Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

²“Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.

³If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

⁴This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

⁵“Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey — riding on a donkey’s colt.’”

⁶The two disciples did as Jesus commanded.

⁷They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

⁸Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁹Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”

¹⁰The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

¹¹And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

¹²Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.

¹³He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

¹⁴The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.

¹⁵The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant.

¹⁶They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’ ”

¹⁷Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.

¹⁸In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry,

¹⁹and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.

²⁰The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

²¹Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.

²²You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

²³When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

²⁴“I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.

²⁵“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John.

²⁶But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.”

²⁷So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’

²⁹The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway.

³⁰Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

³¹“Which of the two obeyed his father?” They replied, “The first.” Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.

³²For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

³³“Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

³⁴At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.

³⁵But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

³⁶So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

³⁷“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

³⁸“But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

³⁹So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

⁴⁰“When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

⁴¹The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

⁴²Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’

⁴³I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.

⁴⁴Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. ”

⁴⁵When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers.

⁴⁶They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Give the people of Israel these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living in Israel. “If any of them offer their children as a sacrifice to Molech, they must be put to death. The people of the community must stone them to death.

³I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled my sanctuary and brought shame on my holy name by offering their children to Molech.

⁴And if the people of the community ignore those who offer their children to Molech and refuse to execute them,

⁵I myself will turn against them and their families and will cut them off from the community. This will happen to all who commit spiritual prostitution by worshiping Molech.

⁶“I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community.

⁷So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God.

⁸Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD who makes you holy.

⁹“Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a capital offense.

¹⁰“If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death.

¹¹“If a man violates his father by having sex with one of his father’s wives, both the man and the woman must be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

¹²“If a man has sex with his daughter-in-law, both must be put to death. They have committed a perverse act and are guilty of a capital offense.

¹³“If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

¹⁴“If a man marries both a woman and her mother, he has committed a wicked act. The man and both women must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you.

¹⁵“If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed.

¹⁶“If a woman presents herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. You must kill both, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

¹⁷“If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a shameful disgrace. They must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has violated his sister, he will be punished for his sin.

¹⁸“If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period, both of them must be cut off from the community, for together they have exposed the source of her blood flow.

¹⁹“Do not have sexual relations with your aunt, whether your mother’s sister or your father’s sister. This would dishonor a close relative. Both parties are guilty and will be punished for their sin.

²⁰“If a man has sex with his uncle’s wife, he has violated his uncle. Both the man and woman will be punished for their sin, and they will die childless.

²¹“If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has violated his brother, and the guilty couple will remain childless.

²²“You must keep all my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice; otherwise the land to which I am bringing you as your new home will vomit you out.

²³Do not live according to the customs of the people I am driving out before you. It is because they do these shameful things that I detest them.

²⁴But I have promised you, ‘You will possess their land because I will give it to you as your possession — a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from all other people.

²⁵“You must therefore make a distinction between ceremonially clean and unclean animals, and between clean and unclean birds. You must not defile yourselves by eating any unclean animal or bird or creature that scurries along the ground. I have identified them as being unclean for you.

²⁶You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.

²⁷“Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense.”

¹Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.

²On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.

³When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me.

⁵I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia.

⁶Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination.

⁷This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me.

⁸In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost.

⁹There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.

¹⁰When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.

¹¹Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.

¹²Now about our brother Apollos — I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.

¹³Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

¹⁴And do everything with love.

¹⁵You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters,

¹⁶to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion.

¹⁷I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me.

¹⁸They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.

¹⁹The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings.

²⁰All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.

²¹HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING — PAUL.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Our Lord, come!

²³May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

²⁴My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.

¹“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

²“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.

³You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

⁴“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

⁵Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

⁶But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

⁷“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

⁸“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

⁹“I know about your suffering and your poverty — but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.

¹⁰Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

¹²“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

¹³“I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

¹⁴“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.

¹⁵In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.

¹⁶Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

¹⁸“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

¹⁹“I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

²⁰“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman — that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet — to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.

²¹I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

²²“Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.

²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

²⁴“But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them — depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you

²⁵except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.

²⁶To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.

²⁷They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.

²⁸They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

²⁹“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

¹There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity.

²God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless — a sickening tragedy.

³A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead.

⁴His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name,

⁵and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man.

⁶He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else — well, what’s the use?

⁷All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough.

⁸So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others?

⁹Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless — like chasing the wind.

¹⁰Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

¹¹The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?

¹²In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?

¹The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

²The LORD will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem ; you will rule over your enemies.

³When you go to war, your people will serve you willingly. You are arrayed in holy garments, and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew.

