Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;

²and they bound Him and led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

³Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You shall see to it yourself!”

⁵And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and left; and he went away and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.”

⁷And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

⁸For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

⁹Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel;

¹⁰AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, JUST AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.”

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

¹²And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not offer any answer.

¹³Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?”

¹⁴And still He did not answer him in regard to even a single charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted.

¹⁶And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

¹⁷So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

¹⁸For he knew that it was because of envy that they had handed Him over.

¹⁹And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death.

²¹And the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

²²Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all *said, “Crucify Him!”

²³But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

²⁴Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; you yourselves shall see.”

²⁵And all the people replied, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”

²⁶Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort to Him.

²⁸And they stripped Him and put a red cloak on Him.

²⁹And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

³⁰And they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head.

³¹And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

³²As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they compelled to carry His cross.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

³⁴they gave Him wine mixed with bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.

³⁵And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among themselves by casting lots.

³⁶And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there.

³⁷And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸At that time two rebels *were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.

³⁹And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads,

⁴⁰and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying,

⁴²“He saved others; He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.

⁴³HE HAS TRUSTED IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE TAKES PLEASURE IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

⁴⁴And the rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.

⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

⁴⁷And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

⁴⁸And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

⁴⁹But the rest of them said, “Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit.

⁵¹And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

⁵²Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

⁵³and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴Now as for the centurion and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while caring for Him.

⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

⁵⁸This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.

⁶¹And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²Now on the next day, that is, the day which is after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate,

⁶³and they said, “Sir, we remember that when that deceiver was still alive, He said, ‘After three days I am rising.’

⁶⁴Therefore, give orders for the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”

⁶⁶And they went and made the tomb secure with the guard, sealing the stone.

¹‘You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves a carved image or a memorial stone, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God.

²You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the LORD.

³If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out,

⁴then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

⁵Indeed, your threshing season will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. So you will eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.

⁶I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down, with no one to make you afraid. I shall also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.

⁷Instead, you will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword;

⁸five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; and your enemies will fall before you by the sword.

⁹So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.

¹⁰And you will eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the new.

¹¹Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you.

¹²I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

¹³I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke your yoke and made you walk erect.

¹⁴‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments,

¹⁵if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul loathes My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, but rather to break My covenant,

¹⁶I, in turn, will do this to you: I will summon a sudden terror against you, consumption and fever that will make the eyes fail and the soul languish; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it.

¹⁷And I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

¹⁸If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

¹⁹I will also break down your pride of power; and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.

²⁰Your strength will be consumed uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

²¹‘Yet if you show hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins.

²²I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that your roads become deserted.

²³‘And if by these things you do not learn your lesson regarding Me, but you show hostility toward Me,

²⁴then I in turn will show hostility toward you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.

²⁵I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send a plague among you, so that you will be handed over to the enemy.

²⁶When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me,

²⁸then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I for My part will punish you seven times for your sins.

²⁹Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters.

³⁰I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and pile your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul will loathe you.

³¹I will turn your cities into ruins as well and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.

³²And I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled at it.

³³You, however, I will scatter among the nations, and I will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become ruins.

³⁴‘Then the land will restore its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and restore its Sabbaths.

³⁵All the days of its desolation it will have the rest which it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.

³⁶As for those among you who are left, I will also bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a scattered leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall.

³⁷They will then stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand before your enemies.

³⁸Instead, you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you.

³⁹So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

⁴⁰‘But if they confess their wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me—

⁴¹I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart is humbled so that they then make amends for their wrongdoing,

⁴²then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.

⁴³For the land will be abandoned by them, and will restore its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their wrongdoing, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul loathed My statutes.

⁴⁴Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so loathe them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.

⁴⁵But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that I might be their God. I am the LORD.’ ”

⁴⁶These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the LORD established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai.

¹And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—

²for He says, “AT A FAVORABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON A DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “A FAVORABLE TIME,” behold, now is “A DAY OF SALVATION”—

³giving no reason for taking offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,

⁴but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties,

⁵in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,

⁶in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,

⁷in the word of truth, and in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,

⁸by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true;

⁹as unknown and yet well known, as dying and yet behold, we are alive; as punished and yet not put to death,

¹⁰as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

¹¹Our mouth has spoken freely to you, you Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.

