Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

²There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.

³Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴“I say to you, my friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.

⁵But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear!

⁶Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.

⁷Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

⁸“And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,

⁹but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say.

¹²For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”

¹³Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴“Friend,” he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

¹⁵He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”

¹⁶Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive.

¹⁷He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops?

¹⁸I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there.

¹⁹Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared — whose will they be?’

²¹“That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

²²Then he said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.

²³For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.

²⁴Consider the ravens: They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds?

²⁵Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?

²⁶If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?

²⁷“Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

²⁸If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you — you of little faith?

²⁹Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious.

³⁰For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

³¹“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.

³²Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

³⁵“Be ready for service and have your lamps lit.

³⁶You are to be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.

³⁷Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.

³⁸If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, blessed are those servants.

³⁹But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

⁴⁰You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹“Lord,” Peter asked, “are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?”

⁴²The Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time?

⁴³Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.

⁴⁴Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

⁴⁵But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

⁴⁶that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

⁴⁷And that servant who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it will be severely beaten.

⁴⁸But the one who did not know and did what deserved punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected.

⁴⁹“I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze!

⁵⁰But I have a baptism to undergo, and how it consumes me until it is finished!

⁵¹Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

⁵²From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

⁵³ They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴He also said to the crowds: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.

⁵⁵And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.

⁵⁶Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?

⁵⁷“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

⁵⁸As you are going with your adversary to the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way. Then he won’t drag you before the judge, the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.

⁵⁹I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last cent.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses,

²“Command the Israelites and say to them: Be sure to present to me at its appointed time my offering and my food as my fire offering, a pleasing aroma to me.

³And say to them: This is the fire offering you are to present to the LORD: “Each day present two unblemished year-old male lambs as a regular burnt offering.

⁴Offer one lamb in the morning and the other lamb at twilight,

⁵along with two quarts of fine flour for a grain offering mixed with a quart of olive oil from crushed olives.

⁶It is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the LORD.

⁷The drink offering is to be a quart with each lamb. Pour out the offering of beer to the LORD in the sanctuary area.

⁸Offer the second lamb at twilight, along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. It is a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

⁹“On the Sabbath day present two unblemished year-old male lambs, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering.

¹⁰It is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹“At the beginning of each of your months present a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old — all unblemished —

¹²with six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each bull, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for the ram,

¹³and two quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb. It is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the LORD.

¹⁴Their drink offerings are to be two quarts of wine with each bull, one and a third quarts with the ram, and one quart with each male lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering for all the months of the year.

¹⁵And one male goat is to be offered as a sin offering to the LORD, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering.

¹⁶“The Passover to the LORD comes in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month.

¹⁷On the fifteenth day of this month there will be a festival; unleavened bread is to be eaten for seven days.

¹⁸On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work.

¹⁹Present a fire offering, a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. Your animals are to be unblemished.

²⁰The grain offering with them is to be of fine flour mixed with oil; offer six quarts with each bull and four quarts with the ram.

²¹Offer two quarts with each of the seven lambs

²²and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves.

²³Offer these with the morning burnt offering that is part of the regular burnt offering.

²⁴You are to offer the same food each day for seven days as a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It is to be offered with its drink offering and the regular burnt offering.

²⁵On the seventh day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work.

²⁶“On the day of firstfruits, you are to hold a sacred assembly when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD at your Festival of Weeks; you are not to do any daily work.

²⁷Present a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old,

²⁸with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram,

²⁹and two quarts with each of the seven lambs,

³⁰and one male goat to make atonement for yourselves.

³¹Offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Your animals are to be unblemished.

¹For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

²For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,

³how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

⁴At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.

⁵For he has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about.

⁶But someone somewhere has testified: What is man that you remember him, or the son of man that you care for him?

⁷You made him lower than the angels for a short time; you crowned him with glory and honor

⁸and subjected everything under his feet. For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him.

⁹But we do see Jesus —  made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone —  crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.

¹⁰For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God — for whom and through whom all things exist — should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

¹¹For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,

¹²saying: I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.

¹³Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.

¹⁴Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death — that is, the devil  —

¹⁵and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.

¹⁶For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring.

¹⁷Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

¹⁸For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the sake of the promise of life in Christ Jesus:

²To Timothy, my dearly loved son. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.

⁴Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.

⁵I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

⁶Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

⁸So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

⁹He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

¹⁰This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

¹¹For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher,

¹²and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.

¹³Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

¹⁵You know that all those in the province of Asia have deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

¹⁷On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me.

¹⁸May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.

¹Then Job answered:

²Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer.

³Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

⁴As for me, is my complaint against a human being? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?

⁵Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth.

⁶When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror.

⁷Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?

⁸Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes.

⁹Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them.

¹⁰Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.

¹¹They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about,

¹²singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what will we gain by pleading with him?”

¹⁶But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

¹⁷How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does he apportion destruction in his anger?

¹⁸Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?

¹⁹God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath!

²¹For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges the exalted ones?

²³One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease.

²⁴His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow.

²⁵Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity.

²⁶But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.

²⁷I know your thoughts very well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

²⁸For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?” and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?”

²⁹Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don’t you accept their reports?

³⁰Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.

³¹Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done?

³²He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

³³The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.

³⁴So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.

¹A hymn of David. [1] I exalt you, my God the King, and bless your name forever and ever.

²I will bless you every day; I will praise your name forever and ever.

