Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Since [as is well known] many have undertaken to compile an orderly account of the things which have been fulfilled among us [by God],

²exactly as they were handed down to us by those [with personal experience] who from the beginning [of Christ's ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word [that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ],

³it seemed fitting for me as well, [and so I have decided] after having carefully searched out and investigated all the events accurately, from the very beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus;

⁴so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught [that is, the history and doctrine of the faith].

⁵In the days of Herod [the Great], king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron [the first high priest of Israel], and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶They both were righteous (approved) in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

⁷But they were childless, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both far advanced in years.

⁸Now it happened while Zacharias was serving as priest before God in the appointed order of his priestly division,

⁹as was the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter [the sanctuary of] the temple of the Lord and burn incense [on the altar of incense].

¹⁰And all the congregation was praying outside [in the court of the temple] at the hour of the incense offering.

¹¹And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

¹²When Zacharias saw the angel, he was troubled and overcome with fear.

¹³But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, because your petition [in prayer] was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.

¹⁴You will have great joy and delight, and many will rejoice over his birth,

¹⁵for he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord; and will never drink wine or liquor, and he will be filled with and empowered to act by the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb.

¹⁶He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God.

¹⁷It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord."

¹⁸And Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I be certain of this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in age."

¹⁹The angel replied and said to him, "I am Gabriel; I stand and minister in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent [by Him] to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰Listen carefully, you will be continually silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe what I told you; but my words will be fulfilled at their proper time."

²¹The people [outside in the court] were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering about his long delay in the temple.

²²But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.

²³When his time of priestly service was finished, he returned to his home.

²⁴Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying,

²⁵"This is how the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor on me, to take away my disgrace among men."

²⁶Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth's pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And coming to her, the angel said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

²⁹But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was.

³⁰The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

³²He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end."

³⁴Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?"

³⁵Then the angel replied to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.

³⁶And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

³⁷For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible."

³⁸Then Mary said, " Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel left her.

³⁹Now at this time Mary arose and hurried to the hill country, to a city of Judah (Judea),

⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him.

⁴²And she exclaimed loudly, "Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed [spiritually fortunate and favored by God] is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her [by the angel sent] from the Lord."

⁴⁶And Mary said, "My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

⁴⁸"For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant; For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God!

⁴⁹"For He who is mighty has done great things for me; And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].

⁵⁰"And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him. from generation to generation.

⁵¹"He has done mighty deeds with His [powerful] arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

⁵²"He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And exalted those who were humble.

⁵³"He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent the rich away empty-handed.

⁵⁴"He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

⁵⁵Just as He promised to our fathers, To Abraham and to his descendants forever."

⁵⁶And Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned to her home.

⁵⁷Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹It happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child [as required by the Law], and they intended to name him Zacharias, after his father;

⁶⁰but his mother answered, "No indeed; instead he will be called John."

⁶¹And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by that name."

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished.

⁶⁴At once Zacharias' mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking, praising and blessing and thanking God.

⁶⁵Then fear came on all their neighbors; and all these things were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶All who heard these things kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this little boy turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him [to bring about his birth].

⁶⁷Now Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him, and he prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸"Blessed (praised, glorified) be the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He has visited us and brought redemption to His people,

⁶⁹And He has raised up a horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Savior] for us In the house of David His servant—

⁷⁰Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—

⁷¹Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²To show mercy [as He promised] to our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant [the promised blessing],

⁷³The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

⁷⁴To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness [being set apart] and righteousness [being upright] before Him all our days.

⁷⁶"And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare His ways;

⁷⁷To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,

⁷⁹To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity."

⁸⁰The child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel [as John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah].

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to the sons of Israel and get rods from them, a rod for each father's household, from all their leaders according to their fathers' households, twelve rods. Write every man's name on his rod,

³and write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi [his ancestor]; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers' households.

⁴You shall then deposit them in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) in front of [the ark of] the Testimony, where I meet with you.

⁵It shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will bud, and I will no longer hear the constant grumblings of the Israelites, who are grumbling against you."

⁶So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a rod, one for each leader according to their fathers' households, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

⁷So Moses deposited the rods before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony (tabernacle).

⁸Now on the next day Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony, and the rod of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had sprouted and put out buds and produced blossoms and yielded [ripe] almonds.

⁹Moses brought out all the rods from the presence of LORD to all the Israelites; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

¹⁰But the LORD said to Moses, "Put Aaron's rod back before the Testimony [in the ark], to be kept as a [warning] sign for the rebellious and contentious, so that you may put an end to their murmurings [of discontent] against Me, so that they do not die."

