Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days, when there was again a large crowd [gathered before Him] and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and told them,

²"I feel compassion for the crowd; they have been with Me now for three days and have nothing [left] to eat.

³If I send them away to their homes hungry, they will faint [from exhaustion] on the road; because some of them have come a long way."

⁴His disciples replied to Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this isolated place to feed these people?"

⁵He asked them, "How many loaves [of bread] do you have?" They said, "Seven."

⁶He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and [repeatedly] gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they served the crowd.

⁷They also had a few small fish; and when Jesus had blessed them [and given thanks], He ordered these [fish] to be set before them as well.

⁸And the people ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

⁹About four thousand [men] were there [besides women and children]; and He sent them away.

¹⁰Then immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came out and began to argue [contentiously and debate] with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him [because of their unbelief].

¹²He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation demand a sign? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!"

¹³Leaving them, He again boarded the boat and left for the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

¹⁵Jesus repeatedly ordered them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

¹⁶They began discussing this with one another, saying, "It is because we have no bread [that He said this]."

¹⁷Jesus, aware of this [discussion], said to them, "Why are you discussing [the fact] that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

¹⁸Though you have eyes, do you not see? And though you have ears, do you not hear and listen [to what I have said]? And do you not remember,

¹⁹when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They answered, "Twelve."

²⁰"And [when I broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they answered, "Seven."

²¹And He was saying to them, "Do you still not understand?"

²²Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him.

²³Taking the blind man by the hand, He led him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"

²⁴And he looked up and said, "I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around."

²⁵Then again Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly.

²⁶And He sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."

²⁷Then Jesus and His disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

²⁸They answered Him, "John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets."

²⁹And He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter replied to Him, "You [in contrast to the others] are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)."

³⁰Then Jesus strictly warned them not to tell anyone about Him.

³¹And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must [of necessity] suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and must be put to death, and after three days rise [from death to life].

³²He was stating the matter plainly [not holding anything back]. Then Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him.

³³But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God's will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man."

³⁴Jesus called the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].

³⁵For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake and the gospel's will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].

³⁶For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul?

³⁷For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God's kingdom]?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you set up and light the lamps, the seven lamps will shine in front of the lampstand.'"

³And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand: hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

⁵Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁶"Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them.

⁷This is what you shall do to them to [ceremonially] cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.

⁸Then let them take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering.

⁹You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and you shall also assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel,

¹⁰and present the Levites before the LORD, and the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites.

¹¹"Aaron shall present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.

¹²Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, then you are to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and present them as a wave offering to the LORD.

¹⁴"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine [in a very special sense].

¹⁵Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but you shall cleanse them [first] and present them as a wave offering;

¹⁶for they are wholly given to Me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for Myself instead of all who are born first, the firstborn of all the Israelites.

¹⁷For all the firstborn among the Israelites are Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified and set the Israelites apart for Myself.

¹⁸And I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the Israelites.

¹⁹I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service of the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and to make atonement for them, so that there will be no plague among the Israelites if they should approach the sanctuary."

²⁰Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did [these things] to the Levites; in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the Israelites did to them.

²¹The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and they washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.

²²Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the Tent of Meeting,

²⁵but at the age of fifty years, they shall retire from the service of the [tabernacle] work and serve no longer.

²⁶They may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting to keep an obligation, but they shall do no [heavy or difficult] work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations."

¹Then after a period of fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem, [this time] with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

²I went up [to Jerusalem] because of a [divine] revelation, and I put before them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so in private before those of reputation, for fear that I might be running or had run [the course of my ministry] in vain.

³But [all went well, for] not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled [as some had anticipated] to be circumcised, despite the fact that he was a Greek.

⁴My concern was because of the false brothers [those people masquerading as Christians] who had been secretly smuggled in [to the community of believers]. They had slipped in to spy on the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us back into bondage [under the Law of Moses].

⁵But we did not yield to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would continue to remain with you [in its purity].

⁶But from those who were of high reputation (whatever they were—in terms of individual importance—makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality—He is not impressed with the positions that people hold nor does He recognize distinctions such as fame or power)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me [that is, they had nothing to add to my gospel message nor did they impose any new requirements on me].

⁷But on the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised (Gentiles), just as Peter had been [entrusted to proclaim the gospel] to the circumcised (Jews);

⁸(for He who worked effectively for Peter and empowered him in his ministry to the Jews also worked effectively for me and empowered me in my ministry to the Gentiles).

