Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹It was now two days before the Passover and [the festival of] Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were searching for a deceitful way to arrest Jesus and kill Him;

²but they were saying, "Not during the festival, for the people might riot."

³While He was in Bethany [as a guest] at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster vial of very costly and precious perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head.

⁴But there were some who were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted?

⁵For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii [a laborer's wages for almost a year], and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her.

⁶But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why are you bothering her and causing trouble? She has done a good and beautiful thing to Me.

⁷For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do something good to them; but you will not always have Me.

⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

⁹I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever the good news [regarding salvation] is proclaimed throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve [disciples], went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.

¹¹When they heard this they were delighted, and promised to give him money. And he began looking for an opportune time to betray Jesus.

¹²On the first day [of the festival] of Unleavened Bread, when [as was customary] they sacrificed the Passover lamb, His disciples asked Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

¹³And He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him;

¹⁴and say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks, "Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'

¹⁵He will show you a large upstairs room, furnished and ready [with carpets and dining couches]; prepare [the supper] for us there."

¹⁶The disciples left and went to the city and found everything just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When it was evening, He came with the twelve [disciples].

¹⁸While they were reclining at the table, Jesus said, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me."

¹⁹They began to be grieved and deeply distressed and to say to Him one by one, "Surely not I?"

²⁰And He replied, "It is one of the twelve [disciples], one who is dipping bread in the bowl with Me.

²¹For the Son of Man goes [to the cross] just as it is written [in Scripture] of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it [giving thanks and praise], and He broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take it. This is My body."

²³And when He had taken a cup [of wine] and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴And He said to them, "This is My blood of the [new] covenant, [My blood] which is being poured out for many [for the forgiveness of sins].

²⁵I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

²⁶After they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away [and be ashamed and be afraid to be associated with Me as disciples], because it is written, 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'

²⁸But after I have been raised [from the dead], I will go ahead of you to Galilee."

²⁹But Peter said to Him, "Even if they all fall away [and desert You, ashamed and afraid of being associated with You], yet I will not [do so]!"

³⁰Jesus said to him, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you will deny [that you even know] Me three times."

³¹But Peter kept saying insistently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And they all were saying the same thing as well.

³²Then they went to a place called Gethsemane; and Jesus said to His disciples, "Sit down here until I have prayed."

³³He took Peter and James and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled [extremely anguished at the prospect of what was to come].

³⁴And He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved and overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch."

³⁵After going a little farther, He fell to the ground [distressed by the weight of His spiritual burden] and began to pray that if it were possible [in the Father's will], the hour [of suffering and death for the sins of mankind] might pass from Him.

³⁶He was saying, " Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; take this cup [of judgment] away from Me; but not what I will, but what You will."

³⁷And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Were you unable to keep watch for one hour?

³⁸Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

³⁹He went away again and prayed, saying the same words.

⁴⁰And again He came back and found them sleeping, because their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know how to answer Him.

⁴¹He came back a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough [of that]! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is near!"

⁴³And at once, while He was still speaking, Judas [Iscariot], one of the twelve [disciples], came up, and with him a crowd of men with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders [of the Sanhedrin].

⁴⁴Now the betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away safely [under guard]."

⁴⁵When Judas came, immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Rabbi (Master)!" and he kissed Him [forcefully].

⁴⁶They laid hands on Him and seized Him.

⁴⁷But one of the bystanders [Simon Peter] drew his sword and struck [Malchus] the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber?

⁴⁹Day after day I was with you, teaching in the [courts and porches of the] temple, and you did not seize Me; but this has happened so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled."

⁵⁰Then all of His disciples abandoned Him and fled.

⁵¹A young man was following Him, wearing [only] a linen sheet over his naked body; and some men seized him.

⁵²But pulling free of the linen sheet, he escaped [from them] naked.

⁵³They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) gathered together.

⁵⁴Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers [guards and servants] and warming himself at the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the entire Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus [which they could use] to have Him [condemned and] executed, but they were not finding any.

⁵⁶For many [people] were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimonies were not consistent.

⁵⁷Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying,

⁵⁸"We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple (sanctuary) that was made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'"

⁵⁹Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent.

⁶⁰The high priest stood up and came forward and asked Jesus, "Have You no answer to give [in response] to what these men are testifying against You?"

⁶¹But Jesus kept silent and gave no answer at all. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the Blessed One?"

⁶²Jesus said, "I am; and you will [all] see the Son of Man seated [with authority] at the right hand of Power (the Father), and coming with the clouds of heaven."

⁶³Then tearing his robe [to express his indignation], the high priest said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy [that is, His claim to be the Son of God]. What is your decision?" And they all condemned Him to be [guilty and] deserving of death.