¹²You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.

¹³Now in the same way in exchange—I am speaking as to children—open wide your hearts to us, you as well.

¹⁴Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?

¹⁵Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever?

¹⁶Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

¹⁷Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

¹⁸And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.

¹When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

³Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

⁴And the smoke of the incense ascended from the angel’s hand with the prayers of the saints before God.

⁵Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

⁶And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

⁷The first sounded, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood,

⁹and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.

¹¹The star is named Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹²The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

¹³Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

¹Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

²before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain;

³on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

⁴and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.

⁵Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while the mourners move around in the street.

⁶Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

⁷then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

⁸“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “all is futility!”

⁹In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, and masters of these collections are like driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

¹²But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive study is wearying to the body.

¹³The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

¹⁴For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

¹I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my pleas.

²Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

³The snares of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.

⁴Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “Please, LORD, save my life!”

⁵Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.

⁶The LORD watches over the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.

⁷Return to your rest, my soul, For the LORD has dealt generously with you.

⁸For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from stumbling.

⁹I shall walk before the LORD In the land of the living.

¹⁰I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”

¹¹I said in my alarm, “All people are liars.”

¹²What shall I repay to the LORD For all His benefits to me?

¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the LORD.

¹⁴I will pay my vows to the LORD; May it be in the presence of all His people!

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

¹⁶O LORD, I surely am Your slave, I am Your slave, the son of Your female slave, You have unfastened my restraints.

¹⁷I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the LORD.

¹⁸I will pay my vows to the LORD, May it be in the presence of all His people,

¹⁹In the courtyards of the LORD’S house, In the midst of you, Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!

¹When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you,

²And put a knife to your throat If you are a person of great appetite.

³Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food.

⁴Do not weary yourself to gain wealth; Stop dwelling on it.

⁵When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

⁶Do not eat the bread of a selfish person; Or desire his delicacies;

⁷For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten And waste your compliments.

⁹Do not speak to be heard by a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.

¹²Apply your heart to discipline, And your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child; Though you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

¹⁴You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart also will be glad,

¹⁶And my innermost being will rejoice When your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.

¹⁸Certainly there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way.

²⁰Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

²¹For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

²²Listen to your father, who fathered you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

²⁵Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

²⁶Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well.

²⁸Certainly she lurks as a robber, And increases the treacherous among mankind.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has red eyes?

³⁰Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.

³¹Do not look at wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;

³²In the end it bites like a snake And stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things And your mind will say perverse things.

³⁴And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.

³⁵“They struck me, but I did not become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it. When will I awake? I will seek another drink.”

¹Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

²Now when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about this, he was living in Egypt (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon).

³Then they sent word and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

⁴“Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵Then he said to them, “Depart for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.

⁶And King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”

⁷Then they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their request, and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.”

⁸But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and served him.

⁹He said to them, “What advice do you give, so that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

¹⁰And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is what you should say to this people who spoke to you, saying: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ You should speak this way to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!

¹¹Now then, my father loaded you with a heavy yoke; yet I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!’ ”

¹²Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”

¹³And the king answered the people harshly, for he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him,

¹⁴and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!”

¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people; because it was a turn of events from the LORD, in order to establish His word which the LORD spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people replied to the king, saying, “What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; To your tents, Israel! Now look after your own house, David!” So Israel went away to their tents.

¹⁷But as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

¹⁸Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

¹⁹So Israel has broken with the house of David to this day.

²⁰And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the house of David.

²¹Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

²²But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

²³“Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying,

²⁴‘This is what the LORD says: “You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return, every man to his house, for this thing has come from Me.” ’ ” So they listened to the word of the LORD, and returned to go their way in accordance with the word of the LORD.

²⁵Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.

²⁶And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

²⁷If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

²⁸So the king consulted, and he made two golden calves; and he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

²⁹And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

³⁰Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.

³¹And he made houses on high places, and appointed priests from all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.

³²Jeroboam also instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

³³Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, the month that he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.

¹The word which the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:

²“Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and lift up a flag, Do not conceal it. Say, ‘Babylon has been captured, Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered; Her idols have been put to shame, her images have been shattered.’

³For a nation has come up against her from the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Whether people or animals, they have wandered off, they have gone!

⁴“In those days and at that time,” declares the LORD, “the sons of Israel will come, they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God whom they will seek.

