Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to the [magnificent and massive] buildings of the temple.

²And He said to them, "Do you see all these things? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, not one stone here will be left on another, which will not be torn down."

³While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, "Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?"

⁴Jesus answered, "Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].

⁵For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, 'I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),' and they will mislead many.

⁶You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age].

⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

⁸But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].

⁹"Then they will hand you over to [endure] tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

¹⁰At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another.

¹¹Many false prophets will appear and mislead many.

¹²Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.

¹³But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.

¹⁴This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.

¹⁵"So when you see theabomination of desolation [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand),

¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains [for refuge].

¹⁷"Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house [because there will not be enough time].

¹⁸"Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

¹⁹And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

²⁰Pray that your flight [from persecution and suffering] will not be in winter, or on a Sabbath [when Jewish laws prohibit travel].

²¹For at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again].

²²And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God's chosen ones) those days will be shortened.

²³Then if anyone says to you [during the great tribulation], 'Look! Here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe it.

²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God's chosen ones).

²⁵Listen carefully, I have told you in advance.

²⁶So if they say to you, 'Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out there, or, 'Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],' do not believe it.

²⁷For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly].

²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will flock together.

²⁹"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

³⁰And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].

³¹And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God's chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³²"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near;

³³so you, too, when you see all these things [taking place], know for certain that He is near, right at the door.

³⁴I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

³⁵Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶"But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

³⁷For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah.

³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

³⁹and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment].

⁴⁰At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

⁴²"So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming.

⁴³But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

⁴⁴Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

⁴⁵"Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others [in the house] their food and supplies at the proper time?

⁴⁶Blessed is that [faithful] servant when his master returns and finds him doing so.

⁴⁷I assure you and most solemnly say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

⁴⁸But if that servant is evil and says in his heart, 'My master is taking his time [he will not return for a long while],'

⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards;

⁵⁰the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware,

⁵¹and will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].

¹The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The appointed times (established feasts) of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

³'For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation (calling together). You shall not do any work [on that day]; it is the Sabbath of the LORD wherever you may be.

⁴'These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times:

⁵The Lord's Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight.

⁶The Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD is on the fifteenth day of the same month; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

⁷On the first day you shall have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

⁸But you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD for seven days; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].'"

⁹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁰"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am giving you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.

¹¹He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that you may be accepted; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

¹²Now on the day when you wave the sheaf you shall offer a male lamb one year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD.

¹³Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a sweet and soothing aroma, with its drink offering [to be poured out], a fourth of a hin of wine.

¹⁴You shall not eat any bread or roasted grain or new growth, until this same day when you bring in the offering to your God; it is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

¹⁵'You shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf (tied bundle of grain) of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths (seven full weeks).

¹⁶You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD.

¹⁷You shall bring in from your places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD.

¹⁸And you shall offer with the bread seven unblemished lambs, one year old, and one young bull and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁹And you shall sacrifice one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs, one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.

²⁰The priest shall wave them before the LORD as a wave offering, together with the bread of the first fruits and the two lambs. They are to be holy to the LORD for the priest.

²¹On this same day you shall make a proclamation, you are to have a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

²²'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the edges of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.'"

²³Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴"Say to the children of Israel, 'On the first day of the seventh month (almost October), you shall observe a day of solemn sabbatical rest, a memorial day announced by the blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

²⁵You shall not do any laborious work [on that day], but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.'"

²⁶The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁷"Also the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble yourselves [by fasting] and present an offering by fire to the LORD.

²⁸You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God.

²⁹If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

³⁰If there is any person who does any work on this same day, I will destroy that person from among his people.

³¹You shall do no work at all [on that day]. It is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be.

³²It is to be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall humble yourselves. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath."

³³Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁴"Say to the children of Israel, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven days, is the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) to the LORD.

³⁵The first day is a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

³⁶For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD. It is a festive assembly; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].

³⁷'These are the appointed times (established feasts) of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day.