⁶⁵And some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy [by telling us who hit you]!" Then the officers took custody of Him and struck him in the face.

⁶⁶While Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came,

⁶⁷and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, "You were with Jesus the Nazarene, too."

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are talking about." Then he went out [of the courtyard] to the porch,[and a rooster crowed.]

⁶⁹The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to tell the bystanders, "This [man] is one of them."

⁷⁰But again he denied it. After a little while, the bystanders again said to Peter, "You are in fact one of them, for [it is clear from your accent, that] you are a Galilean, too."

⁷¹But he began to invoke a curse [on himself] and to swear [an oath], "I do not know this man you are talking about!"

⁷²Immediately a rooster crowed the second time. And Peter remembered what Jesus said to him: "Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." And thinking of this, he began weeping [in anguish].

¹Then all the congregation [of Israel] raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night.

²All the Israelites murmured [in discontent] against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness!

³Why is the LORD bringing us to this land [of Canaan], to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"

⁴So they said one to another, "Let us appoint a [new] leader and return to Egypt."

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites.

⁶Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes [as a sign of grief],

⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land through which we passed as spies is an exceedingly good land.

⁸If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.

⁹Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them."

¹⁰But all the congregation said to stone Joshua and Caleb with stones. But the glory and brilliance of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) before all the sons of Israel.

¹¹The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them?

¹²I will strike them with the pestilence (plague) and dispossess them, and will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they."

¹³But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up these people from among them,

¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people [of Israel], that You, LORD, are seen face to face, while Your cloud stands over them; and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations (Gentiles) that have heard of Your fame will say,

¹⁶'Because the LORD was not able to bring these people into the land which He promised to give them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.'

¹⁷But now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying,

¹⁸'The LORD is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].'

¹⁹Please pardon the wickedness and guilt of these people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You have forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now."

²⁰So the LORD said, "I have pardoned them according to your word;

²¹but indeed as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.

²²Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My [miraculous] signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,

²³will by no means see the land which I swore to [give to] their fathers; nor will any who treated me disrespectfully and rejected Me see it.

²⁴But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land into which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.

²⁵Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valley; tomorrow turn and set out for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea."

²⁶The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²⁷"How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who murmur [in discontent] against Me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they are making against Me.

²⁸Say to them, 'As I live,' says the LORD, 'just what you have spoken in My hearing I will most certainly do to you;

²⁹your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, even all who were numbered of you, your entire number from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me.

³⁰Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, not one of you shall enter the land in which I swore [an oath] to settle you.

³¹But your children whom you said would become plunder, I will bring in, and they will know the land which you have despised and rejected.

³²But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness.

³³Your sons shall be wanderers and shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness (spiritual infidelity), until your corpses are consumed in the wilderness.

³⁴According to the number of days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], forty days, for each day, you shall bear and suffer a year for your sins and guilt, for forty years, and you shall know My displeasure [the revoking of My promise and My estrangement because of your sin].

³⁵I, the LORD, have spoken. I will most certainly do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed [by war, disease, and plagues], and here they shall die.'"

³⁶As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and made all the congregation murmur and complain against him by bringing back a bad report concerning the land,

³⁷even those [ten] men who brought back the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD.

³⁸But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

³⁹Moses spoke the Lord's words to all the Israelites, and the people mourned greatly.

⁴⁰They got up early in the morning and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, "Look, here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised."

⁴¹But Moses said, "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD, when it will not succeed?

⁴²Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the LORD is not among you.

⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, because you have turned away from following the LORD; therefore the LORD will not be with you."

⁴⁴But [in their arrogance] they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country; however, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and struck the Israelites and scattered them as far as Hormah.

¹And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins,

²in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].

³Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God's] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].

⁴But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us,

⁵even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God's judgment).

⁶And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus,

⁷[and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption].

⁸For it is by grace [God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;

⁹not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].

¹⁰For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

¹¹Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, who are called "Uncircumcision" by those who called themselves "Circumcision," [itself a mere mark] which is made in the flesh by human hands—

¹²remember that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God's agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God.

¹³But now [at this very moment] in Christ Jesus you who once were [so very] far away [from God] have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity. He who made both groups—[Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us],

¹⁵by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace.

¹⁶And [that He] might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile, united] in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility.

¹⁷And He came and preached the good news of peace to you [Gentiles] who were far away, and peace to those [Jews] who were near.

¹⁸For it is through Him that we both have a [direct] way of approach in one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God's people), and are [members] of God's household,

²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone,

²¹in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].

²²In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

¹"Is not man forced to labor on earth? And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

²"As a slave earnestly longs for the shade, And as a hired man eagerly awaits his wages,

³So am I allotted months of futility and suffering, And [long] nights of trouble and misery are appointed to me.

