Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it happened that Jesus was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath, and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.

²But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

³And Jesus, answering them, said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

⁴how he entered the house of God, and took and ate theconsecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”

⁵And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught; and a man was there whose right hand was withered.

⁷Now the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him.

⁸But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up andcome forward!” And he got up and came forward.

⁹And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰And after looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.

¹¹But they themselves were filled with senseless rage, and began discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

¹²Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God.

¹³And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:

¹⁴Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

¹⁵and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;

¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷And then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

¹⁸who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured.

¹⁹And all the people were trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

²⁰And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “Blessed areyou who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹Blessed areyou who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed areyou who weep now, for you will laugh.

²²Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when theyexclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

²³Rejoice on that day and jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used totreat the prophets the same way.

²⁴But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

²⁵Woe to you whoare well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used totreat the false prophets the same way.

²⁷“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who are abusive to you.

²⁹Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away yourcloak, do not withhold yourtunic from him either.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

³¹Treat people the same way you want them totreat you.

³²If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

³³And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

³⁵But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. They willpour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹Now He also spoke a parable to them: “A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

⁴⁰Astudent is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

⁴¹Why do you look at thespeck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out thespeck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out thespeck that is in your brother’s eye.

⁴³For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor,on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit.

⁴⁴For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

⁴⁵The good person out of the goodtreasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks fromthat which fills his heart.

⁴⁶“Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

⁴⁷Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words andacts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, whodug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built.

⁴⁹But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

¹Then the sons of Israel journeyed on, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

²Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

³So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel.

⁴Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will eat up all that is around us, as the ox eats up the grass of the field!” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.

⁵So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the Euphrates River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call for him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they have covered the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me.

⁶Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left with the fees for divination in their hands; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak’s words to him.

⁸And he said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you just as the LORD may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁹Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me:

¹¹‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ”

¹²But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

¹³So Balaam got up in the morning and said to Balak’s representatives, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

¹⁴And the representatives from Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak sent representatives once again, more numerous and more distinguished than the previous.

¹⁶They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak the son of Zippor says: ‘I beg you, let nothing keep you from coming to me;

¹⁷for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you tell me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’ ”

¹⁸But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God.

¹⁹Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the LORD will say to me.”

²⁰And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise and go with them; but you shall do only the thing that I tell you.”

²¹So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

²²But God was angry that he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

²³When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, the donkey turned off from the road and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey to guide her back onto the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and on that side.

²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again.

²⁶Then the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left.

²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey, “It is because you have made a mockery of me! If only there had been a sword in my hand! For I would have killed you by now!”

³⁰But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground.

³²Then the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was reckless and contrary to me.

³³But the donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I certainly would have killed you just now, and let her live.”

³⁴So Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.”

³⁵But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the representatives of Balak.

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, at the extreme end of the border.

³⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send word to you to call for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?”

³⁸So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you now! Am I really able to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that only shall I speak.”

³⁹And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

⁴⁰Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

⁴¹Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, and he saw from there a portion of the people.

¹Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.

³Indeed, true companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

⁹As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act.

¹¹Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

¹²I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

¹³I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty.

¹⁵You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone;

¹⁶for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

¹⁷Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account.

¹⁸But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

¹⁹And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

²⁰Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.

²²All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

²To Timothy, my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³Just as I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, to remain on at Ephesus so that you would instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrines,

⁴nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation rather than advance the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now.

⁵But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith.

⁶Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

⁷wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

⁸But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

⁹realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

¹⁰for the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

¹¹according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,

¹³even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;

¹⁴and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.

¹⁶Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,

¹⁹keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

²⁰Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?

³Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which do not benefit?

⁴Indeed, you do away with reverence, And hinder meditation before God.

⁵For your wrongdoing teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the cunning.

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Were you the first person to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸Do you hear the secret discussion of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?

¹⁰Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father.

¹¹Are the consolations of God too little for you, Or the word spoken gently to you?

¹²Why does your heart take you away? And why do your eyes wink,

¹³That you can turn your spirit against God And produce such words from your mouth?

¹⁴What is man, that he would be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?

¹⁵Behold, He has no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

¹⁶How much less one who is detestable and corrupt: A person who drinks malice like water!

¹⁷“I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

¹⁸What wise people have told, And have not concealed from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them.

²⁰The wicked person writhes in pain all his days, And the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.

²¹Sounds of terror are in his ears; While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword.

²³He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

²⁴Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

²⁵Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.

²⁶He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.

²⁷For he has covered his face with his fat, And put fat on his waist.

²⁸He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.

²⁹He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his property will not stretch out on the earth.

³⁰He will not escape from darkness; The flame will dry up his shoot, And he will go away by the breath of His mouth.

³¹Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For his reward will be emptiness.

³²It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.

³³He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

³⁵They conceive harm and give birth to wrongdoing, And their mind prepares deception.”

¹LORD, You have searched me and known me.

²You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thought from far away.

³You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, LORD, You know it all.

⁵You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

⁷Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

⁹If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

¹⁰Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me.

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,”

¹²Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;

¹⁶Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹If only You would put the wicked to death, God; Leave me, you men of bloodshed.

²⁰For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain.

²¹Do I not hate those who hate You, LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

²²I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.

²³Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;

²⁴And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

¹A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise makes knowledge pleasant, But the mouth of fools spouts foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.

⁴A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who complies with rebuke is sensible.

⁶Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves the one who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is severe punishment for one who abandons the way; One who hates a rebuke will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of mankind!

¹²A scoffer does not love one who rebukes him; He will not go to the wise.

¹³A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the needy are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure, and turmoil with the treasure.

