Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

²Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a roadto Gentiles, and do not enter a city of Samaritans;

⁶but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

⁷And as you go,preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heavenhas come near.’

⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

⁹Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,

¹⁰or abag for your journey, or even twotunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is deserving of hissupport.

¹¹And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stayat his house until you leave that city.

¹²As you enter thehouse, give it yourgreeting.

¹³If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy,take back your blessing of peace.

¹⁴And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet.

¹⁵Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city.

¹⁶“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.

¹⁷But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues;

¹⁸and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

¹⁹But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour.

²⁰For it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speakingin you.

²¹“Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

²²And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³“But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the houseBeelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!

²⁶“So do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

²⁷What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body inhell.

²⁹Are two sparrows not sold for anassarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all counted.

³¹So do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

³²“Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

³³But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵For I came to TURN A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;

³⁶and A PERSON’S ENEMIES will be the members of his household.

³⁷“The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

³⁸And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

³⁹The one who has found hislife will lose it, and the one who has lost hislife on My account will find it.

⁴⁰“The one who receives you receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

⁴¹The one whoreceives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one whoreceives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward.

⁴²And whoever gives one of theselittle ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

¹Now these are the records of the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.

²The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

³The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

⁵From these the people of the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

⁶The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

⁷The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

⁸Now Cush fathered Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.

⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

¹⁰And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

¹¹From that land he went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,

¹²and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

¹³Mizraim fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

¹⁴Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines), and Caphtorim.

¹⁵Canaan fathered Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth,

¹⁶the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite,

¹⁷the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite,

¹⁸the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.

¹⁹The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon going toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; and going toward Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

²⁰These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.

²¹Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born.

²²The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

²³The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

²⁴Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber.

²⁵Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

²⁶Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

²⁹Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all of these were the sons of Joktan.

³⁰Now their settlement extended from Mesha going toward Sephar, the hill country of the east.

³¹These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.

³²These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their descendants, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.

¹Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

²For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

³For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

⁴For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them.

⁶But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),

⁷or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

⁸But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

⁹that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

¹⁰for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

¹³for “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

¹⁴How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

¹⁵But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

¹⁶However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”

¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary: “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”

¹⁹But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS WITH those who are not a nation, WITH A FOOLISH NATION I WILL ANGER YOU.”

²⁰And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I REVEALED MYSELF TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.”

²¹But as for Israel, He says, “I HAVE SPREAD OUT MY HANDS ALL DAY LONG TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”

¹First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people,

²for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

⁴who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

⁷For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger and dispute.

⁹Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel,

¹⁰but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.

¹¹A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.

¹²But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

¹³For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.

¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a wrongdoer.

¹⁵But women will be preserved through childbirth—if they continue in faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.

¹“I am disgusted with my own life; I will express my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me.

³Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the work of Your hands, And to look favorably on the plan of the wicked?

⁴Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as mankind sees?

⁵Are Your days like the days of a mortal, Or Your years like a man’s year,

⁶That You should search for my guilt And carefully seek my sin?

⁷According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no one to save me from Your hand.

⁸‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, Yet would You destroy me?

⁹Remember that You have made me as clay; Yet would You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹Clothe me with skin and flesh, And intertwine me with bones and tendons?

¹²You have granted me life and goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit.

¹³Yet You have concealed these things in Your heart; I know that this is within You:

¹⁴If I have sinned, You will take note of me, And will not acquit me of my guilt.

¹⁵If I am wicked, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am full of shame, and conscious of my misery.

¹⁶And should my head be high, You would hunt me like a lion; And You would show Your power against me again.

¹⁷You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me.

¹⁸‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb? If only I had died and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.’

²⁰Would He not leave my few days alone? Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness

²¹Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and deep shadow,

²²The land of utter gloom like darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And it shines like darkness.”

¹Why do You stand far away, LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

²In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire, And the greedy person curses and shows disrespect to the LORD.

⁴The wicked, in his haughtiness, does not seek Him. There is no God in all his schemes.

⁵His ways succeed at all times; Yet Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.

⁶He says to himself, “I will not be moved; Throughout the generations I will not be in adversity.”

⁷His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; Under his tongue is harm and injustice.

⁸He sits in the lurking places of the villages; He kills the innocent in the secret places; His eyes surreptitiously watch for the unfortunate.

⁹He lurks in secret like a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the needy; He catches the needy when he pulls him into his net.

¹⁰Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers; And unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.

¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

¹²Arise, LORD; God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the humble.