³⁸This is in addition to the [weekly] Sabbaths of the LORD, and in addition to your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.

³⁹'On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month (nearly October), when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a Sabbath rest on the first day and a Sabbath rest on the eighth day.

⁴⁰Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook [and make booths of them]; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.

⁴¹You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

⁴²You shall live in booths (temporary shelters) for seven days; all native-born in Israel shall live in booths,

⁴³so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'"

⁴⁴So Moses declared to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.

¹Are we starting to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some [false teachers], letters of recommendation to you or from you? [No!]

²You are our letter [of recommendation], written in our hearts, recognized and read by everyone.

³You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

⁴Such is the confidence and steadfast reliance and absolute trust that we have through Christ toward God.

⁵Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God.

⁶He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life.

⁷Now if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones [the covenant of the Law which led to death because of sin], came with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, [a brilliance] that was fading,

⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit [the new covenant which allows us to be Spirit-filled] fail to be even more glorious and splendid?

⁹For if the ministry that brings condemnation [the old covenant, the Law] has glory, how much more does glory overflow in the ministry that brings righteousness [the new covenant which declares believers free of guilt and sets them apart for God's special purpose]!

¹⁰Indeed, what had glory [the Law], in this case no longer has glory because of the glory that surpasses it [the gospel].

¹¹For if that [Law] which fades away came with glory, how much more must that [gospel] which remains and is permanent abide in glory and splendor!

¹²Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage,

¹³and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away.

¹⁴But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ.

¹⁵But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart;

¹⁶but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].

¹⁸And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

¹I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals.

²And I saw a strong angel announcing with a loud voice, "Who is worthy [having the authority and virtue] to open the scroll and to break its seals?"

³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in Hades, the realm of the dead] was able to open the scroll or look into it.

⁴And I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it.

⁵Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals."

⁶And there between the throne (with the four living creatures) and among the elders I saw a Lamb (Christ) standing, [bearing scars and wounds] as though it had been slain, with seven horns (complete power) and with seven eyes (complete knowledge), which are the seven Spirits of God who have been sent [on duty] into all the earth.

⁷And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

⁸And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb (Christ), each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of fragrant incense, which are the prayers of the saints (God's people).

⁹And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying, "Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

¹⁰"You have made them to be a kingdom [of royal subjects] and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth."

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and [the voice] of the living creatures and the elders; and they numbered myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (innumerable),

¹²saying in a loud voice, "Worthy and deserving is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."

¹³And I heard every created thing that is in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in Hades, the realm of the dead] or on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying [together], "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Christ), be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."

¹⁴And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped [Him who lives forever and ever].

¹For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

²It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath.

³This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.

⁴[There is no exemption,] but whoever is joined with all the living, has hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they no longer have a reward [here], for the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share [in this age] in anything that is done under the sun.

⁷Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works.

⁸Let your clothes always be white [with purity], and do not let the oil [of gladness] be lacking on your head.

⁹Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.

¹¹I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise nor riches to those of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of ability; but time and chance overtake them all.

¹²For man also does not know his time [of death]; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds caught in the snare, so the sons of men are ensnared in an evil time when a dark cloud suddenly falls on them.

¹³This [illustration of] wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and great it was to me:

¹⁴There was a little city with few men in it and a great king came against it and besieged it and built great battlements against it.

¹⁵But there was found in it a poor wise man, and by his wisdom he rescued the city. Yet no man [seriously] remembered that poor man.

¹⁶But I say that wisdom is better than strength, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded.

¹⁷The words of wise men heard in quietness are better than the shouting of one who rules among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

¹Praise the LORD! ( Hallelujah!) Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD.

²Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forever.

³From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].

⁴The LORD is high above all nations, And His glory above the heavens.

⁵Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,

⁶Who humbles Himself to regard The heavens and the earth?

⁷He raises the poor out of the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

⁸That He may seat them with princes, With the princes of His people.