⁴"When I lie down I say, 'When shall I arise [and the night be gone]?' But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until the dawning of day.

⁵"My body is clothed with worms and a crust of dust; My skin is hardened [and broken and loathsome], and [breaks out and] runs.

⁶"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope.

⁷"Remember that my life is but breath [a puff of wind, a sigh]; My eye will not see good again.

⁸"The eye of him who sees me [now] will see me no more; Your eyes will be upon me, but I will not be.

⁹"As a cloud vanishes and is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) does not come up.

¹⁰"He will not return again to his house, Nor will his place know about him anymore.

¹¹"Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul [O Lord].

¹²"Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

¹³"When I say, 'My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,'

¹⁴Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me through visions,

¹⁵So that I would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pain.

¹⁶"I waste away and loathe my life; I will not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are but a breath [futile and without substance].

¹⁷"What is man that You [should] magnify him [and think him important]? And that You are concerned about him?

¹⁸"And that You examine him every morning And try and test him every moment?

¹⁹"Will You never turn Your gaze away from me [it plagues me], Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

²⁰"If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You, O Watcher of mankind? Why have You set me as a target for You, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹"Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my sin and guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me [diligently], but I will not be."

¹A Song of Ascents. Of David. LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.

²Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].

³O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.

¹My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you].

²Keep my commandments and live, And keep my teaching and law as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them [securely] on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, "You are my sister," And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the foreigner [who does not observe God's laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice.

⁷And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible], I saw among the youths A young man lacking [good] sense,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

⁹In the twilight, in the evening; In the black and dark night.

¹⁰And there a woman met him, Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.

¹¹She was boisterous and rebellious; She would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places, Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him And with a brazen and impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵"So I came out to meet you [that you might share with me the feast of my offering], Diligently I sought your face and I have found you.

¹⁶"I have spread my couch with coverings and cushions of tapestry, With colored fine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷"I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸"Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us console and delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹"For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey;

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him, And he will come home on the appointed day."

²¹With her many persuasions she caused him to yield; With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome], Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

²³Until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound]; Like a bird fluttering straight into the net, He did not know that it would cost him his life.

²⁴Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her [evil, immoral] paths.

²⁶For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded; Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

¹Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram (Syria), was considered a great man by his king, and was highly respected because through Naaman the LORD had given victory to Aram (Syria). He was also a man of courage, but he was a leper.

²The Arameans (Syrians) had gone out in bands [as raiders] and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman's wife [as a servant].

³She said to her mistress, "I wish that my master [Naaman] were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy."

⁴Naaman went in and told his master [the king], "The girl who is from the land of Israel said such and such."

⁵Then the king of Aram (Syria) said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel (Jehoram the son of Ahab)." So he left and took with him ten talents of silver and 6,000 shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.

⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel. It said, "And now when this letter comes to you, I will have sent my servant Naaman to you, so that you may heal him of his leprosy."

⁷When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes [in shock and outrage at the request] and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me [a request] to heal a man of his leprosy? Just consider [what he is asking] and see how he is seeking an opportunity [for a battle] with me."

⁸Now when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king, asking, "Why have you torn your clothes? Just let Naaman come to me, and he shall know that there is a [true] prophet in Israel."

⁹So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the entrance of Elisha's house.

¹⁰Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean."

¹¹But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Indeed! I thought 'He would at least come out to [see] me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place [of leprosy] and heal the leper.'

¹²Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus [in Aram], better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.

¹³Then his servants approached and said to him, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he has said to you, 'Wash, and be clean?'"

¹⁴So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said; and his flesh was restored like that of a little child and he was clean.

¹⁵Then Naaman returned to the man of God, he and all the people in his group, and stood before him. He said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so now accept a blessing and gift from your servant."

¹⁶But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will accept nothing." He urged him to take it, but Elisha refused.

¹⁷Naaman said, "If not, then please, let your servant be given a load of earth for a team of mules; for [from this day on] your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but only to the LORD, [the God of Israel].

¹⁸In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master [the king] goes into the house of [his god] Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD pardon your servant in this matter [of attending the king when he worships]."

¹⁹Elisha said to him, "Go in peace." So Naaman departed and was a good distance away from him,

²⁰when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "My master has spared this Naaman the Aramean (Syrian), by not accepting from him what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him."

²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?"

²²And he said, "All is well. My master has sent me to say, 'Just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'"

²³Naaman said, "Please take two talents." And he urged him [to accept], and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them in front of Gehazi.

²⁴When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house [for safekeeping]; and he sent the men away, and they left.

²⁵Then he went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" He said, "Your servant went nowhere."

²⁶Elisha said to him, "Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a [proper] time to accept money and clothing and olive orchards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants?

