Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

²saying: "The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses' chair [of authority as teachers of the Law];

³so practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them.

⁴The scribes and Pharisees tie up heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter].

⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their tassels long.

⁶They love the place of distinction and honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation],

⁷and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi.

⁸But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers.

⁹Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

¹⁰Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ.

¹¹But the greatest among you will be your servant.

¹²Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.

¹³"But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.

¹⁴[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows' houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]

¹⁵"Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

¹⁶"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].'

¹⁷You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?

¹⁸And [you scribes and Pharisees say], 'Whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, that is nothing (non-binding), but whoever swears [an oath] by the offering on it, he is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].'

¹⁹You [spiritually] blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

²⁰Therefore, whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, swears both by it and by everything [offered] on it.

²¹And whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells within it.

²²And whoever swears [an oath] by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³"Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

²⁴You [spiritually] blind guides, who strain out a gnat [consuming yourselves with miniscule matters] and swallow a camel [ignoring and violating God's precepts]!

²⁵"Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed).

²⁶You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God's precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.

²⁷"Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.

²⁸So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹"Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

³⁰and you say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'

³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers' sins.

³³You serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?

³⁴"Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city,

³⁵so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

³⁶I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.

³⁷" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

³⁸Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]!

³⁹For I say to you, you will not see Me again [ministering to you publicly] until you say, 'Blessed [to be celebrated with praise] is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy things (offerings, gifts) which the children of Israel dedicate to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name; I am the LORD.

³Say to them, 'Any one of your descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy things which the Israelites dedicate to the LORD, while he is [ceremonially] unclean, that person shall be cut off from My presence and excluded from the sanctuary; I am the LORD.

⁴No man of the descendants of Aaron who is a leper or has a discharge may eat the holy things [the offerings and the showbread] until he is clean. And whoever touches any person or thing made unclean by contact with a corpse or a man who has had a seminal emission,

⁵or whoever touches any crawling thing by which he is made unclean, or any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever it may be,

⁶the person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening and shall not eat the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water.

⁷When the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat the holy things, for it is his food.

⁸He shall not eat that which dies [of natural causes] or is torn by a predator, becoming unclean by it; I am the LORD.

⁹Therefore the priests shall observe My ordinance, so that they will not bear sin because of it and die if they profane it; I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

¹⁰'No layman [that is, someone outside of Aaron's family] is to eat the holy gift [which has been offered to God]; a foreigner residing with the priest or a hired man shall not eat the holy thing.

¹¹But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, the slave may eat the holy thing, and those who are born in the priest's house; they may eat his food.

¹²If a priest's daughter is married to a layman [one not part of the priestly tribe], she shall not eat the offering of the holy things.

¹³But if a priest's daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and returns to her father's house as in her youth, she shall eat her father's food; but no layman shall eat it.

¹⁴But if a person unknowingly eats a holy gift [which has been offered to God], then he shall add one-fifth of its value to it and give the holy gift to the priest.

¹⁵The priests shall not profane the holy things the Israelites offer to the LORD,

¹⁶and so cause them [by neglect of any essential observance] to bear the punishment of guilt when they eat their holy things; for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.'"

¹⁷Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁸"Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them, 'Any man of the house of Israel or any stranger in Israel who presents his offering, whether to fulfill any of their vows or as any of their freewill (voluntary) offerings which they presented to the LORD as a burnt offering—

¹⁹so that you may be accepted—it must be a male without blemish from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats.

²⁰You shall not offer anything which has a blemish, because it will not be accepted for you.

²¹Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD to fulfill a special vow to the LORD or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish in it.

²²Animals that are blind or fractured or mutilated, or have a sore or a running wound or an itch or scabs, you shall not offer to the LORD nor make an offering of them by fire on the altar to the LORD.

²³For a freewill offering you may offer either a bull or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member (deformity), but for [the payment of] a vow it will not be accepted.

²⁴You shall not offer to the LORD any animal which has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut off, or sacrifice it in your land.

