Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

²And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

³And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

⁴And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

⁵And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

⁷“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?

¹⁰But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — he said to the paralytic —

¹¹“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

¹²And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

¹³He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.

¹⁴And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

¹⁶And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁸Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁹And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

²¹No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.

²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins — and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

²³One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.

²⁴And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

²⁵And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him:

²⁶how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

²⁷And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.

³Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab,

⁴his company as listed being 74,600.

⁵Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar,

⁶his company as listed being 54,400.

⁷Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon,

⁸his company as listed being 57,400.

⁹All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.

¹⁰“On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur,

¹¹his company as listed being 46,500.

¹²And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai,

¹³his company as listed being 59,300.

¹⁴Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel,

¹⁵his company as listed being 45,650.

¹⁶All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.

¹⁷“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

¹⁸“On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud,

¹⁹his company as listed being 40,500.

²⁰And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,

²¹his company as listed being 32,200.

²²Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni,

²³his company as listed being 35,400.

²⁴All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.

²⁵“On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai,

²⁶his company as listed being 62,700.

²⁷And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran,

²⁸his company as listed being 41,500.

²⁹Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan,

³⁰his company as listed being 53,400.

³¹All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”

³²These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers' houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550.

³³But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.

³⁴Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house.

¹Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,

²for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.

³But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.

⁴Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated — to say nothing of you — for being so confident.

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.

⁶The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

⁷Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

⁹As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

¹²For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

¹³By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,

¹⁴while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

¹Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,

²but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

³And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

⁵And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.

⁶They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.

⁷And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

⁸and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

⁹For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,

¹⁰and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

¹¹But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

¹²Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.

¹³And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

¹⁵Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

¹⁶And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

¹⁷saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

¹⁸The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

¹⁹Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

¹On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not.

²I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.

³The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”

⁴Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.

⁵I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.

⁶What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?

⁷Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men, some of the mighty men of Israel,

⁸all of them wearing swords and expert in war, each with his sword at his thigh, against terror by night.

⁹King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹Go out, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.

¹Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!

²Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,

³who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!

⁴You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.

⁵Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!

⁶Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

⁷I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.

⁸I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

¹⁰With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

¹¹I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

¹²Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!

¹³With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.

¹⁴In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.

¹⁵I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

¹⁶I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

¹⁷Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.

¹⁸Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

¹⁹I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!

²⁰My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.

²¹You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.

²²Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.

²³Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.

²⁴Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

²⁵My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!

²⁶When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes!

²⁷Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

²⁸My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!

²⁹Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!

³⁰I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.

³¹I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame!

³²I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!

³³Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.

³⁴Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.

³⁵Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.

³⁶Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!

³⁷Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

³⁸Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.

³⁹Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.

⁴⁰Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!

⁴¹Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise;

⁴²then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.

⁴³And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.

⁴⁴I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,

⁴⁵and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.

⁴⁶I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame,

⁴⁷for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.

⁴⁸I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

⁴⁹Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.

⁵⁰This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

⁵¹The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law.

⁵²When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.

⁵³Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.

⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.

⁵⁵I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law.

⁵⁶This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.

⁵⁷The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.

⁵⁸I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

⁵⁹When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies;

⁶⁰I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.

⁶¹Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law.

⁶²At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules.

⁶³I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.

⁶⁴The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!

⁶⁵You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word.

⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.

⁶⁷Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

⁶⁸You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.

⁶⁹The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;

⁷⁰their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.

⁷¹It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

⁷²The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

⁷³Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

⁷⁴Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.

⁷⁵I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

⁷⁶Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.

⁷⁷Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.

⁷⁸Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

⁷⁹Let those who fear you turn to me, that they may know your testimonies.

⁸⁰May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!

⁸¹My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.

⁸²My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?”

⁸³For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.

⁸⁴How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me?

⁸⁵The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law.

⁸⁶All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me!

⁸⁷They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.