³The LORD is great and is highly praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts.

⁵I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty and your wondrous works.

⁶They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts, and I will declare your greatness.

⁷They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.

⁸The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love.

⁹The LORD is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made.

¹⁰All you have made will thank you, LORD; the faithful will bless you.

¹¹They will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will declare your might,

¹²informing all people of your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule is for all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.

¹⁴The LORD helps all who fall; he raises up all who are oppressed.

¹⁵All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

¹⁶You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts.

¹⁸The LORD is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity.

¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and saves them.

²⁰The LORD guards all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.

²¹My mouth will declare the LORD’s praise; let every living thing bless his holy name forever and ever.

¹A king’s heart is like channeled water in the LORD’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses.

²All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs hearts.

³Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart  — is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.

⁶Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked sweeps them away because they refuse to act justly.

⁸A guilty one’s conduct is crooked, but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

¹⁰A wicked person desires evil; he has no consideration for his neighbor.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the inexperienced become wiser; when one teaches a wise man, he acquires knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; he brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.

¹⁴A secret gift soothes anger, and a covert bribe, fierce rage.

¹⁵Justice executed is a joy to the righteous but a terror to those who practice iniquity.

¹⁶The person who strays from the way of prudence will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.

¹⁷The one who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

¹⁸The wicked are a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous, for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

²⁰Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person, but a fool consumes them.

²¹The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person went up against a city of warriors and brought down its secure fortress.

²³The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

²⁴The arrogant and proud person, named “Mocker,” acts with excessive arrogance.

²⁵A slacker’s craving will kill him because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶He is filled with craving all day long, but the righteous give and don’t hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable — how much more so when he brings it with ulterior motives!

²⁸A lying witness will perish, but the one who listens will speak successfully.

²⁹A wicked person puts on a bold face, but the upright one considers his way.

³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the LORD.

³¹A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the LORD.

¹When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the LORD’s temple.

²He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

³They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

⁴Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”

⁵So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,

⁶who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The LORD says this: Don’t be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed me.

⁷I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”

⁸When the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish, he left and found him fighting against Libnah.

⁹The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

¹⁰“Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.

¹¹Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued?

¹²Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them — nations such as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?

¹³Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”

¹⁴Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the LORD’s temple, and spread it out before the LORD.

¹⁵Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: LORD God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God — you alone — of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

¹⁶Listen closely, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.

¹⁷LORD, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.

¹⁸They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands — wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

¹⁹Now, LORD our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are God — you alone.

²⁰Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The LORD, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’

²¹This is the word the LORD has spoken against him: Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and scorns you; Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head behind your back.

²²Who is it you mocked and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!

²³You have mocked the Lord through your messengers. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its farthest outpost, its densest forest.

²⁴I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.’

²⁵Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble.

²⁶Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind.

²⁷But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against me.

²⁸Because your raging against me and your arrogance have reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came.

²⁹“This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

³⁰The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

³¹For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Armies will accomplish this.

³²Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, shoot an arrow here, come before it with a shield, or build up a siege ramp against it.

³³He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is the LORD’s declaration.

³⁴I will defend this city and rescue it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

³⁵That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!

³⁶So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.

³⁷One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.

¹The word of the LORD came to me:

²“As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her.

³You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: A city that sheds blood within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled!

⁴You are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment days near and have come to your years of punishment. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.

⁵Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.

⁶“‘Look, every prince of Israel within you has used his strength to shed blood.

⁷Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the resident alien is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.

⁸You despise my holy things and profane my Sabbaths.

⁹There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood. People who live in you eat at the mountain shrines; they commit depraved acts within you.

¹⁰Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father’s wife and violate women during their menstrual impurity.

¹¹One man within you commits a detestable act with his neighbor’s wife; another defiles his daughter-in-law with depravity; and yet another violates his sister, his father’s daughter.

¹²People who live in you accept bribes in order to shed blood. You take interest and profit on a loan and brutally extort your neighbors. You have forgotten me. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

¹³“‘Now look, I clap my hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.

¹⁴Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.

¹⁵I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you among the countries; I will purge your uncleanness.

¹⁶You will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

¹⁷The word of the LORD came to me:

¹⁸“Son of man, the house of Israel has become merely dross to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are just dross from silver.

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: Because all of you have become dross, I am about to gather you into Jerusalem.

²⁰Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to blow fire on them and melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and wrath, put you inside, and melt you.

²¹Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted within the city.

²²As silver is melted inside a furnace, so you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath on you.”

²³The word of the LORD came to me:

²⁴“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed, that has not received rain in the day of indignation.’

²⁵The conspiracy of her prophets within her is like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her.

²⁶Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean. They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

²⁷“Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make profit dishonestly.

²⁸Her prophets plaster for them with whitewash by seeing false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.

²⁹The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and unlawfully exploited the resident alien.

³⁰I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.

³¹So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of my fury. I have brought their conduct down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

²However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

⁴Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

⁵When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

⁶The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸“Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

¹⁰Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

¹²Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them.

¹⁴Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers — multitudes of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶In addition, a multitude came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.”

²¹Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full council of the Israelites — and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

²²But when the servants got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported,

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

²⁵Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

²⁶Then the commander went with the servants and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them.

²⁷After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked,

²⁸“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

³¹God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

³⁵He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men.

³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail;

³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

⁴⁰After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

⁴¹Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.

⁴²Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.