²⁵Nor shall you offer as the food of your God any such [animals obtained] from a foreigner, because their corruption and blemish makes them unfit; there is a defect in them, they shall not be accepted for you.'"

²⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁷"When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain for seven days with its mother; and after the eighth day it shall be accepted as an offering by fire to the LORD.

²⁸And whether [the mother] is a cow or a sheep, you shall not kill both it and its young in one day.

²⁹When you sacrifice an offering of thanksgiving to the LORD, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

³⁰It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the next morning; I am the LORD.

³¹So you shall keep My commandments and do them; I am the LORD.

³²"You shall not profane My holy name [using it to honor an idol, or treating it with irreverence or contempt or as a byword]; but I will be sanctified (set apart as holy) among the Israelites. I am the LORD, who sanctifies and declares you holy,

³³who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD."

¹But I made up my mind not to grieve you with another painful visit.

²For if I cause you grief [by a well-deserved rebuke], who then provides me enjoyment but the very one whom I have made sad?

³And I wrote this same thing to you, so that when I came, I would not be filled with sorrow by those who ought to make me glad, for I trusted in you and felt confident that my joy would be shared by all of you.

⁴For I wrote to you out of great distress and with an anguished heart, and with many tears, not to cause you sorrow but to make you realize the [overflowing] love which I have especially for you.

⁵But if someone has caused [all this] sorrow, he has caused it not to me, but in some degree—not to put it too severely—[he has distressed and grieved] all of you.

⁶For such a one this punishment by the majority is sufficient,

⁷so instead [of further rebuke, now] you should rather [graciously] forgive and comfort and encourage him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

⁸Therefore I urge you to reinstate him in your affections and reaffirm your love for him.

⁹For this was my purpose in writing, to see if you would stand the test, whether you are obedient and committed to following my instruction in all things.

¹⁰If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive [that one]; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of [and with the approval of] Christ,

¹¹to keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹²Now when I arrived at Troas to preach the good news of Christ, even though a door [of opportunity] opened for me in the Lord,

¹³my spirit could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there; so saying goodbye to them, I left for Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

¹⁵For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

¹⁶to the latter one an aroma from death to death [a fatal, offensive odor], but to the other an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is adequate and sufficiently qualified for these things?

¹⁷For we are not like many, [acting like merchants] peddling God's word [shortchanging and adulterating God's message]; but from pure [uncompromised] motives, as [commissioned and sent] from God, we speak [His message] in Christ in the sight of God.

¹After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things."

²At once I was in [special communication with] the Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne.

³And He who sat there appeared like [the crystalline sparkle of] a jasper stone and [the fiery redness of] a sardius stone, and encircling the throne there was a rainbow that looked like [the color of an] emerald.

⁴Twenty-four [other] thrones surrounded the throne; and seated on these thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, with crowns of gold on their heads.

⁵From the throne came flashes of lightning and [rumbling] sounds and peals of thunder. Seven lamps of fire were burning in front of the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;

⁶and in front of the throne there was something like a sea or large expanse of glass, like [the clearest] crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them].

⁷The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf (ox), the third creature had the face of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

⁸And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God]."

⁹Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,

¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever; and they throw down their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹"Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were created and brought into being."

¹Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illumines his face, And causes his stern face to beam.

²I counsel you to keep the command of the king because of the oath before God [by which you swore loyalty to him].

³Do not be in a hurry to get out of his presence. Do not join in a malevolent matter, for the king will do whatever he pleases.

⁴For the word of a king is authoritative and powerful, And who will say to him, "What are you doing?"

⁵Whoever keeps and observes a royal command will experience neither trouble nor misery; For a wise heart will know the proper time and [appropriate] procedure.

⁶For there is a proper time and [appropriate] procedure for every delight, Though mankind's misery and trouble lies heavily upon him [who rebels against the king].

⁷For no one knows what will happen; So who can tell him how and when it will happen?