⁹And recognizing the grace [that God had] bestowed on me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars [of the Jerusalem church], gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we could go to the Gentiles [with their blessing] and they to the circumcised (Jews).

¹⁰They asked only [one thing], that we remember the poor, the very thing I was also eager to do.

¹¹Now when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him face to face [about his conduct there], because he stood condemned [by his own actions].

¹²Before certain men came from James, he used to eat [his meals] with the Gentiles; but when the men [from Jerusalem] arrived, he began to withdraw and separate himself [from the Gentile believers], because he was afraid of those from the circumcision.

¹³The rest of the Jews joined him in this hypocrisy [ignoring their knowledge that Jewish and Gentile Christians were united, under the new covenant, into one faith], with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴But when I saw that they were not being straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas (Peter) in front of everyone, "If you, being a Jew, live [as you have been living] like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how is it that you are [now virtually] forcing the Gentiles to live like Jews [if they want to eat with you]?"

¹⁵[I went on to say] "We are Jews by birth and not sinners from among the Gentiles;

¹⁶yet we know that a man is not justified [and placed in right standing with God] by works of the Law, but [only] through faith in [God's beloved Son,] Christ Jesus. And even we [as Jews] have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty].

¹⁷But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ [by faith], we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ an advocate or promoter of our sin? Certainly not!

¹⁸For if I [or anyone else should] rebuild [through word or by practice] what I once tore down [the belief that observing the Law is essential for salvation], I prove myself to be a transgressor.

¹⁹For through the Law I died to the Law and its demands on me [because salvation is provided through the death and resurrection of Christ], so that I might [from now on] live to God.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

²¹I do not ignore or nullify the [gracious gift of the] grace of God [His amazing, unmerited favor], for if righteousness comes through [observing] the Law, then Christ died needlessly. [His suffering and death would have had no purpose whatsoever.]"

¹Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment and doom of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters [influencing nations],

²she with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality."

³And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was entirely covered with blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.

⁴The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality.

⁵And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES (false religions, heresies) AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

⁶I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints (God's people), and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus [who were martyred]. When I saw her, I wondered in amazement.

⁷But the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

⁸"The beast that you saw was [once], but [now] is not, and he is about to come up out of the abyss (the bottomless pit, the dwelling place of demons) and go to destruction (perdition). And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast, because he was and is not and is yet to come [to earth].

⁹Here is the mind which has wisdom [and this is what it knows about the vision]. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits;

¹⁰and they are seven kings: five of whom have fallen, one exists and is reigning; the other [the seventh] has not yet come, and when he does come, he must remain a little while.

¹¹And the beast that [once] was but is not, is himself also an eighth king and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction (perdition).

¹²The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but [together] they receive authority as kings for a single hour [for a common purpose] along with the beast.

¹³These [kings] have one purpose [one mind, one common goal], and they give their power and authority to the beast.

¹⁴They will wage war against the Lamb (Christ), and the Lamb will triumph and conquer them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him and on His side are the called and chosen (elect) and faithful."

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.

¹⁶And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked [stripped of her power and influence], and will eat her flesh and completely consume her with fire.

¹⁷For God has put it in their hearts to carry out His purpose by agreeing together to surrender their kingdom to the beast, until the [prophetic] words of God will be fulfilled.

¹⁸The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over and dominates and controls the kings and the political leaders of the earth."

¹There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

²Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

³He also possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke (pairs) of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great number of servants, so that this man was the greatest [and wealthiest and most respected] of all the men of the east (northern Arabia).

⁴His sons used to go [in turn] and feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Job did this at all [such] times.

⁶Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.

⁷The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it."

⁸The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]."

⁹Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?

¹⁰Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land.

¹¹But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face."

¹²Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

¹³Now there was a day when Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,

¹⁴and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them,

¹⁵and the Sabeans attacked and swooped down on them and took away the animals. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, "The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and have taken them away and have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,

¹⁹and suddenly, a great wind came from across the desert, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

²⁰Then Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head [in mourning for the children], and he fell to the ground and worshiped [God].

²¹He said, "Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother's womb, And naked I will return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."

²²Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

¹A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in and rely on the LORD [with confident expectation] Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.

³For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land of the righteous, So that the righteous will not reach out their hands to do wrong.

⁴Do good, O LORD, to those who are good And to those who are upright in their hearts.

⁵But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways [in unresponsiveness to God], The LORD will lead them away with those who do evil. Peace be upon Israel.

