their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,

²²Wonders in the land of Ham, And awesome things by the Red Sea.

²³Therefore He said that He would destroy them, If Moses, His chosen one, had not stood in the gap before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

²⁴Then they rejected the pleasant land; They did not believe His word,

²⁵But grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

²⁶Therefore He swore to them That He would have them fall in the wilderness,

²⁷And that He would bring down their descendants among the nations, And scatter them in the lands.

²⁸They also followed Baal-peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

²⁹So they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And a plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, And so the plague was brought to a halt.

³¹And it was credited to him as righteousness, To all generations forever.

³²They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, So that it went badly for Moses on their account.

³³Because they were rebellious against His Spirit, He spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples, As the LORD had commanded them,

³⁵But they got involved with the nations And learned their practices,

³⁶And served their idols, Which became a snare to them.

³⁷They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,

³⁸And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was defiled with the blood.

³⁹So they became unclean in their practices, And were unfaithful in their deeds.

⁴⁰Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people, And He loathed His inheritance.

⁴¹So He handed them over to the nations, And those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were subdued under their power.

⁴³Many times He would rescue them; They, however, were rebellious in their plan, And they sank down into their guilt.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He looked at their distress When He heard their cry;

⁴⁵And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented according to the greatness of His mercy.

⁴⁶He also made them objects of compassion In the presence of all their captors.

⁴⁷Save us, LORD our God, And gather us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name And glory in Your praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. And all the people shall say, “Amen.” Praise the LORD!

¹A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

³One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the lazy one craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made prosperous.

⁵A righteous person hates a false statement, But a wicked person acts disgustingly and shamefully.

⁶Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness brings the sinner to ruin.

⁷There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained from nothing dwindles, But one who gathers by labor increases it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³One who despises the word will do badly, But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is their own disaster.

¹⁶Every prudent person acts with knowledge, But a fool displays foolishness.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into adversity, But a faithful messenger brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects discipline, But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

²⁰One who walks with wise people will be wise, But a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

¹As David’s time to die drew near, he commanded his son Solomon, saying,

²“I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong, and prove yourself a man.

³Do your duty to the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,

⁴so that the LORD may fulfill His promise which He spoke regarding me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful about their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and all their soul, you shall not be deprived of a man to occupy the throne of Israel.’

⁵“Now you yourself also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt that was on his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.

⁶So act as your wisdom dictates, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.

⁷However, show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

⁸And behold, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjaminite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a painful curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

⁹But now do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.”

¹⁰Then David lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David.

¹¹Now the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: in Hebron he reigned for seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years.

¹²Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

¹³Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.”

¹⁴Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.”

¹⁵So he said, “You yourself know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel intended for me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, for it was his from the LORD.

¹⁶So now I am making one request of you; do not refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king—for he will not refuse you—that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

¹⁸And Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king stood to meet her, bowed to her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set up for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.

²⁰Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

²¹So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”

²²But King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Request for him the kingdom as well—since he is my older brother—for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!”

²³Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “May God do so to me and more so, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!

²⁴Now then, as the LORD lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and has made me a house just as He promised, Adonijah certainly shall be put to death today!”

²⁵Then King Solomon sent the order by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him so that he died.

²⁶Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.”

²⁷So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, to fulfill the word of the LORD, which He had spoken regarding the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸Now the news came to Joab because Joab had followed Adonijah, though he had not followed Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.

²⁹And it was reported to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD, and was beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, execute him.”

³⁰So Benaiah came to the tent of the LORD and said to him, “This is what the king has said: ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” So Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “This is what Joab spoke, and so he answered me.”

³¹And the king said to him, “Do just as he has spoken, and execute him and bury him, so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without justification.

³²The LORD will return his blood on his own head, because he struck two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know about it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

³³So their blood shall return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but for David and his descendants, and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the LORD forever.”

³⁴Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.

³⁵And the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.

³⁶Now the king sent men and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not leave there for any other place.

³⁷For on the day you leave and cross the brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you will assuredly die; your blood will be on your own head.”

³⁸Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. Just as my lord the king has spoken, so your servant shall do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.

³⁹But it came about at the end of three years, that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And others told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”

⁴⁰Then Shimei got up and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to search for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

⁴¹And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.

⁴²So the king sent men and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall assuredly die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’

⁴³Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the command which I imposed on you?”

⁴⁴The king also said to Shimei, “You yourself know all the evil that you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will return your evil on your own head.

⁴⁵But King Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before the LORD forever.”

⁴⁶So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.

²Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God promised this disaster against this place;

³and the LORD has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you.

⁴But now, behold, I am setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, do not come. Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.”

⁵As Jeremiah was still not going back, he said, “Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift, and let him go.

⁶Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

⁷Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.

⁸So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, both they and their men.

⁹Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, “Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you.

¹⁰Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.”

¹¹Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.

¹²Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,

¹⁴and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?”

¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

¹“Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

²And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

⁵as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brothers, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

⁶“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

⁷and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

⁸And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹And those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

¹⁰And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’

¹¹But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

¹²“Now a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

¹³came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up at him.

¹⁴And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a message from His mouth.

¹⁵For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’

¹⁷“It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,

¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

¹⁹And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.

²⁰And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’

²¹And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’  ”

²²They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a man from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

²³And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks, saying that he was to be interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

²⁵But when they stretched him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

²⁷The commander came and said to Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

²⁸The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.”

²⁹Therefore, those who were about to interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.

³⁰Now on the next day, wanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.