⁸There is no man who has power and authority over the wind to restrain the wind, Nor does he have authority over the day of death; There is no discharge [from service] during time of war, And evil will not rescue those who [actively seek to] practice it.

⁹All this I have seen while applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has exercised power over others to their detriment.

¹⁰So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out of the holy place [but did not thereby escape their doom], and they are [praised in spite of their evil and] soon forgotten in the city where they did such things. This too is futility (vanity, emptiness).

¹¹Because the sentence against an evil act is not executed quickly, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.

¹²Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life [seemingly] is prolonged [in spite of his wickedness], still I know that it will be well with those who [reverently] fear God, who fear and worship Him openly [realizing His omnipresence and His power].

¹³But it will not be well for the evil man, nor will he lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

¹⁴There is a meaningless and futile thing which is done on the earth: that is, there are righteous men whose gain is as though they were evil, and evil men whose gain is as though they were righteous. I say that this too is futility (meaningless, vain).

¹⁵Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the activities [of mankind] that take place upon the earth—how some men seem to sleep neither day nor night—

¹⁷and I saw all the work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though man may labor in seeking, he will not discover; and [more than that], though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, he will not be able to find it out.

¹Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!) Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who fears the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with obedience], Who delights greatly in His commandments.

²His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.

³Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.

⁴Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous (upright—in right standing with God).

⁵It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He conducts his affairs with justice.

⁶He will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever.

⁷He will not fear bad news; His heart is steadfast, trusting [confidently relying on and believing] in the LORD.

⁸His heart is upheld, he will not fear While he looks [with satisfaction] on his adversaries.

⁹He has given freely to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor.

¹⁰The wicked will see it and be angered, He will gnash his teeth and melt away [in despair and death]; The desire of the wicked will perish and come to nothing.

¹Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity Than a [rich] man who is twisted in his speech and is a [shortsighted] fool.

²Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who hurries with his feet [acting impulsively and proceeding without caution or analyzing the consequences] sins (misses the mark).

³The foolishness of man undermines his way [ruining whatever he undertakes]; Then his heart is resentful and rages against the LORD [for, being a fool, he blames the LORD instead of himself].

⁴Wealth makes many friends, But a poor man is separated from his friend.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who breathes out lies will not escape.

⁶Many will seek the favor of a generous and noble man, And everyone is a friend to him who gives gifts.

⁷All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

⁸He who gains wisdom and good sense loves (preserves) his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good and prosper.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who breathes lies will perish.

¹⁰Luxury is not fitting for a fool; Much less for a slave to rule over princes.

¹¹Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment].

¹²The king's wrath terrifies like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is as [refreshing and nourishing as] dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish (ungodly) son is destruction to his father, And the contentions of a [quarrelsome] wife are like a constant dripping [of water].

¹⁴House and wealth are the inheritance from fathers, But a wise, understanding, and sensible wife is [a gift and blessing] from the LORD.

¹⁵Laziness casts one into a deep sleep [unmindful of lost opportunity], And the idle person will suffer hunger.

¹⁶He who keeps and obeys the commandment [of the LORD] keeps (guards) his own life, But he who is careless of his ways and conduct will die.

¹⁷He who is gracious and lends a hand to the poor lends to the LORD, And the LORD will repay him for his good deed.

¹⁸Discipline and teach your son while there is hope, And do not [indulge your anger or resentment by imposing inappropriate punishment nor] desire his destruction.

¹⁹A man of great anger will bear the penalty [for his quick temper and lack of self-control]; For if you rescue him [and do not let him learn from the consequences of his action], you will only have to rescue him over and over again.

²⁰Listen to counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, That you may be wise in the time to come.

²¹Many plans are in a man's mind, But it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).

²²That which is desirable in a man is his loyalty and unfailing love, But it is better to be a poor man than a [wealthy] liar.

²³The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

²⁴The lazy man buries his hand in the [food] dish, But will not even bring it to his mouth again.