¹¹And Moses did so; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

¹²The sons of Israel said to Moses, "Look, we perish, we are doomed, all doomed!

¹³Everyone who approaches, who approaches the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to perish completely?"

¹Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father];

²and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

³But sexual immorality and all [moral] impurity [indecent, offensive behavior] or greed must not even be hinted at among you, as is proper among saints [for as believers our way of life, whether in public or in private, reflects the validity of our faith].

⁴Let there be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse [obscene or vulgar] joking, because such things are not appropriate [for believers]; but instead speak of your thankfulness [to God].

⁵For be sure of this: no immoral, impure, or greedy person—for that one is [in effect] an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God [for such a person places a higher value on something other than God].

⁶Let no one deceive you with empty arguments [that encourage you to sin], for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience [those who habitually sin].

⁷So do not participate or even associate with them [in the rebelliousness of sin].

⁸For once you were darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]

⁹(for the fruit [the effect, the result] of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

¹⁰trying to learn [by experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [and letting your lifestyles be examples of what is most acceptable to Him—your behavior expressing gratitude to God for your salvation].

¹¹Do not participate in the worthless and unproductive deeds of darkness, but instead expose them [by exemplifying personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character];

¹²for it is disgraceful even to mention the things that such people practice in secret.

¹³But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light [of God's precepts], for it is light that makes everything visible.

¹⁴For this reason He says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light."

¹⁵Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people],

¹⁶making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.

¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.

¹⁹Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [offering praise by] singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

²¹being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²²Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as [a service] to the Lord.

²³For the husband is head of the wife, as Christ is head of the church, Himself being the Savior of the body.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be subject to their husbands in everything [respecting both their position as protector and their responsibility to God as head of the house].

²⁵Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

²⁶so that He might sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word [of God],

²⁷so that [in turn] He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy [set apart for God] and blameless.

²⁸Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.

²⁹For no one ever hated his own body, but [instead] he nourishes and protects and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,

³⁰because we are members (parts) of His body.

³¹For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined [and be faithfully devoted] to his wife, and the two shall becomeone flesh.

³²This mystery [of two becoming one] is great; but I am speaking with reference to [the relationship of] Christ and the church.

³³However, each man among you [without exception] is to love his wife as his very own self [with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of lovingkindness], and the wife [must see to it] that she respects and delights in her husband [that she notices him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and holding him dear].

¹"I am disgusted with my life and loathe it! I will give free expression to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²"I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]! Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

³'Does it indeed seem right to You to oppress, To despise and reject the work of Your hands, And to look with favor on the schemes of the wicked?

⁴'Do You have eyes of flesh? Do You see as a man sees?

⁵'Are Your days as the days of a mortal, Are Your years as man's years,

⁶That You seek my guilt And search for my sin?

⁷'Although You know that I am not guilty or wicked, Yet there is no one who can rescue me from Your hand.

⁸'Your hands have formed and made me altogether. Would You [turn around and] destroy me?

⁹'Remember now, that You have made me as clay; So will You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰'Have You not poured me out like milk And curdled me like cheese?

¹¹'[You have] clothed me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews.

¹²'You have granted me life and lovingkindness; And Your providence (divine care, supervision) has preserved my spirit.

¹³'Yet these [present evils] You have hidden in Your heart [since my creation]: I know that this was within You [in Your purpose and thought].

¹⁴'If I sin, then You would take note and observe me, And You would not acquit me of my guilt.

¹⁵'If I am wicked, woe to me [for judgment comes]! And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. For I am sated and filled with disgrace and the sight of my misery.

¹⁶'Should I lift my head up, You would hunt me like a lion; And again You would show Your marvelous power against me.

¹⁷'You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your indignation and anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me [attacking me time after time].

¹⁸'Why then did You bring me out of the womb? Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹'I should have been as though I had not existed; [I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.'

²⁰"Would He not let my few days alone, Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

²¹Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],

²²The [sunless] land of utter gloom as darkness itself, [The land] of the shadow of death, without order, And [where] it shines as [thick] darkness."

¹A Song of Ascents. Behold, bless and praise the LORD, all servants of the LORD (priests, Levites), Who stand and serve by night in the house of the LORD.

²Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD.

³May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish [stubborn] son [who refuses to learn] is a grief to his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness and ill-gotten gains do not profit, But righteousness and moral integrity in daily life rescues from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous to hunger [God will meet all his needs], But He will reject and cast away the craving of the wicked.