¹The proverbs (truths obscurely expressed, maxims) of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

²To know [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction; To discern and comprehend the words of understanding and insight,

³To receive instruction in wise behavior and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, Righteousness, justice, and integrity;

⁴That prudence (good judgment, astute common sense) may be given to the naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled], And knowledge and discretion (intelligent discernment) to the youth,

⁵The wise will hear and increase their learning, And the person of understanding will acquire wise counsel and the skill [to steer his course wisely and lead others to the truth],

⁶To understand a proverb and a figure [of speech] or an enigma with its interpretation, And the words of the wise and their riddles [that require reflection].

⁷The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; But arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not reject the teaching of your mother.

⁹For they are a garland of grace on your head, And chains and ornaments [of gold] around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

¹¹If they say, "Come with us; Let us lie in wait to shed blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them alive like Sheol (the place of the dead), Even whole, as those who go down to the pit [of death];

¹³We will find and take all kinds of precious possessions, We will fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us [they insist]; We will all have one money bag [in common],"

¹⁵My son, do not walk on the road with them; Keep your foot [far] away from their path,

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But [when these people set a trap for others] they lie in wait for their own blood; They set an ambush for their own lives [and rush to their destruction].

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; Greed takes away the lives of its possessors.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the markets;

²¹She calls out at the head of the noisy streets [where large crowds gather]; At the entrance of the city gates she speaks her words:

²²"How long, O naive ones [you who are easily misled], will you love being simple-minded and undiscerning? How long will scoffers [who ridicule and deride] delight in scoffing, How long will fools [who obstinately mock truth] hate knowledge?

²³"If you will turn and pay attention to my rebuke, Behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴"Because I called and you refused [to answer], I stretched out my hand and no one has paid attention [to my offer];

²⁵And you treated all my counsel as nothing And would not accept my reprimand,

²⁶I also will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread and panic come,

²⁷When your dread and panic come like a storm, And your disaster comes like a whirlwind, When anxiety and distress come upon you [as retribution].

²⁸"Then they will call upon me (Wisdom), but I will not answer; They will seek me eagerly but they will not find me,

²⁹Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD [that is, obeying Him with reverence and awe-filled respect],

³⁰They would not accept my counsel, And they spurned all my rebuke.

³¹"Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own [wicked] way And be satiated with [the penalty of] their own devices.

³²"For the turning away of the naive will kill them, And the careless ease of [self-righteous] fools will destroy them.

³³"But whoever listens to me (Wisdom) will live securely and in confident trust And will be at ease, without fear or dread of evil."

¹Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, close beside the [winter] palace of Ahab king of Samaria;

²Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a garden of vegetables and herbs, because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it, or, if you prefer, I will give you what it is worth in money."

³But Naboth said to Ahab, "The LORD forbid me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you."

⁴So Ahab [already upset by the Lord's message] came into his house [feeling more] resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face, and would not eat any food.

⁵Then Jezebel his wife came to him and asked him, "Why is your spirit so troubled that you have not eaten?"

⁶And he said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.' But he answered, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'"

⁷Jezebel his wife said to him, "Do you now reign over Israel? Get up, eat food, and let your heart rejoice; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.

⁹Now in the letters she wrote, "Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people;

¹⁰and seat two worthless and unprincipled men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death."

¹¹So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived there, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.

¹²They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people.

¹³Two worthless and unprincipled men came in and sat down opposite him; and they testified against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed and renounced God and the king." Then they brought him outside the city and stoned him to death.

¹⁴Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned to death."

¹⁵When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, because Naboth is no longer alive, but dead."

¹⁶When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

¹⁸"Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it.

¹⁹You shall speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "Have you murdered and also taken possession [of the victim's property]?"' And you shall speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the Lord: "In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick up your blood as well."'"

²⁰Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" And he answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.

²¹Behold [says the LORD], I am bringing evil (catastrophe) on you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;

²²and I will make your house (descendants) like that of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for provoking Me to anger and making Israel sin.

²³The LORD also spoke in regard to Jezebel, saying, 'The dogs will eat [the body of] Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.'

²⁴The dogs will eat anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, and the birds of the air will eat anyone who dies in the field."

²⁵There certainly was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.

²⁶He acted very repulsively in following idols, in accordance with everything the Amorites had done, whom the LORD expelled [from the land] before the sons of Israel.

²⁷Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning).

²⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

²⁹"Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil (catastrophe) in his lifetime, but in his son's days I will bring evil upon his house."

¹Then He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak to you."

²Then as He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.