²⁵Strike a scoffer [for refusing to learn], and the naive may [be warned and] become prudent; Reprimand one who has understanding and a teachable spirit, and he will gain knowledge and insight.

²⁶He who assaults his father and chases away his mother Is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

²⁷Cease listening, my son, to instruction and discipline And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A wicked and worthless witness mocks justice, And the mouth of the wicked spreads iniquity.

²⁹Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of [thickheaded] fools.

¹Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.

²All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim (September-October), that is, the seventh month.

³All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark.

⁴They brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the holy utensils that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.

⁵King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, so many that they could not be counted or numbered.

⁶Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.

⁷For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its [carrying] poles from above.

⁸The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were visible from the Holy Place that was in front of the Holy of Holies, but they were not visible from the outside; they are there to this day (the date of this writing).

⁹There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb (Sinai), where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰Now it happened that when the priests had come out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Lord's house,

¹¹so the priests could not stand [in their positions] to minister because of the cloud, for the glory and brilliance of the LORD had filled the Lord's house (temple).

¹²Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness [of the cloud].

¹³"I have certainly built You a lofty house, A place for You to dwell in forever."

¹⁴Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

¹⁵He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hand, saying,

¹⁶'Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I did not choose a [particular] city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name (Presence) would be in it, but I chose David to be over My people Israel.'

¹⁷Now it was [determined] in the heart of my father David to build a house (temple) for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁸But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well, in that it was in your heart.

¹⁹Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son, who shall be born to you, it is he who shall build it for My Name [and My Presence].'

²⁰Now the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; I have risen in the place of my father David and have taken my seat on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and have built the house (temple) for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

²¹There I have made a place [in the Holy of Holies] for the ark, in which is the covenant (solemn agreement) of the LORD, which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt."

²²Then Solomon stood [in the courtyard] before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.

²³He said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, who keeps the covenant and shows lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart;

²⁴You who have kept what You promised to Your servant my father David. You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled Your word with Your hand, as it is this day.

²⁵Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep for Your servant my father David that which You promised him when You said, 'You shall not be without a man (descendant) to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way [of life] to walk before Me [according to my laws] as you have done.'

²⁶Now, O God of Israel, please let Your word which You have spoken to Your servant David my father be confirmed.

²⁷But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

²⁸Yet graciously consider the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the [loud] cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;

²⁹that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, 'My Name (Presence) shall be there,' that You may listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

³⁰Listen to the prayer of Your servant and of Your people Israel which they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven, Your dwelling place; hear and forgive.

³¹"If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath [of innocence] and he comes to take the oath before Your altar in this house (temple),

³²then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his guilt on his own head, and justifying the righteous by rewarding him in accordance with his righteousness.

³³"When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and then they turn to You again and praise Your Name and pray and ask for Your favor and compassion in this house (temple),

³⁴then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave their fathers.

³⁵"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

³⁶then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel; indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk (live). And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

³⁷"If there is famine in the land, or if there is pestilence (plague), blight, mildew, migratory locusts, or grasshoppers, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever affliction or plague, whatever sickness [there is],

³⁸whatever prayer or pleading is made by any individual, or by Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands out toward this house;

³⁹then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to each according to his ways, whose heart (mind) You know, for You and You alone know the hearts of all the children of men,

⁴⁰so that they may fear You [with reverence and awe] all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹"Moreover, concerning a foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, but comes from a far (distant) country for the sake of Your name [to plead with You]

⁴²(for they will hear of Your great name, Your strong hand [of power], and outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house (temple),

⁴³hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls upon (prays to) You, so that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You [with reverence and awe], as do Your people Israel, and that they may know [without any doubt] that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

⁴⁴"When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the house that I have built for Your Name and Presence,

⁴⁵then hear in heaven their prayer and their pleading, and maintain their right and defend their cause.

