Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him;

²for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.”

³While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head.

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

⁵For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.

⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me.

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

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

⁹Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.

¹¹They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

¹²On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹³And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him;

¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’

¹⁵And he himself will show you a large upstairs room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.”

¹⁶The disciples left and came 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.

¹⁸And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you willbetray Me—one who is eating with Me.”

¹⁹They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl.

²¹For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that manby whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been goodfor that man if he had not been born.”

²²While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”

²³And when He had taken a cup 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 covenant, which is being poured out for many.

²⁵Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷And Jesus *said to them, “You will allfall away, because it is written: ‘I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP WILL BE SCATTERED.’

²⁸But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

²⁹But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all fall away, yet I will not!”

³⁰And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, thatthis very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.”

³¹But Peter repeatedly said insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.

³²They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.”

³³And He *took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.

³⁴And He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here andkeep watch.”

³⁵And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by.

³⁶And He was saying, “Abba!Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you notkeep watch for one hour?

³⁸Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

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

⁴⁰And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him.

⁴¹And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is beingbetrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

⁴³And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.

⁴⁴Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.”

⁴⁵And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and *said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him.

⁴⁷But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt?

⁴⁹Every day I was with you within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰And His disciples all left Him and fled.

⁵¹A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him.

⁵²But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

⁵³They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together.

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

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any.

⁵⁶For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent.

⁵⁷And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying,

⁵⁸“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’ ”

⁵⁹And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent.

⁶⁰And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?”

⁶¹But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

⁶⁵And some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him and slapped Him in the face.

⁶⁶And while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came,

⁶⁷and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene as well.”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch.

⁶⁹The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!”

⁷⁰But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, for you are a Galilean as well.”

⁷¹But he began to curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!”

⁷²And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he hurried on and began to weep.

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

²And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness!

³So why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

⁶And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;

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

⁸If the LORD is pleased with 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 is gone from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”

¹⁰But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?

¹²I will strike them with plague and dispossess them, and I 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 this people up from their midst,

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

¹⁵Now if You put this people to death all at once, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

¹⁶‘Since the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷So 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 mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’

¹⁹Please forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰So the LORD said, “I have forgiven them in accordance with your word;

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

²²Certainly all the people who have seen My glory and My 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,

²³shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it.

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

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

²⁶The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron again, saying,

²⁷“How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they are voicing against Me.

²⁸Say to them, ‘As I live,’ declares the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you;

²⁹your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all your numbered men according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.

³⁰By no means will you come into the land where I swore to settle you, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

³¹Your children, however, whom you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.

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

³³Also, your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your bodies perish in the wilderness.

³⁴In accordance with the number of days that you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall suffer the punishment for your guilt a year, that is, forty years, and you will know My opposition.

³⁵I, the LORD, have spoken, I certainly will do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall be worn out in this wilderness, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and led all the congregation to grumble against him by bringing a bad report about the land,

³⁷those men who brought the bad report of the land also died by a plague in the presence of 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.

³⁹Now when Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.

⁴⁰In the morning, however, they got up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why then are you violating the command of the LORD, when doing so will not succeed?

⁴²Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.

⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there to confront you, and you will fall by the sword, since you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you.”

⁴⁴But they foolishly dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country; 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 them and scattered them as far as Hormah.

¹And you were dead in your offenses and sins,

²in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

³Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

⁵even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

⁶and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

⁷so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

¹¹Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—

¹²remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace;

¹⁶and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.

¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;

¹⁸for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,

²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,

²²in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

¹“Is a person not forced to labor on earth, And are his days not like the days of a hired worker?

²As a slave pants for the shade, And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages,

³So I am allotted worthless months, And nights of trouble are apportioned to me.

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn.

⁵My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and oozes.

⁶My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And they come to an end without hope.

⁷“Remember that my life is a mere breath; My eye will not see goodness again.

⁸The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.

⁹When a cloud vanishes, it is gone; In the same way one who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

¹⁰He will not return to his house again, 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.

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

¹³If I say, ‘My couch will comfort me, My bed will ease my complaint,’

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

¹⁵So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains.

¹⁶I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath.

¹⁷What is man that You exalt him, And that You are concerned about him,

¹⁸That You examine him every morning And put him to the test every moment?

¹⁹Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle?

²⁰Have I sinned? What have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹Why then do You not forgive my wrongdoing And take away my guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will search for me, but I will no longer exist.”

¹LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes arrogant; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.

²I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, My soul within me is like a weaned child.

³Israel, wait for the LORD From this time on and forever.

¹My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.

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

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

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend,

⁵So that they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

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

⁷And I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he walks along the way to her house,

⁹In the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and the darkness.

¹⁰And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.

¹¹She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home;

¹²She is now in the streets, now in the public squares, And lurks by every corner.

¹³So she seizes him and kisses him, And with a brazen face she says to him:

¹⁴“I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with coverings, With colored linens of Egypt.

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

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning; Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.

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

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him. At the full moon he will come home.”

²¹With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.

²²Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,

²³Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hurries to the snare, So he does not know that it will 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 paths.

²⁶For many are the victims she has brought to ruin, And numerous are all those slaughtered by her.

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

¹Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy.

²Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

³And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such.”

⁵Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothes.

⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷But when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”

⁸Now it happened, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house.

¹⁰And Elisha 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 he said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the leprosy.’

¹²Are Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not 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 spoke to him, saying, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵Then he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please accept a gift from your servant now.”

¹⁶But he said, “As surely as the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will accept nothing.” And he urged him to accept it, but he refused.

¹⁷Then Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant be given two mules’ load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

¹⁸Regarding this matter may the LORD forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD please forgive your servant in this matter.”

¹⁹He said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went some distance from him.

²⁰But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”

²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything well?”

²²And he said, “Everything is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, 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, “Be sure to take two talents.” And he urged him, 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 before him.

²⁴When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

²⁵But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”

²⁶Then he said to him, “Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves?

²⁷Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.

¹Now it came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.

²Then I looked, and behold, something like the appearance of a man; from His waist and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His waist and upward like the appearance of a glow, like gleaming metal.

³And He extended the form of a hand and took me by the hair of 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 of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.

⁴And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.

⁵Then He said to me, “Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol of jealousy at the entrance.

⁶And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations!”

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

⁸And He said to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance.

⁹Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.”

¹⁰So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of crawling things and animals and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around.

¹¹And standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand; and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was rising.

¹²Then He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the rooms of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has abandoned the land.’ ”

¹³And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing!”

¹⁴Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

¹⁵And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these!”

¹⁶Then He brought me into the inner courtyard of the LORD’S house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD while their faces were toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun.

¹⁷And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it a trivial thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me to anger repeatedly? Yet behold, they are putting the twig to their nose!

¹⁸Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and though they cry out in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”

¹Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

²He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.”

³And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took the disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

¹³But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Now there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house 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 being magnified.

¹⁸Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

¹⁹And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of the books and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily.

²¹Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

²²And after he sent into Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time a major disturbance occurred in regard to the Way.

²⁴For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing considerable business to the craftsmen;

²⁵he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.

²⁷Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

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

²⁹The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s Macedonian traveling companions.

³⁰And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

³¹Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.

³²So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from the sky?

³⁶So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing 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; have them bring charges against one another.

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

⁴⁰For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.”

⁴¹After saying this he dismissed the assembly.