⁹He makes the barren woman live in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

³It is an honor for a man to keep away from strife [by handling situations with thoughtful foresight], But any fool will [start a] quarrel [without regard for the consequences].

⁴The lazy man does not plow when the winter [planting] season arrives; So he begs at the [next] harvest and has nothing [to reap].

⁵A plan (motive, wise counsel) in the heart of a man is like water in a deep well, But a man of understanding draws it out.

⁶Many a man proclaims his own loyalty and goodness, But who can find a faithful and trustworthy man?

⁷The righteous man who walks in integrity and lives life in accord with his [godly] beliefs— How blessed [happy and spiritually secure] are his children after him [who have his example to follow].

⁸A [discerning] king who sits on the throne of judgment Sifts all evil [like chaff] with his eyes [and cannot be easily fooled].

⁹Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?"

¹⁰Differing weights [one for buying and another for selling] and differing measures, Both of them are detestable and offensive to the LORD.

¹¹Even a boy is known and distinguished by his acts, Whether his conduct is pure and right.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The [omnipotent] LORD has made both of them.

¹³Do not love [excessive] sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes [so that you can do your work] and you will be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴"It is [almost] worthless, it is [almost] worthless," says the buyer [as he negotiates the price]; But when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].

¹⁵There is gold, and an abundance of pearls, But the lips of knowledge are a vessel of preciousness [the most precious of all].

¹⁶[The judge tells the creditor], "Take the clothes of one who is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge [when he guarantees a loan] for foreigners."

¹⁷Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel [just as sin may be sweet at first, but later its consequences bring despair].

¹⁸Plans are established by counsel; So make war [only] with wise guidance.

¹⁹He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with a gossip [who talks freely or flatters].

²⁰Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp [of life] will be extinguished in time of darkness.

²¹An inheritance hastily gained [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning Will not be blessed in the end.

²²Do not say, "I will repay evil"; Wait [expectantly] for the LORD, and He will rescue and save you.

²³Differing weights are detestable and offensive to the LORD, And fraudulent scales are not good.

²⁴Man's steps are ordered and ordained by the LORD. How then can a man [fully] understand his way?

²⁵It is a trap for a man to [ speak a vow of consecration and] say rashly, "It is holy!" And [not until] afterward consider [whether he can fulfill it].

²⁶A wise king sifts out the wicked [from among the good] And drives the [threshing] wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain].

²⁷The spirit (conscience) of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being.

²⁸Loyalty and mercy, truth and faithfulness, protect the king, And he upholds his throne by lovingkindness.

²⁹The glory of young men is their [physical] strength, And the honor of aged men is their gray head [representing wisdom and experience].

³⁰Blows that wound cleanse away evil, And strokes reach to the innermost parts.

¹Now it happened when Solomon had finished building the house (temple) of the LORD and the king's house (palace), and all else which he was pleased to do,

²that the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, just as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

³The LORD told him, "I have heard your prayer and supplication which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My Name and My Presence there forever. My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually.

⁴As for you, if you walk (live your life) before Me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My precepts,

⁵then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised your father David, saying, 'You shall not be without a man (descendant) on the throne of Israel.'

⁶"But if you or your sons turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

⁷then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and I will cast out of My sight the house which I have consecrated for My Name and Presence. Then Israel will become a proverb (a saying) and a byword (object of ridicule) among all the peoples.

⁸This house (temple) will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be appalled and sneer and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this house?'

⁹And they [who know] will say, 'Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they have chosen other gods and have worshiped and served them; that is the reason the LORD has brought on them all this adversity.'"

¹⁰Now at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the temple of the LORD and the palace of the king

¹¹(Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress timber [from Lebanon] and gold as he desired), at that time King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee (northern Israel).

¹²So Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him.

¹³He said, "What are these cities [good for] which you have given me, my brother?" So they have been called the land of Cabul (like nothing, unproductive) to this day.

¹⁴And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

¹⁵Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the LORD, his own house, the Millo (fortification), the wall of Jerusalem, [and the fortress cities of] Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

¹⁶For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, burned it with fire and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.