¹⁷Better is a portion of vegetables where there is love, Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

¹⁹The way of the lazy one is like a hedge of thorns, But the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Foolishness is joy to one who lacks sense, But a person of understanding walks straight.

²²Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.

²³A person has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the wise, So that he may keep away from Sheol below.

²⁵The LORD will tear down the house of the proud, But He will set the boundary of the widow.

²⁶Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD, But pleasant words are pure.

²⁷He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news refreshes the bones.

³¹One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke Will stay among the wise.

³²One who neglects discipline rejects himself, But one who listens to a rebuke acquires understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

¹In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned for seventeen years.

²He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; he did not turn from them.

³So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He continually handed them over to Hazael king of Aram, and to Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael.

⁴Then Jehoahaz appeased the LORD, and the LORD listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.

⁵And the LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as previously.

⁶Nevertheless they did not abandon the sins of the house of Jeroboam, into which he misled Israel; rather, they walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria.

⁷For he left to Jehoahaz no more of the army than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, because the king of Aram had eliminated them and made them like the dust at threshing.

⁸Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁹And Jehoahaz lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and his son Joash became king in his place.

¹⁰In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for sixteen years.

¹¹He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; rather, he walked in them.

¹²Now as for the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹³So Joash lay down with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

¹⁴When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

¹⁵And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.

¹⁶Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

¹⁷And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And he said, “The LORD’S arrow of victory, and the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have put an end to them.”

¹⁸Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped.

¹⁹Then the man of God became angry at him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you put an end to it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”

²⁰And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the marauding bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year.

²¹And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.

²²Now Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

²³But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and He was unwilling to eliminate them or cast them away from His presence until now.

²⁴When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad became king in his place.

²⁵Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of his father Jehoahaz. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

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

²“Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,

³and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

⁴As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.

⁵No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

⁶“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’

⁷I made you very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

⁸“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord GOD.

⁹“Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.

¹⁰I also clothed you with colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

¹¹I adorned you with jewelry, put bracelets on your wrists, and a necklace around your neck.

¹²I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

¹³So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.

¹⁴Then your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“But you trusted in your beauty and became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting.

¹⁶You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen.

¹⁷You also took your beautiful jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them.

¹⁸Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.

¹⁹Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord GOD.

²⁰“Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter?

²¹You slaughtered My children and offered them to idols by making them pass through the fire.

²²And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

²³“Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord GOD),

²⁴that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every public square.

²⁵You built yourself a high place at the beginning of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice.

²⁶You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to provoke Me to anger.

²⁷So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct.

²⁸Moreover, you committed prostitution with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied.

²⁹You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.” ’ ”

³⁰“How feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord GOD, “while you do all these things, the action of a bold prostitute!

³¹When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute.

³²You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!

³³Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices.

³⁴So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”

³⁵Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD.

³⁶This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to idols,

³⁷therefore, behold, I am going to gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness.

³⁸So I will judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

³⁹I will also hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.

⁴⁰They will incite a crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

⁴¹And they will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay your lovers.

⁴²So I will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and no longer be angry.

⁴³Since you have not remembered the days of your youth but have caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord GOD, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

⁴⁴“Behold, everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

⁴⁵You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

⁴⁶Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.

⁴⁷Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and committed their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you also acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.

⁴⁸As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done!

⁴⁹Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, plenty of food, and carefree ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.

⁵⁰So they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.

⁵¹Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear innocent by all your abominations which you have committed.

⁵²Also, bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

⁵³“Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own fortunes,

⁵⁴so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them.

⁵⁵Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state.

⁵⁶As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride,

⁵⁷before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the disgrace of the daughters of Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you.

⁵⁸You have suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the LORD declares.

⁵⁹For this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

⁶⁰“Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

⁶¹Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.

⁶²So I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD,

⁶³so that you may remember and be ashamed, and not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord GOD declares.

¹Now when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to turn Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan cohort, named Julius.

²And we boarded an Adramyttian ship that was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, and put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica.

³The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care.

⁴From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

⁵When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

⁶There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

⁷When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone;

⁸and with difficulty sailing past it, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

⁹When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul started admonishing them,

¹⁰saying to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

¹¹But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.

¹²The harbor was not suitable for wintering, so the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

¹³When a moderate south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, closer to shore.

¹⁴But before very long a violent wind, called Euraquilo, rushed down from the land;

¹⁵and when the ship was caught in it and could not head up into the wind, we gave up and let ourselves be driven by the wind.

¹⁶Running under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were able to get the ship’s boat under control only with difficulty.

¹⁷After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and let themselves be driven along in this way.

¹⁸The next day as we were being violently tossed by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo;

¹⁹and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

²⁰Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was slowly abandoned.

²¹When many had lost their appetites, Paul then stood among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete, and thereby spared yourselves this damage and loss.

²²And yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

²³For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me,

²⁴saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.’

²⁵Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

²⁶But we must run aground on a certain island.”

²⁷But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land.

²⁸And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms.

²⁹Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

³⁰But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow,

³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.”

³²Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

³³Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken in nothing.

³⁴Therefore, I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your survival, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”

³⁵Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and he broke it and began to eat.

³⁶All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.

³⁷We were 276 people on the ship in all.

³⁸When they had eaten enough, they began lightening the ship by throwing the wheat out into the sea.

³⁹Now when day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did notice a bay with a beach, and they resolved to run the ship onto it if they could.

⁴⁰And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and they hoisted the foresail to the wind and were heading for the beach.

⁴¹But they struck a reef where two seas met and ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck firmly and remained immovable, while the stern started to break up due to the force of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape;

⁴³but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from accomplishing their intention, and commanded that those who could swim were to jump overboard first and get to land,

⁴⁴and the rest were to follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.