³And He said to me, "I am sending you, son of man, to the children of Israel, to a rebellious people [in both the north and the south] that have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have sinned and revolted against Me to this very day.

⁴I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

⁵As for them, whether they listen or refuse [to listen]—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know and be fully aware of the fact that there has been a prophet among them.

⁶And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words; though briars and thorns are all around you and you sit among scorpions, neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.

⁷But you shall speak My words to them whether they will listen or refuse [to listen], for they are [most] rebellious.

⁸"As for you, son of man, listen to what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I am giving you."

⁹Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out toward me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.

¹⁰And He spread it before me, and it was written on the front and on the back, and written on it were [words of] lamentation (funeral songs) and mourning and woe.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets [who spoke a new message of God to the people] and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch, and Saul.

²While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them."

³Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them [in approval and dedication] and sent them away [on their first journey].

⁴So then, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵When Barnabas and Saul arrived at Salamis, they began to preach the word of God [proclaiming the message of eternal salvation through faith in Christ] in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John [Mark] as their assistant.

⁶When they had traveled through the entire island [of Cyprus] as far as Paphos, they found a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was [closely associated] with the proconsul [of the province], Sergius Paulus, an intelligent and sensible man. He called for Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from accepting the faith.

⁹But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Him, looked steadily at Elymas,

¹⁰and said, " You [Elymas] who are full of every [kind of] deceit, and every [kind of] fraud, you son of the devil, enemy of everything that is right and good, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹Now, watch! The hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, [so blind that you will be] unable to see the sun for a time." Immediately a mist and darkness fell upon him, and he groped around, seeking people to lead him by the hand.

¹²The proconsul believed [the message of salvation] when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching concerning the Lord.

¹³Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John [Mark] left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴Now they went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, "Brothers (kinsmen), if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it."

¹⁶So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen!

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great and numerous during their stay [as foreigners] in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out of there.

¹⁸For a period of about forty years He put up with their behavior in the wilderness.

¹⁹When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land [to our ancestors] as an inheritance—this took about four hundred and fifty years.

²⁰After this, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.'

²³From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, [in the person of] Jesus, according to His promise.

²⁴Before His coming John [the Baptist] had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was finishing his course [of ministry], he kept saying, 'What or who do you think that I am? I am not He [the Christ]; but be aware, One is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave]!'

²⁶"Brothers, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation [obtained through faith in Jesus Christ].

²⁷For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, who failed to recognize or understand both Jesus and the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled these [very prophecies] by condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no cause or charge deserving death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.

²⁹And when they had finished carrying out everything that was written [in Scripture] about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead;

³¹and for many days (forty) He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

³²And we are bringing you the good news of the promise made to our fathers (ancestors),

³³that God has completely fulfilled this promise to our children by raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten (fathered) You.'

³⁴And [as for the fact] that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay [in the grave], He has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David [those blessings and mercies that were promised to him].'

³⁵For this reason He also says in another Psalm, 'You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.'

³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried among his fathers and experienced decay [in the grave];

³⁷but He whom God raised [to life] did not experience decay [in the grave].

³⁸So let it be clearly known by you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you;

³⁹and through Him everyone who believes [who acknowledges Jesus as Lord and Savior and follows Him] is justified and declared free of guilt from all things, from which you could not be justified and freed of guilt through the Law of Moses.

⁴⁰Therefore be careful, so that the thing spoken of in the [writings of the] Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴¹'Look, you mockers, and marvel, and perish and vanish away; For I am doing a work in your days, A work which you will never believe, even if someone describes it to you [telling you about it in detail].'"

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were leaving [the synagogue], the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them on the next Sabbath.

⁴³When the congregation of the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and the devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, talking to them were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath almost the entire city gathered together to hear the word of the Lord [about salvation through faith in Christ].

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things said by Paul, and were slandering him.

⁴⁶And [at the same time] Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and confidently, saying, "It was necessary that God's message [of salvation through faith in Christ] be spoken to you [Jews] first. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, now we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For that is what the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, So that You may bring [the message of eternal] salvation to the end of the earth.'"

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying [praising and giving thanks for] the word of the Lord; and all those who had been appointed (designated, ordained) to eternal life [by God] believed [in Jesus as the Christ and their Savior].

⁴⁹And so the word of the Lord [regarding salvation] was being spread through the entire region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout, prominent women and the leading men of the city, and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them forcibly out of their district.

⁵¹But they shook its dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their hearts and souls] with joy and with the Holy Spirit.