Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

²saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.

³And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

⁴All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

⁶So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.

⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.

⁸And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁹Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

¹⁰And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

¹²Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

¹³And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹⁴Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

¹⁵But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant

¹⁶and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

¹⁷Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

¹⁸Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.

¹⁹And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

²⁰And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

²¹So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

²²And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

²³Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:

²⁵The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.”

²⁷So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’

²⁹He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.

³⁰Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.

³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

³³“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.

³⁴Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.

³⁵And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

³⁶Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.

³⁷Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁸But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

³⁹So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

⁴¹They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

⁴⁴And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

⁴⁵Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.

⁴⁶But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.

³I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.

⁴And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him,

⁵then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.

⁶‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

⁷Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.

⁸And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

⁹‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.

¹⁰‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.

¹¹The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

¹²If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them.

¹³If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

¹⁴If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you.

¹⁵If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.

¹⁶If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

¹⁷‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt.

¹⁸If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.

¹⁹‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister nor of your father’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt.

²⁰If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

²¹If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.

²²‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out.

²³And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.

²⁴But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.

²⁵You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

²⁶And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

²⁷‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’ ”

¹Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:

²On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

³And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

⁵Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia).

⁶And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go.

⁷For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.

⁸But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost.

⁹For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.

¹¹Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren.

¹²Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.

¹³Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

¹⁴Let all that you do be done with love.

¹⁵I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints—

¹⁶that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us.

¹⁷I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied.

¹⁸For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.

¹⁹The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

²⁰All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹The salutation with my own hand—Paul’s.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!

²³The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

¹“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

²“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

³and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.

⁴Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

⁶But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

⁹“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

¹³“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.

¹⁵Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

¹⁶Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

¹⁷“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

¹⁹“I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

²⁰Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

²¹And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

²²Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

²³I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

²⁴“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.

²⁵But hold fast what you have till I come.

²⁶And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

²⁷‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father;

²⁸and I will give him the morning star.

²⁹“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

¹There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

²A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.

³If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he—

⁴for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.

⁵Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,

⁶even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?

⁷All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.

⁸For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?

⁹Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁰Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.

¹¹Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?

¹²For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

¹A Psalm of David. [1] The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

²The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

³Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.

⁴The LORD has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.

⁶He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.

⁷He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.

¹Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.

⁴An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.

⁵He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father.

⁷Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince.

⁸A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

¹⁰Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since he has no heart for it?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes surety for his friend.

¹⁹He who loves transgression loves strife, And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

²⁰He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.

²¹He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

²³A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

²⁷He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

²⁸Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.

¹And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

²Now the house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

³The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of the vestibule extended ten cubits from the front of the house.

⁴And he made for the house windows with beveled frames.

⁵Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it.

⁶The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple.

⁷And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

⁸The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

⁹So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar.

¹⁰And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

¹¹Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:

¹²“Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David.

¹³And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”

¹⁴So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

¹⁵And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress.

¹⁶Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place.

¹⁷And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long.

¹⁸The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.

¹⁹And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.

²⁰The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar.

²¹So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.

²²The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

²³Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

²⁴One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.

²⁵And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape.

²⁶The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub.

²⁷Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room; and they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.

²⁸Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

³⁰And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

³¹For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were one-fifth of the wall.

³²The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

³³So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, one-fourth of the wall.

³⁴And the two doors were of cypress wood; two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door.

³⁵Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.

³⁶And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv.

³⁸And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

²“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them,

³because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers.

⁴However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!”

⁵But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.

⁶So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’

⁷“Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain,

⁸in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

⁹Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁰They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’

¹¹“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah.

¹²And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and they shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach!

¹³For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence,

¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and dwell. For none shall return except those who escape.’ ”

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying:

¹⁶“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!

¹⁷But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble.

¹⁸But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”

¹⁹The women also said, “And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?”

²⁰Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying:

²¹“The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind?

²²So the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day.

²³Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.”

²⁴Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!

²⁵Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’

²⁶Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives.”

²⁷Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.

²⁸Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.

²⁹And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for adversity.’

³⁰“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’ ”

¹Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself:

²“I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,

³especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

⁴“My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know.

⁵They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

⁶And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.

⁷To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

⁸Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

⁹“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

¹¹And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

¹²“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

¹³at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.

¹⁴And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

¹⁶But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.

¹⁷I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,

¹⁸to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁹“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

²⁰but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

²¹For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

²²Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—

²³that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”

²⁵But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason.

²⁶For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.

²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

²⁹And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them;

³¹and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.”

³²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”