Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

²just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;

³THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’ ”

⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁵And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁶John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he was preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals.

⁸I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him;

¹¹and a voice came from the heavens: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

¹²And immediately the Spirit *brought Him out into the wilderness.

¹³And He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving Him.

¹⁴Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of Godis at hand; repent andbelieve in the gospel.”

¹⁶As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.”

¹⁸Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were also in the boat mending the nets.

²⁰Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away to follow Him.

²¹They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach.

²²And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

²⁴saying, “What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!”

²⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

²⁶After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him.

²⁷And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

²⁸Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

²⁹And immediately after they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to Jesus about her.

³¹And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

³²Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.

³³And the whole city had gathered at the door.

³⁴And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

³⁵And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time.

³⁶Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him;

³⁷and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

³⁸He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may alsopreach there; for this is why I came.”

³⁹And He went into their synagogues preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

⁴⁰And a man with leprosy *came to Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

⁴²And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

⁴³And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

⁴⁴and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

²“Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head

³from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall count them by their armies.

⁴With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, each one head of his father’s household.

⁵These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;

⁶of the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;

⁷of the tribe of Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;

⁸of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;

⁹of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;

¹⁰of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;

¹¹of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni;

¹²of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;

¹³of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran;

¹⁴of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel;

¹⁵of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.

¹⁶These are the men who were called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the heads of divisions of Israel.”

¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,

¹⁸and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month. Then they registered by ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head,

¹⁹just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²¹their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

²²Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²³their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

²⁴Of the sons of Gad, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²⁵their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

²⁶Of the sons of Judah, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²⁷their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

²⁸Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²⁹their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

³⁰Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³¹their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

³²Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³³their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

³⁴Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³⁵their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

³⁶Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³⁷their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

³⁸Of the sons of Dan, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³⁹their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

⁴⁰Of the sons of Asher, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

⁴¹their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

⁴²Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

⁴³their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

⁴⁴These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron counted, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household.

⁴⁵So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war in Israel,

⁴⁶all the numbered men were 603,550.

⁴⁷The Levites, however, were not counted among them by their fathers’ tribe.

⁴⁸For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying,

⁴⁹“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel.

⁵⁰And you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle.

⁵¹So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman who comes near it shall be put to death.

⁵²So the sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own flag, according to their armies.

⁵³But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no divine wrath against the congregation of the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be responsible for service to the tabernacle of the testimony.”

⁵⁴And the sons of Israel did so; in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so they did.

¹Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,

²that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

³For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily,

⁴begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,

⁵and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

⁶So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

⁷But just as you excel in everything, in faith, speaking, knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you also excel in this gracious work.

⁸I am not saying this as a command, but as proving, through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love as well.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

¹⁰I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.

¹¹But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.

¹²For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

¹³For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality—

¹⁴at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality;

¹⁵as it is written: “THE ONE WHO had gathered much did not have too much, AND THE ONE WHO had gathered little did not have too little.”

¹⁶But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness in your behalf in the heart of Titus.

¹⁷For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.

¹⁸We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;

¹⁹and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness,

²⁰taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift;

²¹for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of other people.

²²We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.

²⁴Therefore, openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.

¹I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;

²and he had in his hand a little scroll, which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;

³and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.

⁴When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.”

⁵Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven,

⁶and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will no longer be a delay,

⁷but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.

⁸Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”

⁹And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he *said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”

¹⁰I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

¹¹And they *said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

¹“I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys.”

²“Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the young women.”

³“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁴He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love.

⁵Refresh me with raisin cakes, Sustain me with apples, Because I am lovesick.

⁶His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me.”

⁷“Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, That you will not disturb or awaken my love Until she pleases.”

⁸“Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, Leaping on the mountains, Jumping on the hills!

⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he is standing behind our wall, He is looking through the windows, He is peering through the lattice.

¹⁰“My beloved responded and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along.

¹¹For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone.

¹²The blossoms have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree has ripened its fruit, And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along!’ ”

¹⁴“My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the hiding place of the mountain pathway, Let me see how you look, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is pleasant, And you look delightful.”

¹⁵“Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom.”

¹⁶“My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His mercy is everlasting.

²Let Israel say, “His mercy is everlasting.”

³Oh let the house of Aaron say, “His mercy is everlasting.”

⁴Let those who fear the LORD say, “His mercy is everlasting.”

⁵From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and put me in an open space.

⁶The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?

⁷The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in people.

⁹It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in noblemen.

¹⁰All nations surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.

¹¹They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.

¹²They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished like a fire of thorn bushes; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.

¹³You pushed me violently so that I was falling, But the LORD helped me.

¹⁴The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.