¹³Why has the wicked treated God disrespectfully? He has said to himself, “You will not require an account.”

¹⁴You have seen it, for You have looked at harm and provocation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶The LORD is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land.

¹⁷LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive

¹⁸To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause terror.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

²Ill-gotten gains do not benefit, But righteousness rescues from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will reject the craving of the wicked.

⁴Poor is one who works with a lazy hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

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

⁷The mentioning of the righteous is a blessing, But the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise of heart will receive commands, But a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹One who walks in integrity walks securely, But one who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰He who winks the eye causes trouble, And a babbling fool will come to ruin.

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

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

¹³On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, But a rod is for the back of him who has no sense.

¹⁴Wise people store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

¹⁵The rich person’s wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment.

¹⁷One who is on the path of life follows instruction, But one who ignores a rebuke goes astray.

¹⁸One who conceals hatred has lying lips, And one who spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable, But one who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding.

²²It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.

²³Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, But ruin to the workers of injustice.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken, But the wicked will not live in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked, what is perverted.

¹Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were within their land,

²that he feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

³Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,

⁴“Come up to me and help me, and let’s attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.”

⁵So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

⁶Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.”

⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors.

⁸And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them will stand against you.”

⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal.

¹⁰And the LORD brought them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them down in a great defeat at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD hurled large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²Then Joshua spoke to the LORD on the day when the LORD turned the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, And moon, at the Valley of Aijalon!”

¹³So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day.

¹⁴There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.

¹⁵Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

¹⁶Now these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

¹⁷And it was told to Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”

¹⁸So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men by it to guard them,

¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has handed them over to you.”

²⁰It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them down in a very great defeat, until they were destroyed, and the survivors of them who escaped had entered the fortified cities,

²¹that all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.”

²³They did so, and brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

²⁴When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the leaders of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and put their feet on their necks.

²⁵Joshua then said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all your enemies with whom you fight.”

²⁶So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees; and they were hung on the trees until evening.

²⁷Then it came about at sunset that Joshua gave the command, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

²⁸Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.

³⁰And the LORD also handed it over to Israel, with its king, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it.

³²And the LORD handed Lachish over to Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.

³⁴And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it.

³⁵They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he utterly destroyed on that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it.

³⁷And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

³⁸Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and they fought against it.

³⁹He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

⁴¹Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon.

⁴²Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

⁴³So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

¹Woe to those who enact unjust statutes And to those who constantly record harmful decisions,

²So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor among My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans.

³Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?

⁴Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives Or fall among those killed. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

⁵Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

⁶I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture spoils and to seize plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets.

⁷Yet it does not so intend, Nor does it plan so in its heart, But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to eliminate many nations.

⁸For it says, “Are not my officers all kings?

⁹Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or Hamath like Arpad, Or Samaria like Damascus?

¹⁰As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?”

¹²So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the arrogant pride of his eyes.”

¹³For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down their inhabitants,

¹⁴And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.”

¹⁵Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting the one who is not wood.

¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the GOD of armies, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

¹⁷And the Light of Israel will become a fire and Israel’s Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

¹⁸And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.

¹⁹And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.

²⁰Now on that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

²¹A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

²²For though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

²³For a complete destruction, one that is determined, the Lord GOD of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

²⁴Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of armies says: “My people, you who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did.

²⁵For in a very little while My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction.”

²⁶The LORD of armies will wield a whip against him like the defeat of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt.

²⁷So it will be on that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.

²⁸He has come against Aiath, He has passed through Migron; At Michmash he deposited his baggage.

²⁹They have gone through the pass, saying, “Geba will be our encampment for the night.” Ramah is terrified, and Gibeah of Saul has fled.

³⁰Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and wretched Anathoth!

³¹Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

³²Yet today he will halt at Nob; He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord, the GOD of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down, And those who are lofty will be brought low.

³⁴He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

¹Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,

²a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

³About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And he looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;

⁶he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants,

⁸and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;

¹¹and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,

¹²and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky.

¹³A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”

¹⁵Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate;

¹⁸and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

²¹Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.”

²³So he invited them in and gave them lodging. Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up; I, too, am just a man.”

²⁷As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call any person unholy or unclean.

²⁹That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,

³¹and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God.

³²Therefore send some men to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent men to you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

³⁵but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

³⁶The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—

³⁷you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.

³⁸You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

³⁹We are witnesses of all the things that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed,

⁴¹not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

⁴²And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵All the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

⁴⁸And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.