Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.

²But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”

³And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

⁴But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?

⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

⁶But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.

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

⁸She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.

⁹Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.

¹¹And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

¹²Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

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

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

¹⁵Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”

¹⁶So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷In the evening He came with the twelve.

¹⁸Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”

¹⁹And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”

²⁰He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.

²¹The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written 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 never been born.”

²²And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

²³Then He took the cup, and when He had 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, which is shed for many.

²⁵Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

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

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

²⁹Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

³⁰Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

³¹But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.

³²Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

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

³⁴Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”

³⁵He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.

³⁶And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?

³⁸Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.

⁴⁰And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

⁴¹Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

⁴³And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

⁴⁴Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.”

⁴⁵As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.

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

⁴⁸Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?

⁴⁹I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰Then they all forsook Him and fled.

⁵¹Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him,

⁵²and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

⁵³And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.

⁵⁴But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.

⁵⁶For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

⁵⁷Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying,

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

⁵⁹But not even then did their testimony agree.

⁶⁰And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”

⁶¹But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

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

⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

⁶⁵Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

⁶⁶Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.

⁶⁷And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.”

⁷⁰But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”

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

⁷²A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

¹So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.

²And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!

³Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

⁴So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

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

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

⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out 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, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”

¹⁰And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

¹¹Then the LORD said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?

¹²I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³And Moses said to the LORD: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them,

¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and 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 which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,

¹⁶‘Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying,

¹⁸‘The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’

¹⁹Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰Then the LORD said: “I have pardoned, according to your word;

²¹but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD—

²²because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,

²³they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.

²⁴But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.

²⁵Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”

²⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²⁷“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.

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

²⁹The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.

³⁰Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.

³¹But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.

³²But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.

³³And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.

³⁴According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.

³⁵I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land,

³⁷those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the LORD.

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

³⁹Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.

⁴⁰And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!”

⁴¹And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed.

⁴²Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you.

⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.”

⁴⁴But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.

¹And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

²in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

³among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

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

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

⁶and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

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

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

⁹not of works, lest anyone should boast.

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

¹¹Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—

¹²that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

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

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

¹⁵having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,

¹⁶and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.

¹⁸For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

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

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

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

¹“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

²Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

³So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

⁵My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

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

⁷Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good.

⁸The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

⁹As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

¹⁰He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know 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 a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?

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

¹⁴Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions,

¹⁵So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body.

¹⁶I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.

¹⁷“What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him,

¹⁸That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?

¹⁹How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

²⁰Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.”

¹A Song of Ascents. Of David. [1] LORD, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me.

²Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

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

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

²Keep my commands and live, And my law 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 nearest kin,

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.

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

⁷And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,

⁸Passing along 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, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.

¹¹She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him:

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

¹⁵So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

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

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love.

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

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

²¹With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

²³Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life.

²⁴Now therefore, listen to me, my children; 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 she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men.

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

¹Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.

²And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife.

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

⁴And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

⁵Then the king of Syria 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 clothing.

⁶Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.

⁷And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”

⁸So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.

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

¹¹But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’

¹²Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, 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.

¹³And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, 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 seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”

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

¹⁷So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

¹⁸Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing.”

¹⁹Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.

²⁰But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”

²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him 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, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ”

²³So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him.

²⁴When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed.

²⁵Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”

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

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

¹And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat 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 there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber.

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

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

⁵Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.”

⁷So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall.

⁸Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

⁹And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.”

¹⁰So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls.

¹¹And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.

¹²Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’ ”

¹³And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.”

¹⁴So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

¹⁵Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.

¹⁷And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose.

¹⁸Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

¹And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

²he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

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

⁴Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

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

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

⁷Now the men were about twelve in all.

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

⁹But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

¹⁰And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

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

¹³Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

¹⁴Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

¹⁸And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

¹⁹Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

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

²²So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

²³And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.

²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

²⁵He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

²⁶Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.

²⁷So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.

³⁰And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him.

³¹Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

³²Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

³⁶Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.

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

³⁸Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.”

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