⁴Poor is he who works with a negligent and idle hand, But the hand of the diligent makes him rich.

⁵He who gathers during summer and takes advantage of his opportunities is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps during harvest and ignores the moment of opportunity is a son who acts shamefully.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God], But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The memory of the righteous [person] is a [source of] blessing, But the name of the wicked will [be forgotten and] rot [like a corpse].

⁸The wise in heart [are willing to learn so they] will accept and obey commands (instruction), But the babbling fool [who is arrogant and thinks himself wise] will come to ruin.

⁹He who walks in integrity and with moral character walks securely, But he who takes a crooked way will be discovered and punished.

¹⁰He who [maliciously] winks the eye [of evil intent] causes trouble; And the babbling fool [who is arrogant and thinks himself wise] will come to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life and his words of wisdom are a source of blessing, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence and evil.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers and overwhelms all transgressions [forgiving and overlooking another's faults].

¹³On the lips of the discerning, [skillful and godly] wisdom is found, But discipline and the rod are for the back of the one who is without common sense and understanding.

¹⁴Wise men store up and treasure knowledge [in mind and heart], But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

¹⁵The rich man's wealth is his fortress; The ruin of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The wages of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God] is [a worthwhile, meaningful] life, The income of the wicked, punishment.

¹⁷He who learns from instruction and correction is on the [right] path of life [and for others his example is a path toward wisdom and blessing], But he who ignores and refuses correction goes off course [and for others his example is a path toward sin and ruin].

¹⁸He who hides hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, transgression and offense are unavoidable, But he who controls his lips and keeps thoughtful silence is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like precious silver (greatly valued); The heart of the wicked is worth little.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed and guide many, But fools [who reject God and His wisdom] die for lack of understanding.

²²The blessing of the LORD brings [true] riches, And He adds no sorrow to it [for it comes as a blessing from God].

²³Engaging in evil is like sport to the fool [who refuses wisdom and chases sin], But to a man of understanding [skillful and godly] wisdom brings joy.

²⁴What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desire of the righteous [for the blessings of God] will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him to work.

²⁷The [reverent] fear of the LORD [worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect] prolongs one's life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous [those of honorable character and integrity] is joy, But the expectation of the wicked [those who oppose God and ignore His wisdom] comes to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright, But it is ruin to those who do evil.

³⁰The [consistently] righteous will never be shaken, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.

³¹The mouth of the righteous flows with [skillful and godly] wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know (speak) what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked knows (speaks) what is perverted (twisted).

¹Now Elisha had said to the [Shunammite] woman whose son he had restored to life, "Prepare and go, you and your household, and stay temporarily wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and moreover, it will come on the land [and continue] for seven years."

²So the woman set out and did everything in accordance with the word of the man of God. She and her household went and stayed temporarily as foreigners in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

³At the end of the seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to appeal to the king [of Israel] for her house and for her land.

⁴Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done."

⁵And [just] as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life."

⁶When the king asked the woman, she told him [everything]. So the king appointed for her a certain high official, saying, "Restore everything that was hers, including all the produce of the field since the day that she left the land until now."

⁷Now Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) was sick; and he was told, "The man of God has come here."

⁸And the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"

⁹So Hazael went to meet Elisha and took a gift with him of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' loads; and he came and stood before him and said, "Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, asking, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"

¹⁰And Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, 'You will certainly recover,' but the LORD has shown me that he will certainly die."

¹¹Elisha stared steadily at Hazael until he was embarrassed, and then the man of God wept.

¹²Hazael said, "Why are you weeping, my lord?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons (descendants) of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to pieces, and rip up their pregnant women."

¹³Then Hazael said, "Surely not! For what is your servant, who is nothing more than a dog, that he would do this monstrous thing?" And Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram."

¹⁴Then Hazael departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he answered, "He told me you would certainly recover."

¹⁵But the next day Hazael took the bedspread and dipped it in water and covered the king's face, so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

¹⁶Now in the fifth year of Joram (Jehoram) the son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.

¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for [Athaliah] the daughter of Ahab became his wife. He did evil in the sight of the LORD.

¹⁹Yet for the sake of His servant David the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, since He had promised to give him a lamp (enthroned descendant) through his sons always.

²⁰In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah, and set up a king over themselves.

²¹So Jehoram [king of Judah] went over to Zair [in Edom] with all his chariots. He set out by night and struck down the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of his chariots; but the people [of his army] fled to their tents.