¹⁵The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD performs valiantly.

¹⁶The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD performs valiantly.

¹⁷I will not die, but live, And tell of the works of the LORD.

¹⁸The LORD has disciplined me severely, But He has not turned me over to death.

¹⁹Open the gates of righteousness to me; I will enter through them, I will give thanks to the LORD.

²⁰This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous will enter through it.

²¹I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation.

²²A stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

²³This came about from the LORD; It is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴This is the day which the LORD has made; Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵Please, O LORD, do save us; Please, O LORD, do send prosperity!

²⁶Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

²⁷The LORD is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice to the horns of the altar with cords.

²⁸You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I exalt You.

²⁹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His mercy is everlasting.

¹These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

³As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.

⁴Take away the impurities from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith;

⁵Take away the wicked before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not boast in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the same place as great people;

⁷For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

⁸Do not go out hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor humiliates you?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor, And do not reveal the secret of another,

¹⁰Or one who hears it will put you to shame, And the evil report about you will not pass away.

¹¹Like apples of gold in settings of silver, Is a word spoken at the proper time.

¹²Like an earring of gold and a jewelry piece of fine gold, Is a wise person who offers rebukes to a listening ear.

¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain Is a person who boasts of his gifts falsely.

¹⁵Through patience a ruler may be persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks bone.

¹⁶Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, So that you do not have it in excess and vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house, Or he will become weary of you and hate you.

¹⁸Like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow Is a person who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

¹⁹Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a treacherous person in time of trouble.

²⁰Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is one who sings songs to a troubled heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

²²For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind brings rain, And a gossiping tongue brings an angry face.

²⁴It is better to live on a corner of the roof, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a distant land.

²⁶Like a trampled spring and a polluted well, So is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.

²⁸Like a city that is broken into and without walls So is a person who has no self-control over his spirit.

¹At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.

²And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now arise and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said regarding me that I would be king over this people.

³Take ten loaves with you, some pastries, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and set out and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see because his eyes were glossy from his old age.

⁵Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you about her son, because he is sick. You shall say such and such to her, for it will be when she arrives, that she is going to make herself unrecognizable.”

⁶So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you make yourself unrecognizable? Nevertheless, I am sent to you with a harsh message.

⁷Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel,

⁸and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight;

⁹you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and you have gone and made for yourself other gods and cast metal images to provoke Me to anger, and have thrown Me behind your back—

¹⁰therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and I will eliminate from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.

¹¹Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. And anyone who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat; for the LORD has spoken it.” ’

¹²Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die.

¹³Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

¹⁴Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will eliminate the house of Jeroboam this day and from now on.

¹⁵“For the LORD will strike Israel, just as a reed sways in the water; and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger.

¹⁶He will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he misled Israel into sin.”

¹⁷Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah. As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died.

¹⁸Then all Israel buried him and mourned for him, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹Now as for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

²⁰And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he lay down with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

²¹Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

²²And the people of Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.

²³For they, too, built for themselves high places, memorial stones, and Asherim on every high hill and under every luxuriant tree.

²⁴There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed all the same abominations of the nations which the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

²⁵Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt marched against Jerusalem.

²⁶And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he took everything; he even took all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

²⁷So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.

²⁸And it happened as often as the king entered the house of the LORD, that the guards would carry them and would bring them back into the guards’ room.

²⁹Now as for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

³⁰And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

³¹And Rehoboam lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And his son Abijam became king in his place.

¹Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

²He did evil in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done.

³For because of the anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.

⁴Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a bulwark all around it.

⁵So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

⁷Then the city was breached, and all the warriors fled and left the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah.

⁸But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the desert plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

⁹Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

¹⁰And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah.

¹¹Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

¹²Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

¹³And he burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire.

¹⁴So the entire army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem.

¹⁵Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.

¹⁶But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

¹⁷Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the LORD and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans smashed to pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon.

¹⁸They also took the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service.

¹⁹The captain of the guard also took the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans, and the drink offering bowls, whatever was fine gold, and whatever was fine silver.

²⁰The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.

²¹As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow.

²²Also, a capital of bronze was on top of it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates.

²³There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the latticework all around.

²⁴Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple.

²⁵He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the warriors, seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land who were found inside the city.

²⁶Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

²⁷Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led into exile from its land.

²⁸These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews;

²⁹in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem;

³⁰in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 people in all.

³¹Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.

³²Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

³³So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life.

³⁴And as his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day, all the days of his life until the day of his death.

¹Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

²So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.

³Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

⁴But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

⁶And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

⁷The word of God kept spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.

¹⁰But they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

¹²And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council.

¹³They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking against this holy place and the Law;

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵And all who were sitting in the Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.