⁴⁶"When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy's land, [whether] far away or near;

⁴⁷if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and they repent and pray to You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned and done wrong and we have acted wickedly;'

⁴⁸if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and they pray to You toward their land [of Israel] which You gave to their fathers, the city [of Jerusalem] which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name and Presence;

⁴⁹then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their right and defend their cause,

⁵⁰and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions which they have committed against You, and make them objects of compassion before their captors, that they will be merciful to them

⁵¹(for they are Your people and Your heritage, whom You brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace [of slavery and oppression]),

⁵²that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them and be attentive to them whenever they call to You.

⁵³For You singled them out from all the peoples of the earth as Your heritage, just as You declared through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD."

⁵⁴When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the Lord's altar, where he had knelt down with his hands stretched toward heaven.

⁵⁵And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

⁵⁶"Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, in accordance with everything that He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke through Moses His servant.

⁵⁷May the LORD our God be with us as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us nor abandon us [to our enemies],

⁵⁸that He may guide our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways [following Him] and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His precepts which He commanded our fathers.

⁵⁹Let these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, so that He will maintain the cause and right of His servant and of His people Israel as each day requires,

⁶⁰so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else.

⁶¹Therefore, your hearts are to be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as [you are doing] today."

⁶²Then the king and all [the people of] Israel with him [repeatedly] offered sacrifice before the LORD.

⁶³Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house (temple) of the LORD.

⁶⁴On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house (temple) of the LORD; for he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to hold [all] the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵So at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath [on the northern border of Israel] to the Brook of Egypt [at Israel's southern border], before the LORD our God, for seven days and seven more days [beyond the prescribed period for the Feast of Booths], fourteen days in all.

⁶⁶On the eighth (fifteenth) day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and in good spirits because of all the goodness which the LORD had shown to David His servant and Israel His people.

¹The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the [Gentile] nations.

²Concerning Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated [decisively] in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

³"Line up the buckler (small shield) and [large] shield, And advance for battle!

⁴"Harness the horses, And mount, you riders! Take your stand with your helmets! Polish the spears, Put on the coats of mail!

⁵"Why have I seen it? They are terrified And have turned back, And their warriors are beaten down. They take flight in haste Without looking back; Terror is on every side!" Says the LORD.

⁶Do not let the swift man run, Nor the mighty man escape; In the north by the river Euphrates They have stumbled and fallen.

⁷Who is this that rises up like the Nile [River], Like the rivers [in the delta of Egypt] whose waters surge about?

⁸Egypt rises like the Nile, Even like the rivers whose waters surge about. And He has said, "I will rise, I will cover that land; I will certainly destroy the city and its inhabitants."

⁹Charge, you horses, And drive like madmen, you chariots! Let the warriors go forward: Ethiopia and Put (Libya) who handle the shield, And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.

¹⁰For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of hosts, A day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. And the sword will devour and be satiated And drink its fill of their blood; For the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice [like that of a great sin offering] In the north country by the river Euphrates.

¹¹Go up to Gilead and obtain [healing] balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt! In vain you use many medicines; For you there is no healing or remedy.

¹²The nations have heard of your disgrace and shame, And your cry [of distress] has filled the earth. For warrior has stumbled against warrior, And both of them have fallen together.

¹³The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴"Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol, And proclaim in Memphis and in Tahpanhes; Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready, For the sword has devoured those around you.'

¹⁵"Why have your strong ones been cut down? They do not stand because the LORD drove them away.

¹⁶"He will make many stumble and fall; Yes, they have fallen one on another. Then they said, 'Arise, and let us go back To our own people and to the land of our birth, Away from the sword of the oppressor.'

¹⁷"They cried there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is destroyed and is merely a loud noise; He has let the appointed time [of opportunity] pass by!'

¹⁸"As I live," says the King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts, "Surely like Tabor among the mountains Or like Carmel by the sea, So shall he [the great king of Babylon] come.

¹⁹"O you daughter who dwells in Egypt and you who dwell with her, Prepare yourselves [with all you will need] to go into exile, For Memphis will become desolate; It will even be burned down and without inhabitant.

