Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples,

²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

⁴and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

⁵But they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

⁶Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,

⁷a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table.

⁸But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste?

⁹For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me.

¹¹For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

¹²By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial.

¹³Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver.

¹⁶And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’”

¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

²⁰When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve;

²¹and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

²²And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”

²³He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.

²⁴The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

²⁵Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

²⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;

²⁸for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

²⁹I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³²But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

³³Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.”

³⁴Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”

³⁵Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples.

³⁶Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

³⁷He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.

³⁸Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.”

³⁹And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”

⁴⁰Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?

⁴¹Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

⁴³Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

⁴⁴So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.

⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴⁶Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.”

⁴⁹At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

⁵¹Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

⁵³Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

⁵⁴But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?”

⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me.

⁵⁶But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered.

⁵⁸But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death,

⁶⁰but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward

⁶¹and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”

⁶²The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?”

⁶³But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy.

⁶⁶What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.”

⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him,

⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”

⁷⁰But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

⁷¹When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷²Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.”

⁷⁴Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed.

⁷⁵Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying:

²Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD.

³Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield;

⁴but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.

⁵You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.

⁶You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath — you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you;

⁷for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.

⁸You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years.

⁹Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month — on the day of atonement — you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land.

¹⁰And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.

¹¹That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.

¹²For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces.

¹³In this year of jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your property.

¹⁴When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another.

¹⁵When you buy from your neighbor, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop years.

¹⁶If the years are more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold to you.

¹⁷You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

¹⁸You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely.

¹⁹The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely.

²⁰Should you ask, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?”

²¹I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a crop for three years.

²²When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the old crop; until the ninth year, when its produce comes in, you shall eat the old.

²³The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.

²⁴Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.

²⁵If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.

²⁶If the person has no one to redeem it, but then prospers and finds sufficient means to do so,

²⁷the years since its sale shall be computed and the difference shall be refunded to the person to whom it was sold, and the property shall be returned.

²⁸But if there are not sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned.

²⁹If anyone sells a dwelling house in a walled city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the right of redemption shall be one year.

³⁰If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed, a house that is in a walled city shall pass in perpetuity to the purchaser, throughout the generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.

³¹But houses in villages that have no walls around them shall be classed as open country; they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.

³²As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites shall forever have the right of redemption of the houses in the cities belonging to them.

³³Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites — houses sold in a city belonging to them — shall be released in the jubilee; because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel.

³⁴But the open land around their cities may not be sold; for that is their possession for all time.

³⁵If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.

³⁶Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.

³⁷You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit.

³⁸I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.

³⁹If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves.

⁴⁰They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.

⁴¹Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property.

⁴²For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold.

⁴³You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God.

⁴⁴As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves.

⁴⁵You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property.

⁴⁶You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.

⁴⁷If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family,

⁴⁸after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them,

⁴⁹or their uncle or their uncle’s son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves.

⁵⁰They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired laborer.

⁵¹If many years remain, they shall pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase price;

⁵²and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus: according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption.

⁵³As a laborer hired by the year they shall be under the alien’s authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight.

⁵⁴And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year.

⁵⁵For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

¹For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling —

³if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked.

⁴For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord —

⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight.

⁸Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

¹⁰For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

¹¹Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.

¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.

¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.

¹⁵And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

¹⁶From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.

¹⁷So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;

¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.

²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

²I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea,

³saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.”

⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:

⁵From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

⁶from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,

⁷from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,

⁸from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed.

⁹After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.

¹⁰They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

¹¹And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

¹²singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?”

¹⁴I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

¹⁶They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;

¹⁷for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

¹Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.

²Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.

³When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

⁴Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

⁸Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all; yet let them remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.

⁹Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

¹Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

²Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

³Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.

⁴Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

⁵They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

⁶They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

⁷They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats.

⁸Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them.

⁹O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.

¹⁰O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.

¹¹You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.

¹²The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;

¹³he will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great.

¹⁴May the LORD give you increase, both you and your children.

¹⁵May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings.

¹⁷The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence.

¹⁸But we will bless the LORD from this time on and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

¹A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all.

³The clever see danger and hide; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

⁴The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; the cautious will keep far from them.

⁶Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.

⁷The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

⁸Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.

⁹Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out; quarreling and abuse will cease.

¹¹Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech will have the king as a friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry falls into it.

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy, but the rod of discipline drives it far away.

¹⁶Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.

¹⁷The words of the wise: Incline your ear and hear my words, and apply your mind to my teaching;

¹⁸for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have made them known to you today — yes, to you.

²⁰Have I not written for you thirty sayings of admonition and knowledge,

²¹to show you what is right and true, so that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

²²Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate;

²³for the LORD pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

²⁴Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads,

²⁵or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

²⁶Do not be one of those who give pledges, who become surety for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?

²⁸Do not remove the ancient landmark that your ancestors set up.

²⁹Do you see those who are skillful in their work? They will serve kings; they will not serve common people.

¹King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,

²from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the Israelites, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you; for they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods”; Solomon clung to these in love.

³Among his wives were seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

⁴For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.

