Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

²And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?

³I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

⁵I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

⁶He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

⁷Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’

⁸But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

⁹And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

¹⁰Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

¹²But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

¹³And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?

¹⁶So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

¹⁷And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

¹⁸Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

¹⁹It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

²⁰And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?

²¹It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

²²And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

²³Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,

²⁴“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

²⁵When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’

²⁶then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’

²⁷But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’

²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

²⁹They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

³⁰And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

³¹On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³²And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

³³Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

³⁴“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

³⁵See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

¹‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.

²You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish.

³Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,

⁴and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;

⁵also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you;

⁶besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

⁷‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work.

⁸You shall present a burnt offering to the LORD as a sweet aroma: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish.

⁹Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram,

¹⁰and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;

¹¹also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the sin offering for atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

¹²‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work, and you shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days.

¹³You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year. They shall be without blemish.

¹⁴Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams,

¹⁵and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs;

¹⁶also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

¹⁷‘On the second day present twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish,

¹⁸and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

¹⁹also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰‘On the third day present eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish,

²¹and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

²²also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²³‘On the fourth day present ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year, without blemish,

²⁴and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

²⁵also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²⁶‘On the fifth day present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish,

²⁷and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

²⁸also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²⁹‘On the sixth day present eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish,

³⁰and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

³¹also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³²‘On the seventh day present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish,

³³and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

³⁴also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁵‘On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly. You shall do no customary work.

³⁶You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven lambs in their first year without blemish,

³⁷and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

³⁸also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁹‘These you shall present to the LORD at your appointed feasts (besides your vowed offerings and your freewill offerings) as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.’ ”

⁴⁰So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

²who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

³For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.

⁴For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.

⁵And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,

⁶but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

⁷Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice,

⁸Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,

⁹Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.

¹⁰Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’

¹¹So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

¹²Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

¹³but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

¹⁵while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

¹⁶For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?

¹⁷Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?

¹⁸And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

¹⁹So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

¹You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

²And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

³You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

⁴No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

⁵And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

⁶The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.

⁷Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,

⁹for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

¹¹This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.

¹²If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

¹³If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

¹⁴Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.

¹⁵Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

¹⁶But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.

¹⁷And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,

¹⁸who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

¹⁹Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

²⁰But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.

²¹Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

²²Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

²³But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

²⁵in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

²⁶and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end?

⁶For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you,

¹¹Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

¹³And you say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod,

¹⁶Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to them?’

¹⁸Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹“The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them:

²⁰‘Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

²⁴Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

²⁵Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver;

²⁶For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

¹Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

²While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.

⁴His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.

⁵Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God,

⁶Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever,

⁷Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.

⁸The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous.

⁹The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

¹⁰The LORD shall reign forever— Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

¹A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

²²Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

²³For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go,

²⁵Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

¹In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”

²Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying,

³“Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

⁵“Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.

⁶And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ”

⁷Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

⁸And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD the third day?”

⁹Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”

¹⁰And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”

¹¹So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.

¹²At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

¹³And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”

¹⁵And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

¹⁶Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD:

¹⁷‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD.

¹⁸‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”

¹⁹So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”

²⁰Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²¹So Hezekiah rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

¹The word of the LORD came again to me, saying:

²“Son of man, there were two women, The daughters of one mother.

³They committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed.

⁴Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians,

⁶Who were clothed in purple, Captains and rulers, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen riding on horses.

⁷Thus she committed her harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she defiled herself.

⁸She has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt, For in her youth they had lain with her, Pressed her virgin bosom, And poured out their immorality upon her.

⁹“Therefore I have delivered her Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the Assyrians, For whom she lusted.

¹⁰They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed judgment on her.

¹¹“Now although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.

¹²“She lusted for the neighboring Assyrians, Captains and rulers, Clothed most gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men.

¹³Then I saw that she was defiled; Both took the same way.

¹⁴But she increased her harlotry; She looked at men portrayed on the wall, Images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,

¹⁵Girded with belts around their waists, Flowing turbans on their heads, All of them looking like captains, In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, The land of their nativity.

¹⁶As soon as her eyes saw them, She lusted for them And sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

¹⁷“Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their immorality; So she was defiled by them, and alienated herself from them.

¹⁸She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then I alienated Myself from her, As I had alienated Myself from her sister.

¹⁹“Yet she multiplied her harlotry In calling to remembrance the days of her youth, When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

²⁰For she lusted for her paramours, Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, And whose issue is like the issue of horses.

²¹Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, When the Egyptians pressed your bosom Because of your youthful breasts.

²²“Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, From whom you have alienated yourself, And I will bring them against you from every side:

²³The Babylonians, All the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, All the Assyrians with them, All of them desirable young men, Governors and rulers, Captains and men of renown, All of them riding on horses.

²⁴And they shall come against you With chariots, wagons, and war-horses, With a horde of people. They shall array against you Buckler, shield, and helmet all around. ‘I will delegate judgment to them, And they shall judge you according to their judgments.

²⁵I will set My jealousy against you, And they shall deal furiously with you; They shall remove your nose and your ears, And your remnant shall fall by the sword; They shall take your sons and your daughters, And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.

²⁶They shall also strip you of your clothes And take away your beautiful jewelry.

²⁷‘Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.’

²⁸“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of those you hate, into the hand of those from whom you alienated yourself.

²⁹They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry.

³⁰I will do these things to you because you have gone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols.

³¹You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’

³²“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup, The deep and wide one; You shall be laughed to scorn And held in derision; It contains much.

³³You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.

³⁴You shall drink and drain it, You shall break its shards, And tear at your own breasts; For I have spoken,’ Says the Lord GOD.

³⁵“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, Therefore you shall bear the penalty Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ”

³⁶The LORD also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

³⁷For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them.

³⁸Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.

³⁹For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.

⁴⁰“Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.

⁴¹You sat on a stately couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil.

⁴²The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?’

⁴⁴Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women.

⁴⁵But righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder.

⁴⁷The assembly shall stone them with stones and execute them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.

⁴⁸Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness.

⁴⁹They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall pay for your idolatrous sins. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ”

¹Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

²Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

³Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;

⁴but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

⁶whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

⁷Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen.

¹⁰And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

¹¹Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

¹²And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.

¹³They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

¹⁵And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.