²⁰"Egypt is a very pretty heifer, But a horsefly (Babylonia) is coming [against her] out of the north!

²¹"Also her mercenaries in her army Are like fattened calves, For they too have turned back and have fled together; They did not stand [their ground], Because the day of their disaster has come upon them, The time of their punishment.

²²"The sound [of Egypt fleeing from the enemy] is like [the rustling of] an escaping serpent, For her foes advance with a mighty army And come against her like woodcutters with axes.

²³"They have cut down her forest," says the LORD; "Certainly it will no longer be found, Because they (the invaders) are more numerous than locusts And cannot be counted.

²⁴"The Daughter of Egypt has been shamed, Given over to the power of the people of the north [the Chaldeans of Babylonia]."

²⁵The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says, "Behold, I am going to punish Amon [chief god of the sacred city] of Thebes [the capital of Upper Egypt], and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings—even Pharaoh and those who put their trust in him [as a shield against Babylon].

²⁶I will put them into the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants. Afterward Egypt will be inhabited as in the days of old," says the LORD.

²⁷"But as for you, do not fear, O My servant Jacob, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from [your captivity in] a distant land, And your descendants from the land of their exile; And Jacob will return and be quiet and secure, And no one will make him afraid.

²⁸"Do not fear, O Jacob My servant," says the LORD, "For I am with you. For I will make a full and complete end of all the nations To which I have driven you; Yet I will not make a full end of you. But I will discipline and correct you appropriately And by no means will I declare you guiltless or leave you unpunished."

¹After we were safe [on land], we found out that the island was called Malta.

²And the natives showed us extraordinary kindness and hospitality; for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, since it had begun to rain and was cold.

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper crawled out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

⁴When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [the avenging goddess] has not permitted him to live."

⁵Then Paul [simply] shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

⁶But they stood watching and expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god.

⁷In the vicinity of that place there were estates belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed and entertained us hospitably for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius was sick [in bed] with recurring attacks of fever and dysentery; and Paul went to him, and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹After this occurred, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed.

¹⁰They also gave us many honors [gifts and courtesies expressing respect]; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all the things we needed.

¹¹At the end of three months we set sail on a ship which had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers [Castor and Pollux] as its figurehead.

¹²We landed at Syracuse [on Sicily] and stayed there three days.

¹³From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium [on Italy's southern tip]; and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found some believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵And the brothers and sisters, having heard news about us, came from as far away as the Forum of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

¹⁶When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself [in rented quarters] with the soldier who was guarding him.

¹⁷Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Kinsmen, though I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our fathers, yet I was turned over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸After they had interrogated me, they were ready to release me because I was not guilty of any offense deserving death.

¹⁹But when the Jews objected [to my release], I was forced to appeal to Caesar (Emperor Nero), not because I had any charge to make against my nation.

²⁰For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel (the Messiah, the resurrection) that I am bound with this chain."

²¹They said to him, "We have not received [any] letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the [Jewish] brothers come here and reported or said anything bad about you.

²²But we would like to hear from you what your views are [that is, exactly what you believe]; for in regard to this sect (Christianity), we are fully aware that it is denounced everywhere."

²³When they had set a day for Paul, they came to his lodging in large numbers. And he carefully explained [Christianity] to them from morning until evening, solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and from the [writings of the] Prophets.

²⁴Some were persuaded by what he said, but others would not believe.

²⁵They disagreed among themselves and they began to leave after Paul had made one last statement: "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying,

²⁶'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand, You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

²⁷"For the heart (the understanding, the soul) of this people has become dull (calloused), And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have shut their eyes [to the truth]; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return [to Me], And I would heal them."'

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that [this message of] the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they indeed will listen!"

²⁹[And when he had said these things, the Jews left, arguing among themselves.]

³⁰And Paul lived there for two full years [at his own expense] in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him,

³¹preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness and boldness, unhindered and unrestrained.