Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and put awall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.

²When the harvest season came he sent a servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

³They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully.

⁵And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed.

⁶He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

⁷But those tenants said to each other, 'This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!'

⁸So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard.

⁹What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders regarded as unworthy and rejected, This [very stone] has become the chief Cornerstone

¹¹This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes'?"

¹²And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

¹³Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him].

¹⁴They came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the poll-tax to [ Tiberius] Caesar, or not?

¹⁵Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?" But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, "Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a coin (denarius) to look at."

¹⁶So they brought one. Then He asked them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's."

¹⁷Jesus said to them, "Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were greatly amazed at Him.

¹⁸Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying,

¹⁹"Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, his brother is tomarry the widow and raise up children for his brother.

²⁰There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children.

²¹The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise;

²²and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also.

²³In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her."

²⁴Jesus said to them, "Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]?

²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!"

²⁸Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, "Which commandment is first and most important of all?"

²⁹Jesus answered, "The first and most important one is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;

³⁰and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.'

³¹This is the second: 'You shall [unselfishly]love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

³²The scribe said to Him, "Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him;

³³and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

³⁵Jesus began to say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple, " How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

³⁶David himself said [when inspired] by the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah), "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet."'

³⁷David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) 'Lord'; so how can it be that He is David's Son?" The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.

³⁸In [the course of] His teaching He was saying, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes [displaying their prominence], and like to receive respectful greetings in the market places,

³⁹and [they love] the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinction and honor at banquets,

⁴⁰[these scribes] who devour (confiscate) widows' houses, and offer long prayers for appearance's sake [to impress others]. These men will receive greater condemnation."

⁴¹And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the treasury. And many rich people were putting in large sums.

⁴²A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a mite.

⁴³Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury.

⁴⁴For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on."

¹Now Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman);

²and they said, "Has the LORD really spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken also through us?" And the LORD heard it.

³( Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

⁴Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle)." And the three of them came out.

⁵The LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tabernacle, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward.

⁶And He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will make Myself known to him in a vision And I will speak to him in a dream.

⁷"But it is not so with My servant Moses; He is entrusted and faithful in all My house.

⁸"With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly], Clearly and openly and not in riddles; And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?"

⁹And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Miriam and Aaron, and He departed.

¹⁰But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned and looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

¹¹Then Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, I plead with you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned.

¹²Oh, do not let her be like one dead, already half decomposed when he comes from his mother's womb."

¹³So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "Heal her please, O God, I plead with You!"

¹⁴But the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the camp for seven days, and afterward she may return."

¹⁵So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought in again [and declared ceremonially clean from her leprosy].

¹⁶Afterward the people moved on from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

¹Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual [that is, you who are responsive to the guidance of the Spirit] are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness [not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness], keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

²Carry one another's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].

³For if anyone thinks he is something [special] when [in fact] he is nothing [special except in his own eyes], he deceives himself.

⁴But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another.

⁵For every person will have to bear [with patience] his own burden [of faults and shortcomings for which he alone is responsible].

⁶The one who is taught the word [of God] is to share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his spiritual and material support].

⁷Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.

⁸For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

⁹Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.

¹⁰So then, while we [as individual believers] have the opportunity, let us do good to all people [not only being helpful, but also doing that which promotes their spiritual well-being], and especially [be a blessing] to those of the household of faith (born-again believers).

¹¹See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

¹²Those who want to make a good impression in public [before the Jews] try to compel you to be circumcised, just so they will escape being persecuted for [faithfulness to] the cross of Christ.

¹³For even the circumcised [Jews] themselves do not [really] keep the Law, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh [that is, in the fact that they convinced you to be circumcised].

¹⁴But far be it from me to boast [in anything or anyone], except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵For neither is circumcision anything [of any importance], nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [which is the result of a new birth—a spiritual transformation—a new nature in Christ Jesus].

¹⁶Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule [who discipline themselves and conduct their lives by this principle], and upon the [true] Israel of God (Jewish believers).

¹⁷From now on let no one trouble me [by making it necessary for me to justify my authority as an apostle, and the absolute truth of the gospel], for I bear on my body the branding-marks of Jesus [the wounds, scars, and other outward evidence of persecutions—these testify to His ownership of me].

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, my brothers and sisters. Amen.

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any sea.

²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband;

³and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them[as their God,]

⁴and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away."

⁵And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy]."

⁶And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost.

⁷He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

⁸But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

⁹Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a vast and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy (sanctified) city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

¹¹having God's glory [filled with His radiant light]. The brilliance of it resembled a rare and very precious jewel, like jasper, shining and clear as crystal.

¹²It had a massive and high wall, with twelve [large] gates, and at the gates [were stationed] twelve angels; and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were written.

¹³On the east side [there were] three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

¹⁴And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Christ).

¹⁵The one who was speaking with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall.