⁴The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you. He will strike down many kings when his anger erupts.

⁶He will punish the nations and fill their lands with corpses; he will shatter heads over the whole earth.

⁷But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way. He will be victorious.

¹Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting — and conflict.

²A wise servant will rule over the master’s disgraceful son and will share the inheritance of the master’s children.

³Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

⁴Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander.

⁵Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished.

⁶Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children.

⁷Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler.

⁸A bribe is like a lucky charm; whoever gives one will prosper!

⁹Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

¹⁰A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool.

¹¹Evil people are eager for rebellion, but they will be severely punished.

¹²It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to confront a fool caught in foolishness.

¹³If you repay good with evil, evil will never leave your house.

¹⁴Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out.

¹⁵Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent — both are detestable to the LORD.

¹⁶It is senseless to pay to educate a fool, since he has no heart for learning.

¹⁷A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

¹⁸It’s poor judgment to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for a friend.

¹⁹Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin; anyone who trusts in high walls invites disaster.

²⁰The crooked heart will not prosper; the lying tongue tumbles into trouble.

²¹It is painful to be the parent of a fool; there is no joy for the father of a rebel.

²²A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.

²³The wicked take secret bribes to pervert the course of justice.

²⁴Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

²⁵Foolish children bring grief to their father and bitterness to the one who gave them birth.

²⁶It is wrong to punish the godly for being good or to flog leaders for being honest.

²⁷A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.

²⁸Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

¹It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the LORD. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.

²The Temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

³The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet from the front of the Temple.

⁴Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.

⁵He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building.

⁶The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 1⁄2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 1⁄2 feet wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.

⁷The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.

⁸The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the Temple. There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight of stairs between the second and third floors.

⁹After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks.

¹⁰As already stated, he built a complex of rooms along the sides of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex was 7 1⁄2 feet high.

¹¹Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon:

¹²“Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David.

¹³I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”

¹⁴So Solomon finished building the Temple.

¹⁵The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors.

¹⁶He partitioned off an inner sanctuary — the Most Holy Place — at the far end of the Temple. It was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

¹⁷The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet long.

¹⁸Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.

¹⁹He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant would be placed.

²⁰This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar.

²¹Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place.

²²So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.

²³He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary.

²⁴The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 1⁄2 feet long.

²⁵The two cherubim were identical in shape and size;

²⁶each was 15 feet tall.

²⁷He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room.

²⁸He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

²⁹He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

³⁰He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

³¹For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.

³²These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.

³³Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple.

³⁴There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself.

³⁵These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers — all overlaid evenly with gold.

³⁶The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.

³⁷The foundation of the LORD’s Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.

³⁸The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul, during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.

¹This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in southern Egypt as well:

²“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins.

³They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods — gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.

⁴“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’

⁵But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.

⁶And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.

⁷“And now the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive — not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms.

⁸Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth.

⁹Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem?

¹⁰To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.

¹¹“Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you!

¹²I will take this remnant of Judah — those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt — and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery.

¹³I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease.

¹⁴Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.”

¹⁵Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols — a great crowd of all the Judeans living in northern Egypt and southern Egypt — answered Jeremiah,

¹⁶“We will not listen to your messages from the LORD!

¹⁷We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like — just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles!

¹⁸But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her with liquid offerings, we have been in great trouble and have been dying from war and famine.”

¹⁹“Besides,” the women added, “do you suppose that we were burning incense and pouring out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!”

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer,

²¹“Do you think the LORD did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

²²It was because the LORD could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing — a desolate ruin without inhabitants — as it is today.

²³All these terrible things happened to you because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the LORD. You have refused to obey him and have not followed his instructions, his decrees, and his laws.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the LORD, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt.

²⁵This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’

²⁶“But listen to this message from the LORD, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: “As surely as the Sovereign LORD lives.”

²⁷For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.

²⁸Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true — mine or theirs!

²⁹“‘And this is the proof I give you,’ says the LORD, ‘that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here.’

³⁰This is what the LORD says: ‘I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’”

¹Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:

²“I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,

³for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!

⁴“As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.

⁵If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.

⁶Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors.

⁷In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!

⁸Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?

⁹“I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.

¹⁰Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.

¹¹Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

¹²“One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.

¹³About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.

¹⁴We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will. ’

¹⁵“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.

¹⁶Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.

¹⁷And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles

¹⁸to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

¹⁹“And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.

²⁰I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God — and prove they have changed by the good things they do.

²¹Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me.

²²But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen —

²³that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

²⁴Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”

²⁵But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth.

²⁶And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!

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

²⁸Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”

²⁹Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left.

³¹As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”

³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”