Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

²So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

³Give us day by day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

⁵And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;

⁶for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

⁷and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?

⁸I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

⁹“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

¹¹If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

¹³If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

¹⁴And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.

¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

²⁰But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.

²²But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

²³He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

²⁵And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.

²⁶Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

²⁷And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

²⁹And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

³⁰For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

³¹The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

³³“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.

³⁴The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

³⁵Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.

³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

³⁷And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.

³⁸When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

⁴²“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

⁴⁵Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

⁴⁶And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

⁴⁸In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’

⁵⁰that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

⁵²“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

⁵³And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,

⁵⁴lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

¹Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying:

³“Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.

⁴Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

⁵So Moses brought their case before the LORD.

⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

⁷“The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.

⁸And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.

⁹If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.

¹⁰If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.

¹¹And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹²Now the LORD said to Moses: “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel.

¹³And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered.

¹⁴For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying:

¹⁶“Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

¹⁷who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”

¹⁸And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

¹⁹set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight.

²⁰And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”

²²So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation.

²³And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

¹God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

²has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

³who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

⁴having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

⁵For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?

⁶But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

⁷And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.”

⁸But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

¹⁰And: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

¹²Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.”

¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

¹Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.

²And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.

³If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,

⁴he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,

⁵useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

⁶Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁸And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

¹¹But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

¹²Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

¹³I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,

¹⁴that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,

¹⁵which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

¹⁶who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

¹⁷Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

¹⁸Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

¹⁹storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

²⁰O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—

²¹by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer, Because of the turmoil within me.

³I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me, And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴“Do you not know this of old, Since man was placed on earth,

⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?

⁶Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, And his head reaches to the clouds,

⁷Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

⁸He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.

⁹The eye that saw him will see him no more, Nor will his place behold him anymore.

¹⁰His children will seek the favor of the poor, And his hands will restore his wealth.

¹¹His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹²“Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue,

¹³Though he spares it and does not forsake it, But still keeps it in his mouth,

¹⁴Yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him.

¹⁵He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.

¹⁶He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him.

¹⁷He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.

¹⁸He will restore that for which he labored, And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment.

¹⁹For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor, He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰“Because he knows no quietness in his heart, He will not save anything he desires.

²¹Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last.

²²In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him.

²³When he is about to fill his stomach, God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, And will rain it on him while he is eating.

²⁴He will flee from the iron weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through.

²⁵It is drawn, and comes out of the body; Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors come upon him;

²⁶Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. An unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.

²⁷The heavens will reveal his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him.

²⁸The increase of his house will depart, And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.

²⁹This is the portion from God for a wicked man, The heritage appointed to him by God.”

¹A Psalm of David. [1] Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle—

²My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.

³LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?

⁴Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.

⁵Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

⁶Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.

⁷Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners,

⁸Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

¹⁰The One who gives salvation to kings, Who delivers David His servant From the deadly sword.

¹¹Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—

¹²That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style;

¹³That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce; That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields;

¹⁴That our oxen may be well laden; That there be no breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets.

¹⁵Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!

¹Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

²The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

³It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.

⁴The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

⁵Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.

⁶Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?

⁷The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.

⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?

¹⁰Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.

¹¹Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made them both.

¹³Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴“It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold and a multitude of rubies, But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.

¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war.

¹⁹He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.

²⁰Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end.

²²Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

²³Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, And dishonest scales are not good.

²⁴A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?

²⁵It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.

²⁶A wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.

²⁸Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.

³⁰Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.

¹Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.

²He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.

³And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

⁴He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.

⁵He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.

⁶For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁷The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

⁸He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

⁹Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it.

¹⁰And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.

¹¹Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,

¹²because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them.

¹³And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

¹⁴Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

¹⁵So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house.

¹⁶At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

¹⁷Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field.

¹⁸And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.

¹⁹Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust?

²⁰You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?

²¹Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

²²But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?” ’

²³Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them!

²⁴How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

²⁵Have I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”

²⁶Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

²⁷But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”

²⁸Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

²⁹Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand;

³⁰nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’

³¹Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;

³²until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.”

³³Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

³⁴Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

³⁵Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

³⁶But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”

³⁷Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

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

²“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

³and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you.

⁴Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north,

⁵that all flesh may know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore.” ’

⁶Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes.

⁷And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord GOD.”

⁸Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁹“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ Say: ‘A sword, a sword is sharpened And also polished!

¹⁰Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning! Should we then make mirth? It despises the scepter of My son, As it does all wood.

¹¹And He has given it to be polished, That it may be handled; This sword is sharpened, and it is polished To be given into the hand of the slayer.’

¹²“Cry and wail, son of man; For it will be against My people, Against all the princes of Israel. Terrors including the sword will be against My people; Therefore strike your thigh.

¹³“Because it is a testing, And what if the sword despises even the scepter? The scepter shall be no more,” says the Lord GOD.

¹⁴“You therefore, son of man, prophesy, And strike your hands together. The third time let the sword do double damage. It is the sword that slays, The sword that slays the great men, That enters their private chambers.

¹⁵I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, That the heart may melt and many may stumble. Ah! It is made bright; It is grasped for slaughter:

¹⁶“Swords at the ready! Thrust right! Set your blade! Thrust left— Wherever your edge is ordered!

¹⁷“I also will beat My fists together, And I will cause My fury to rest; I, the LORD, have spoken.”

¹⁸The word of the LORD came to me again, saying:

¹⁹“And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city.

²⁰Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.

²¹For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver.

²²In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall.

²³And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

²⁴“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

²⁵‘Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end,

²⁶thus says the Lord GOD: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.

²⁷Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, Until He comes whose right it is, And I will give it to Him.” ’

²⁸“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, Polished for slaughter, For consuming, for flashing—

²⁹While they see false visions for you, While they divine a lie to you, To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain Whose day has come, Whose iniquity shall end.

³⁰‘Return it to its sheath. I will judge you In the place where you were created, In the land of your nativity.

³¹I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath, And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to destroy.

³²You shall be fuel for the fire; Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall not be remembered, For I the LORD have spoken.’ ”

¹Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,

²being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,

⁶as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:

⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

¹¹This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’

¹²Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

¹⁸So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.

²⁰For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

²¹So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.

²²For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

²³And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

²⁵who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?

²⁶The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’

²⁷“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

²⁹Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

³⁰by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

³²Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

³³And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

³⁴Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,

³⁵and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

³⁶And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,

³⁷having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.