⁵They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come so that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

⁶“My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their resting place.

⁷All who found them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, Since they have sinned against the LORD who is the habitation of righteousness, The LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

⁸“Wander away from the midst of Babylon And go out from the land of the Chaldeans; Be like male goats at the head of the flock.

⁹For behold, I am going to rouse and bring up against Babylon A contingent of great nations from the land of the north, And they will draw up their battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like an expert warrior Who does not return empty-handed.

¹⁰Chaldea will become plunder; All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the LORD.

¹¹“Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, You who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,

¹²Your mother will be greatly ashamed, She who gave you birth will be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, A wilderness, a dry land and a desert.

¹³Because of the wrath of the LORD she will not be inhabited, But she will be completely desolate; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified And will hiss because of all her wounds.

¹⁴Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side, All of you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, do not spare your arrows, For she has sinned against the LORD.

¹⁵Raise your battle cry against her on every side! She has given herself up, her towers have fallen, Her walls have been torn down. For this is the vengeance of the LORD: Take vengeance on her; As she has done to others, so do to her.

¹⁶Eliminate the sower from Babylon And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest; From the sword of the oppressor Each of them will turn back to his own people And each of them will flee to his own land.

¹⁷“Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has gnawed his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

¹⁸Therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.

¹⁹And I will bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰In those days and at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘search will be made for the wrongdoing of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will forgive those whom I leave as a remnant.’

²¹“Against the land of Merathaim, go up against it, And against the inhabitants of Pekod. Kill and completely destroy them,” declares the LORD, “And do according to everything that I have commanded you.

²²The noise of battle is in the land, And great destruction.

²³How the hammer of the whole earth Has been cut off and broken! How Babylon has become An object of horror among the nations!

²⁴I set a trap for you and you were also caught, Babylon, While you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in conflict with the LORD.”

²⁵The LORD has opened His armory And has brought out the weapons of His indignation, For it is a work of the Lord GOD of armies In the land of the Chaldeans.

²⁶Come to her from the farthest border; Open up her barns, Pile her up like heaps of grain And completely destroy her, Let nothing be left to her.

²⁷Put all her bulls to the sword; Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe be upon them, for their day has come, The time of their punishment.

²⁸There is a sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, Vengeance for His temple.

²⁹“Summon many against Babylon, All those who bend the bow: Encamp against her on every side, Let there be no escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all that she has done, so do to her; For she has become arrogant against the LORD, Against the Holy One of Israel.

³⁰Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, And all her men of war will perish on that day,” declares the LORD.

³¹“Behold, I am against you, arrogant one,” Declares the Lord GOD of armies, “For your day has come, The time when I will punish you.

³²The arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will set fire to his cities, And it will devour all his surroundings.”

³³This is what the LORD of armies says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And all who took them captive have held them firmly, They have refused to let them go.

³⁴Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of armies is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to their land, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

³⁵A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the LORD, “And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her leaders and her wise men!

³⁶A sword against the oracle priests, and they will become fools! A sword against her warriors, and they will be shattered!

³⁷A sword against their horses, against their chariots, And against all the foreigners who are in the midst of her, And they will become women! A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!

³⁸A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of idols, And they go insane at frightful images.

³⁹“Therefore the desert creatures will live there with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it. It will never again be inhabited Nor lived in from generation to generation.

⁴⁰As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the LORD, “No one will live there, Nor will anyone of mankind reside in it.

⁴¹“Behold, a people is coming from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be roused from the remote parts of the earth.

⁴²They seize their bow and javelin; They are cruel and have no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, Drawn up like a man for the battle Against you, daughter of Babylon.

⁴³The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; Distress has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth.

⁴⁴“Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase them away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is chosen. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”

⁴⁵Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has in mind against the land of the Chaldeans: they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them.

⁴⁶At the shout, “Babylon has been conquered!” the earth quakes, and an outcry is heard among the nations.

¹As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,

⁹if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another,

¹⁶saying, “What are we to do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person in this name.”

¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment;

²⁰for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;

²²for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

²³When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM,

²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY WERE THE NATIONS INSOLENT, AND THE PEOPLES PLOTTING IN VAIN?

²⁶THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’

²⁷For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur.

²⁹And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

³³And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷owned a tract of land. So he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.