⁸⁹Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

⁹⁰Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

⁹¹By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

⁹²If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

⁹³I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.

⁹⁴I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.

⁹⁵The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies.

⁹⁶I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

⁹⁷Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

⁹⁸Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.

⁹⁹I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

¹⁰⁰I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

¹⁰¹I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

¹⁰²I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.

¹⁰³How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁰⁴Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

¹⁰⁶I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

¹⁰⁷I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word!

¹⁰⁸Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your rules.

¹⁰⁹I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.

¹¹⁰The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.

¹¹¹Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹²I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.

¹¹³I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.

¹¹⁴You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

¹¹⁵Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.

¹¹⁶Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!

¹¹⁷Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!

¹¹⁸You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.

¹¹⁹All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.

¹²⁰My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.

¹²¹I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.

¹²²Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me.

¹²³My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

¹²⁴Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.

¹²⁵I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!

¹²⁶It is time for the LORD to act, for your law has been broken.

¹²⁷Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.

¹²⁸Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.

¹²⁹Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.

¹³⁰The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

¹³¹I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments.

¹³²Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.

¹³³Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

¹³⁴Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep your precepts.

¹³⁵Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

¹³⁶My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

¹³⁷Righteous are you, O LORD, and right are your rules.

¹³⁸You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness.

¹³⁹My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.

¹⁴⁰Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.

¹⁴¹I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.

¹⁴²Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.

¹⁴³Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.

¹⁴⁴Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.

¹⁴⁵With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.

¹⁴⁶I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.

¹⁴⁷I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.

¹⁴⁸My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.

¹⁴⁹Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life.

¹⁵⁰They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.

¹⁵¹But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.

¹⁵²Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.

¹⁵³Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.

¹⁵⁴Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise!

¹⁵⁵Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.

¹⁵⁶Great is your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to your rules.

¹⁵⁷Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies.

¹⁵⁸I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

¹⁵⁹Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love.

¹⁶⁰The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

¹⁶¹Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.

¹⁶²I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.

¹⁶³I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.

¹⁶⁴Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.

¹⁶⁵Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.

¹⁶⁶I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments.

¹⁶⁷My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.

¹⁶⁸I keep your precepts and testimonies, for all my ways are before you.

¹⁶⁹Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word!

¹⁷⁰Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word.

¹⁷¹My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.

¹⁷²My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right.

¹⁷³Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.

¹⁷⁴I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.

¹⁷⁵Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me.

¹⁷⁶I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

¹Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

⁸Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

¹⁷Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

²¹As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

²³Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart.

²⁴Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;

²⁵when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart;

²⁶though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.

²He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

³And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.

⁴Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem,

⁵because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.

⁹In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah,

¹⁰and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David his father had done.

¹²He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁴But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the LORD all his days.

¹⁵And he brought into the house of the LORD the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.

¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,

¹⁹“Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.”

²⁰And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

²¹And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah.

²²Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

²³Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet.

²⁴And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

²⁵Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.

²⁶He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

²⁷Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place.

²⁹And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

³⁰It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel.

³¹Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years.

³⁴He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

¹And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

²And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

³and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’

⁴Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.

⁵Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.

⁶And God spoke to this effect — that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.

⁷‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’

⁸And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹“And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

¹¹Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.

¹³And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

¹⁴And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.

¹⁵And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers,

¹⁶and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷“But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

¹⁸until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.

¹⁹He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

²⁰At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house,

²¹and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

²²And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

²³“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

²⁴And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

²⁵He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

²⁶And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’

²⁷But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

²⁹At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:

³²‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

³³Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

³⁴I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ — this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’

³⁸This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.

³⁹Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,

⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

⁴¹And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴“Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.

⁴⁵Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David,

⁴⁶who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

⁴⁸Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

⁴⁹“‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Did not my hand make all these things?’

⁵¹“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

⁵³you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

⁵⁴Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

⁵⁵But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

⁵⁶And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

⁵⁸Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.