²⁷Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So Gehazi departed from his presence, a leper as white as snow.

¹It came about in the sixth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin], on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I sat in my house [near Babylon] with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell on me there.

²Then I looked, and behold, a likeness [of a man] with the appearance of fire; from His loins downward He was like fire, and from His loins upward He had the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal (bronze).

³He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.

⁴And behold, the glory and brilliance of the God of Israel [who had loved and chosen them] was there, like the vision which I saw in the plain.

⁵Then He said to me, "Son of man, now raise your eyes toward the north." So I looked toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol (image) of jealousy at the entrance.

⁶Furthermore, He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great repulsive acts which the house of Israel is committing here, to drive Me far away from My sanctuary? But you will again see greater repulsive acts."

⁷Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard; and when I looked, behold, [there was] a hole in the wall.

⁸He said to me, "Son of man, now dig into the wall." And when I had dug into the wall, behold, there was an entrance.

⁹And He said to me, "Go in and see the wicked, repulsive acts that they are committing here."

¹⁰So I entered and looked, and saw every kind of creeping things and beasts and loathsome things, and all the idols of the house of Israel, carved all around on the wall.

¹¹Standing before these [images] were seventy elders of the house of Israel, and among them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], each man with his censer in his hand and a thick and fragrant cloud of incense was rising [as they prayed to these gods].

¹²Then He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, each man in his [secret] room of carved images? For they say, 'The LORD does not see us; the LORD has abandoned the land.'"

¹³He also said to me, "Yet again you will see even greater repulsive acts which they are committing."

¹⁴Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord's house; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

¹⁵He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater repulsive acts than these [that they are committing]."

¹⁶So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord's house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the porch (vestibule, portico) and the [bronze] altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing down toward the east and worshiping the sun.

¹⁷He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger? And behold, they are putting the branch to their nose.

¹⁸Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare [them]; and though they cry loudly in My ears, yet I will not listen to them."

¹It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper [inland] districts and came down to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

²He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [in Jesus as the Christ]?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

³And he asked, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism."

⁴Paul said, "John performed a baptism of repentance, continually telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, [to confidently accept and joyfully believe] in Jesus [the Messiah and Savior]."

⁵After hearing this, they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in [unknown] tongues (languages) and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient [to the word of God], discrediting and speaking evil of the Way (Jesus, Christianity) before the congregation, Paul left them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus [instead of in the synagogue].

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor], Jews as well as Greeks, heard the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

¹¹God was doing extraordinary and unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that even handkerchiefs or face-towels or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out [of them].

¹³Then some of the traveling Jewish exorcists also attempted to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I implore you and solemnly command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches!"

¹⁴Seven sons of one [named] Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit retorted, "I know and recognize and acknowledge Jesus, and I know about Paul, but as for you, who are you?"

¹⁶Then the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they ran out of that house [in terror, stripped] naked and wounded.

¹⁷This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified and exalted.

¹⁸Many of those who had become believers were coming, confessing and disclosing their [former sinful] practices.

¹⁹And many of those who had practiced magical arts collected their books and [throwing book after book on the pile] began burning them in front of everyone. They calculated their value and found it to be50,000 pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] was growing greatly and prevailing.

²¹Now after these events, Paul determined in the Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of the Greek mainland), and go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome [and preach the good news of salvation]."

²²And after sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia [ahead of him], he stayed on in [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor] for a while.

²³About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way (Jesus, Christianity).

²⁴Now a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis (Diana), was bringing no small profit to the craftsmen.

²⁵These [craftsmen] he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you are well aware that we make a good living from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost all over [the province of] Asia, this Paul has persuaded [people to believe his teaching] and has misled a large number of people, claiming that gods made by [human] hands are not really gods at all.

²⁷Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will be discredited, but also that the [magnificent] temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned and lose her glorious magnificence."

²⁸When they heard this, they were filled with rage, and they began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

²⁹Then the city was filled with confusion; and people rushed together [as a group] into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions.

³⁰Paul wanted to go into the [pagan] assembly, but the disciples would not let him.

³¹Even some of the Asiarchs (officials) who were his friends sent word to him and repeatedly warned him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Now some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in confusion and most of the people did not know why they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd advised Alexander [to speak], since the Jews had pushed him forward; and Alexander motioned with his hand [for attention] and intended to make a defense to the people.

³⁴But when they realized that he was a Jew, a single outcry went up from the crowd as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

³⁵After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of that [ sacred stone image of her] which fell from the sky?

³⁶So, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another there.

³⁹But if you want anything beyond this, it will be settled in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For we are running the risk of being accused of rioting in regard to today's events, and since there is no reason for it, we will be unable to give an account and justify this disorderly gathering."

⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.