¹⁷So Solomon rebuilt [and fortified] Gezer and Lower Beth-horon,

¹⁸Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,

¹⁹and all the storage cities [for surplus provisions] which Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen, and whatever it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.

²⁰As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the sons (descendants) of Israel,

²¹their children who were left after them in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to completely destroy, from them Solomon levied (conscripted) forced laborers, even to this day (the date of this writing).

²²But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war (soldiers), his servants, his officers, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

²³These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people doing the work.

²⁴As soon as Pharaoh's daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, then he built the Millo (fortification).

²⁵Three times a year [during the major annual festivals] Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built to the LORD, and he burned incense with them before the LORD. So he finished the house [of the LORD].

²⁶King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), in the land of Edom.

²⁷And Hiram [king of Tyre] sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon.

²⁸They came to Ophir and took four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

¹The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked and conquered [the Philistine city of] Gaza.

²Thus says the LORD: "Behold, waters are going to rise out of the north (Babylonia) And become an overflowing stream And overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who live in it. Then the people will cry out, And all the inhabitants of the land [of Philistia] will wail.

³"Because of the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of the war-horses [of the Babylonian king], The rattling of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not looked and turned back for their children, So weak are their hands [with terror]

⁴Because of the day that is coming To destroy all the Philistines And to cut off from Tyre and Sidon Every ally who remains. For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant [still surviving] of the coastland of Caphtor.

⁵"Baldness [as a sign of mourning] will come on Gaza; Ashkelon will be cut off and ruined. O remnant of their valley, How long will you gash yourselves [as a sign of mourning]?

⁶"O you sword of the LORD, How long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself into your sheath; Rest and be still.

⁷"How can His sword be quiet When the LORD has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the [whole Philistine] seashore There He has assigned it."

¹The first account I made, Theophilus, was [a continuous report] about all the things that Jesus began to do and to teach

²until the day when He ascended to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given instruction to the apostles (special messengers) whom He had chosen.

³To these [men] He also showed Himself alive after His suffering [in Gethsemane and on the cross], by [a series of] many infallible proofs and unquestionable demonstrations, appearing to them over a period of forty days and talking to them about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

⁴While being together and eating with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Of which," He said, "you have heard Me speak.

⁵For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized and empowered and united with the Holy Spirit, not long from now."

⁶So when they had come together, they asked Him repeatedly, "Lord, are You at this time reestablishing the kingdom and restoring it to Israel?"

⁷He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.

⁸But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth."

⁹And after He said these things, He was caught up as they looked on, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight.

¹⁰While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, two men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them,

¹¹who said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This [same] Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

¹²Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet (Olive Grove), which is near Jerusalem, [only] a Sabbath day's journey (less than one mile) away.

¹³When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to the upper room where they were staying [indefinitely]; that is, Peter, and John and [his brother] James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew (Nathanael) and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas (Thaddaeus) the son of James.

¹⁴All these with one mind and one purpose were continually devoting themselves to prayer, [waiting together] along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹⁵Now on one of these days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said,

¹⁶"Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the lips of David [king of Israel] about Judas [Iscariot], who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share [by divine allotment] in this ministry."

¹⁸(Now Judas Iscariot acquired a piece of land [indirectly] with the [money paid him as a] reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out.

¹⁹All the people in Jerusalem learned about this, so in their own dialect—Aramaic—they called the piece of land Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰"For in the book of Psalms it is written, 'Let his place of residence become desolate, And let there be no one to live in it'; and [again], 'Let another take his position as overseer.'

²¹So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus spent with us,

²²beginning with the baptism by John [at the outset of Jesus' ministry] until the day when He was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness with us [to testify] of His resurrection."

²³And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and Matthias.

²⁴They prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know all hearts [their thoughts, motives, desires], show us which one of these two You have chosen

²⁵to occupy this ministry and apostleship which Judas left to go to his own place [of evil]."

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.