¹⁶The city is laid out as a square, its length being the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod—twelve thousand stadia (about 1,400 miles); its length and width and height are equal.

¹⁷He measured its wall also—a hundred forty-four cubits (about 200 feet), according to man's measurements, which are [also] angelic [measurements].

¹⁸The wall was built of jasper; and the city was pure gold, transparent like clear crystal.

¹⁹The foundation stones of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;

²⁰the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite (yellow topaz); the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.

²¹And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each separate gate was of one single pearl. And the street (broad way) of the city was pure gold, like transparent crystal.

²²I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] and the Lamb are its temple.

²³And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the glory (splendor, radiance) of God has illumined it, and the Lamb is its lamp and light.

²⁴The nations [the redeemed people from the earth] will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring into it their glory.

²⁵By day (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed [in fear of evil];

²⁶and they will bring the glory (splendor, majesty) and the honor of the nations into it;

²⁷and nothing that defiles or profanes or is unwashed will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices abominations [detestable, morally repugnant things] and lying, but only those [will be admitted] whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

¹"Call now—is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones (angels) will you turn?

²"For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple (naive).

³"I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering], But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

⁴"His children are far from safety [and included in their father's ruin], They are oppressed and crushed in the [court of justice in the city's] gate, And there is no one to rescue them.

⁵"The hungry devour his harvest And take it even [when it grows] among the thorns; The trap opens for [his] wealth.

⁶"For affliction does not come forth from the dust, Nor does trouble spring forth from the ground.

⁷"For man is born for trouble, [As naturally] as sparks fly upward.

⁸"As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him, And I would commit my cause to God;

⁹Who does great and unsearchable things, Marvelous things without number.

¹⁰"He gives rain upon the earth And sends waters upon the fields,

¹¹So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And He lifts to safety those who mourn.

¹²"He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty, So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.

¹³"He catches the [so-called] wise in their own shrewdness, And the advice of the devious is quickly thwarted.

¹⁴"In the daytime they meet in darkness, And at noon they grope as in the night.

¹⁵"But God saves [the innocent] from the sword of the mouth of the devious, And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶"So the helpless have hope, And injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷"Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].

¹⁸"For He inflicts pain, but He binds up and gives relief; He wounds, but His hands also heal.

¹⁹"He will rescue you from six troubles; Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

²⁰"In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.

²¹"You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

²²"You will laugh at violence and famine, And you will not be afraid of the wild beasts of the earth.

²³"For you will be in harmony with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴"You will know also that your tent is secure and at peace, And you will visit your dwelling and fear no loss [nor find anything amiss].

²⁵"You will know also that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶"You will come to your grave in old age, Like the stacking of grain [on the threshing floor] in its season.

²⁷"Behold this; we have investigated it, and it is true. Hear and heed it, and know for yourself [for your own good]."

¹A Song of Ascents. "Many times they have persecuted me (Israel) from my youth," Let Israel now say,

²"Many times they have persecuted me from my youth, Yet they have not prevailed against me.

³"The [enemies, like] plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows [of suffering] long [in Israel]."

⁴The LORD is righteous; He has cut in two the [thick] cords of the wicked [which enslaved the people of Israel].

⁵May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward [in defeat].

⁶Let them be like the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up,

⁷With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

⁸Nor do those who pass by say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD."

¹My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience], Incline your ear to my understanding;

²That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment), And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation].

³For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey [like a honeycomb] And her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter like [the extract of] wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),

⁶So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life; Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from (forget) the words of my mouth.

⁸Let your way [in life] be far from her, And do not go near the door of her house [avoid even being near the places of temptation],

⁹Or you will give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one,

¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];

¹¹And you will groan when your life is ending, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, "How I hated instruction and discipline, And my heart despised correction and reproof!

¹³"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor have I inclined my ear to those who instructed me.

¹⁴"I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship] And fresh running water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs (children) be dispersed, As streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷[Confine yourself to your own wife.] Let your children be yours alone, And not the children of strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain (wife) be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe, Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times; Always be exhilarated and delight in her love.

²⁰Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an immoral woman And embrace the bosom of an outsider (pagan)?

²¹For the ways of man are directly before the eyes of the LORD, And He carefully watches all of his paths [all of his comings and goings].

²²The iniquities done by a wicked man will trap him, And he will be held with the cords of his sin.

²³He will die for lack of instruction (discipline), And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray and be lost.

¹Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

²He did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

³Nevertheless, he continued in the [idolatrous] sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

⁴Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to pay [an annual tribute] to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

⁵But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶So King Jehoram left Samaria at that time and assembled all [the fighting men of] Israel.

⁷Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?" And he replied, "I will go; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."

⁸Jehoram said, "Which way shall we go up?" Jehoshaphat answered, "The way through the Wilderness of Edom."