²²So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

²³The rest of the acts of Jehoram and everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

²⁴Jehoram slept with his fathers [in death] and was buried with them in the City of David. Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

²⁵In the twelfth year of Joram (Jehoram) the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

²⁶Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

²⁷He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab, for he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸Ahaziah went with Joram the son of Ahab to battle against Hazael king of Aram (Syria) in Ramoth-gilead; and the Arameans wounded Joram.

²⁹King Joram returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

¹Moreover, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the Lord's house, which faced eastward. And behold, at the entrance of the gate there were twenty-five men; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

²Then the Spirit said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise evil and give wicked advice in this city,

³who say, 'Is not the time near to build houses? This city is [secure just like] the pot and we are the meat [in it].'

⁴Therefore, prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man!"

⁵Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and He said to me, "Say, 'Thus says the LORD, "This is what you think, house of Israel, for I know your thoughts.

⁶You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the corpses [of righteous men]."

⁷Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Your dead whom you have laid in the midst of your city are the meat and this city is the pot; but I shall force you out of [the security of] it.

⁸You have feared the sword; so I will bring a sword upon you," says the Lord GOD.

⁹And I will bring you out of the midst of the city and hand you over to strangers and execute judgment against you.

¹⁰You will fall by the sword; I will judge and punish you [in front of your neighbors] at the border of [the land of] Israel; and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.

¹¹This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be meat [safe] in it, but I will judge you at the border of Israel.

¹²And you will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor have you executed My ordinances, but you have acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you."'"

¹³Now it came about while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell face downward and cried out loudly, "Alas, Lord GOD! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?"

¹⁴Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁵"Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the [present] inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.'

¹⁶Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Though I had removed Israel far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary for them for a little while in the countries to which they had gone."'

¹⁷Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give [back] to you the land of Israel."'

¹⁸When they return there, they will remove from it all [traces of] its detestable things and all its repulsive things (remnants of paganism).

¹⁹And I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to My touch],

²⁰that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

²¹But as for those whose heart longs for and follows after their detestable things and their repulsive things [associated with idolatry], on their own head I will repay [them in full for] their [vile] conduct," says the Lord GOD.

²²Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the [Shekinah] glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

²³Then the glory and brilliance of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and paused over the mountain, [the Mount of Olives] which is east of the city.

²⁴And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea (Babylonia). Then the vision that I had seen left me.

²⁵Then I told the exiles everything that the LORD had shown me.

¹"Brethren and fathers (kinsmen), hear my defense which I now offer to you."

²When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. And he continued,

³"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being ardent and passionate for God just as all of you are today.

⁴I persecuted and pursued the followers of this Way to the death, binding them with chains and putting [followers of Jesus] both men and women into prisons,

⁵as the high priest and all the Council of the elders (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) can testify; because from them I received letters to the brothers, and I was on my way to Damascus in order to bring those [believers] who were there to Jerusalem in chains to be punished.

⁶"But as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven and shone around me.

⁷And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

⁸And I replied, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'

⁹Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

¹⁰And I asked, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that is appointed and destined for you to do.'

¹¹But since I could not see because of the [glorious intensity and dazzling] brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

¹²"And one Ananias, a devout man according to the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

¹³came to [see] me, and standing near, he said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I [recovered my sight and] looked up at him.

¹⁴And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, [and to progressively understand His plan with clarity and power] and to see the Righteous One [Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and to hear a message from His [own] mouth.

¹⁵For you will be His witness to all men testifying of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶Now, why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name [for salvation].'

¹⁷"Then it happened when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple [enclosure], that I fell into a trance (vision);

¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.'

¹⁹And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know [without any doubt] that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You [and Your message of salvation].

²⁰And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby approving and consenting [to his death], and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.'

²¹And the Lord said to me, 'Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

²²They listened to Paul until [he made] this [last] statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, "Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!"

²³And as they were shouting and throwing off their coats [getting ready to stone Paul] and tossing dust into the air [expressing their anger],

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he was to be interrogated with a whip in order to learn why the people were shouting against him that way.

²⁵But when they had stretched him out with the leather straps [in preparation for the whip], Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned [without a trial]?"

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said to him, "What are you about to do? This man is a Roman!"

²⁷So the commander came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."

²⁸The commander replied, "I purchased this citizenship [of mine] for a large sum of money [so how did you acquire yours?]." Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."

²⁹So those who were about to interrogate him by torture immediately let him go; and the commander was also afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman and he had put him in chains.

³⁰But on the next day, wanting to know the real reason why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) to assemble; and brought Paul down and presented him before them.