⁵For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

⁶So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not completely follow the LORD, as his father David had done.

⁷Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

⁸He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹Then the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

¹⁰and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD commanded.

¹¹Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.

¹²Yet for the sake of your father David I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

¹³I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

¹⁴Then the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal house in Edom.

¹⁵For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the dead, he killed every male in Edom

¹⁶(for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom);

¹⁷but Hadad fled to Egypt with some Edomites who were servants of his father. He was a young boy at that time.

¹⁸They set out from Midian and came to Paran; they took people with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land.

¹⁹Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him his sister-in-law for a wife, the sister of Queen Tahpenes.

²⁰The sister of Tahpenes gave birth by him to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the children of Pharaoh.

²¹When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”

²²But Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack with me that you now seek to go to your own country?” And he said, “No, do let me go.”

²³God raised up another adversary against Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah.

²⁴He gathered followers around him and became leader of a marauding band, after the slaughter by David; they went to Damascus, settled there, and made him king in Damascus.

²⁵He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, making trouble as Hadad did; he despised Israel and reigned over Aram.

²⁶Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, rebelled against the king.

²⁷The following was the reason he rebelled against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.

²⁸The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.

²⁹About that time, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open country

³⁰when Ahijah laid hold of the new garment he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.

³¹He then said to Jeroboam: Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes.

³²One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

³³This is because he has forsaken me, worshiped Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as his father David did.

³⁴Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom away from him but will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David whom I chose and who did keep my commandments and my statutes;

³⁵but I will take the kingdom away from his son and give it to you — that is, the ten tribes.

³⁶Yet to his son I will give one tribe, so that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.

³⁷I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires; you shall be king over Israel.

³⁸If you will listen to all that I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you, and will build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

³⁹For this reason I will punish the descendants of David, but not forever.”

⁴⁰Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam promptly fled to Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, and remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

⁴¹Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did as well as his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?

⁴²The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

⁴³Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.

¹Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its towns?

²Therefore, the time is surely coming, says the LORD, when I will sound the battle alarm against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, says the LORD.

³Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth, lament, and slash yourselves with whips! For Milcom shall go into exile, with his priests and his attendants.

⁴Why do you boast in your strength? Your strength is ebbing, O faithless daughter. You trusted in your treasures, saying, “Who will attack me?”

⁵I am going to bring terror upon you, says the Lord GOD of hosts, from all your neighbors, and you will be scattered, each headlong, with no one to gather the fugitives.

⁶But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the LORD.

⁷Concerning Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?

⁸Flee, turn back, get down low, inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I punish him.

⁹If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, even they would pillage only what they wanted.

¹⁰But as for me, I have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His offspring are destroyed, his kinsfolk and his neighbors; and he is no more.

¹¹Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me.

¹²For thus says the LORD: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup still have to drink it, shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you must drink it.

¹³For by myself I have sworn, says the LORD, that Bozrah shall become an object of horror and ridicule, a waste, and an object of cursing; and all her towns shall be perpetual wastes.

¹⁴I have heard tidings from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!”

¹⁵For I will make you least among the nations, despised by humankind.

¹⁶The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Although you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down, — says the LORD.

¹⁷Edom shall become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.

¹⁸As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the LORD, no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.

¹⁹Like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom away from it; and I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who can summon me? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?

²⁰Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.

²¹At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.

²²Look, he shall mount up and swoop down like an eagle, and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom in that day shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.

²³Concerning Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard bad news; they melt in fear, they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.

²⁴Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor.

²⁵How the famous city is forsaken, the joyful town!

²⁶Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day, — says the LORD of hosts.

²⁷And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

²⁸Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated. Thus says the LORD: Rise up, advance against Kedar! Destroy the people of the east!

²⁹Take their tents and their flocks, their curtains and all their goods; carry off their camels for yourselves, and a cry shall go up: “Terror is all around!”

³⁰Flee, wander far away, hide in deep places, O inhabitants of Hazor! — says the LORD. For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has made a plan against you and formed a purpose against you.

³¹Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, that lives secure, — says the LORD, that has no gates or bars, that lives alone.

³²Their camels shall become booty, their herds of cattle a spoil. I will scatter to every wind those who have shaven temples, and I will bring calamity against them from every side, — says the LORD.

³³Hazor shall become a lair of jackals, an everlasting waste; no one shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.

³⁴The word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.

³⁵Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am going to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might;

³⁶and I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there shall be no nation to which the exiles from Elam shall not come.

³⁷I will terrify Elam before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, says the LORD. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them;

³⁸and I will set my throne in Elam, and destroy their king and officials, says the LORD.

³⁹But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the LORD.

¹One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon.

²And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple.

³When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms.

⁴Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”

⁵And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

⁶But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”

⁷And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

⁸Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹All the people saw him walking and praising God,

¹⁰and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

¹¹While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished.

¹²When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

¹³The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him.

¹⁴But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you,

¹⁵and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

¹⁶And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

¹⁷“And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

¹⁸In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.

¹⁹Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,

²⁰so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus,

²¹who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.

²²Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you.

²³And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out of the people.’

²⁴And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days.

²⁵You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

²⁶When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”