⁹So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They made a circuit of seven days' journey, but there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.

¹⁰Then the king of Israel said, "We are doomed, for the LORD has called these three kings to be handed over to Moab."

¹¹But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here from whom we may inquire of the LORD?" One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water over Elijah's hands."

¹²Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to Elisha.

¹³Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What business do you have with me? Go to the prophets of your [wicked] father [Ahab] and to the prophets of your [pagan] mother [Jezebel]." But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to be handed over to Moab."

¹⁴Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts (armies) lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you [king of Israel].

¹⁵But now bring me a musician." And it came about while the musician played, that the hand (power) of the LORD came upon Elisha.

¹⁶He said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Make this valley (the Arabah) full of trenches.'

¹⁷For thus says the LORD, 'You will not see wind or rain, yet that valley will be filled with water, so you and your cattle and your other animals may drink.

¹⁸This is but a simple thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also hand over the Moabites to you.

¹⁹You shall strike every fortified city and every choice (principal) city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all sources of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.'"

²⁰It happened in the morning, when the sacrifice was offered, that suddenly water came [miraculously] from the area of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹Now all the Moabites heard that the [three] kings had come up to fight against them, and all who were able to put on armor, as well as those who were older, were summoned and stood [together in battle formation] at the border.

²²When they got up early the next morning, the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water across from them as red as blood.

²³And they said, "This is blood! Clearly the kings have fought together, and have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoil [and the plunder of the dead soldiers]!"

²⁴But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land, killing the Moabites [as they went].

²⁵They destroyed the [walls of the] cities, and each man threw a stone on every piece of good land, covering it [with stones]. And they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees, until they left nothing in Kir-hareseth [Moab's capital city] but its stones. Then the [stone] slingers surrounded the city and destroyed it.

²⁶When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.

²⁷Then the king of Moab took his eldest son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him [publicly] as a burnt offering [to Chemosh] on the [city] wall [horrifying everyone]. And there was great wrath against Israel, and Israel's allies [Judah and Edom] withdrew from King Jehoram and returned to their own land.

¹And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²"Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them,

³and say, 'You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: "Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places [of idolatrous worship],

⁴and your altars will become deserted and your pillars for sun-worship will be smashed in pieces; and I will throw down your slain in front of your idols [that cannot bring them back to life].

⁵I will also lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel in front of their [Canaanite] idols; and I will scatter your bones all around your altars.

⁶Everywhere you live, the cities will become waste and the high places will become deserted, so that your altars may bear their guilt and become deserted, your idols may be broken and destroyed, your incense altars [for sun-worship] may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out.

⁷The slain will fall among you, then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.

⁸"Yet I will leave some of you alive [a remnant], for you will have some who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered throughout the countries.

⁹Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be exiled, how I have been broken by their lewdness and their adulterous hearts which have turned away from Me, and by their eyes which lust after their idols; and they will loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed, for all their repulsive acts.

¹⁰Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this disaster [as punishment] on them."'

¹¹"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Strike with your fist, stamp with your foot and say, "Alas, because of all the evil atrocities of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, by famine, and by virulent disease!

¹²He who is far away will die of the virulent disease, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus I will spend My wrath on them.

¹³Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD, when their slain are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every leafy tree and under every oak with thick branches, the places where they offered sweet incense and a soothing aroma to all their idols.

¹⁴And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a more desolate waste than the wilderness toward Diblah [the Moabite city], throughout all the places where they live; and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD."'"

¹Now after Paul and Silas had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²And Paul entered the synagogue, as was his custom, and for three Sabbaths he engaged in discussion and friendly debate with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and pointing out [scriptural evidence] that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)."

⁴And some of them were persuaded to believe and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and many of the leading women.

⁵But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason's house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.

⁶But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too;

⁷and Jason has welcomed them [into his house and protected them]! And they all are saying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] claiming that there is another king, Jesus."

⁸They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

⁹And when they had taken security (bail) from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they entered the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹²As a result many of them became believers, together with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] had also been preached by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds.

¹⁴So at that time the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea].

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens; and [after] receiving instructions [from Paul] for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was greatly angered when he saw that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place day after day with any who happened to be there.

¹⁸And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, "What could this idle babbler [with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning] have in mind to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities"—because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹They took him and brought him to the Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, "May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

²⁰For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean."

²¹(Now all the Athenians and the foreigners visiting there used to spend their [leisure] time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

²²So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects.

²³Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.

²⁶And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories.

²⁷This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

²⁸For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'

²⁹So then, being God's children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man.

³⁰Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God's purpose for their lives],

³¹because He has set a day when He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead."

³²Now when they heard [the term] resurrection from the dead, some mocked and sneered; but others said, "We will hear from you again about this matter."

³³So Paul left them.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, [a judge] of the Council of Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.