Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master's] possessions.

²So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management [of my affairs], for you can no longer be [my] manager.'

³The manager [of the estate] said to himself, 'What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg.

⁴I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management, people [who are my master's debtors] will welcome me into their homes.'

⁵So he summoned his master's debtors one by one, and he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

⁶He said, 'A hundred measures of [olive] oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'

⁷Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'

⁸And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers].

⁹And I tell you [learn from this], make friends for yourselves [for eternity] by means of the wealth of unrighteousness [that is, use material resources as a way to further the work of God], so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰"He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much.

¹¹Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

¹²And if you have not been faithful in the use of that [earthly wealth] which belongs to another [whether God or man, and of which you are a trustee], who will give you that which is your own?

¹³No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand devotedly by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [that is, your earthly possessions or anything else you trust in and rely on instead of God]."

¹⁴Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were sneering and ridiculing Him.

¹⁵So He said to them, "You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶"The Law and the [writings of the] Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God has been and continues to be preached, and everyone tries forcefully to go into it.

¹⁷Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void.

¹⁸"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

¹⁹"Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day.

²⁰And a poor man named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, covered with sores.

²¹He [eagerly] longed to eat the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.

²²Now it happened that the poor man died and his spirit was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom (paradise); and the rich man also died and was buried.

²³In Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom (paradise).

²⁴And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.'

²⁵But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted here [in paradise], while you are in severe agony.

²⁶And besides all this, between us and you [people] a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to come over from here to you will not be able, and none may cross over from there to us.'

²⁷So the rich man said, 'Then, father [Abraham], I beg you to send Lazarus to my father's house—

²⁸for I have five brothers—in order that he may solemnly warn them and witness to them, so that they too will not come to this place of torment.'

²⁹But Abraham said, 'They have [the Scriptures given by] Moses and the [writings of the] Prophets; let them listen to them.'

³⁰He replied, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent [they will change their old way of thinking and seek God and His righteousness].'

³¹And he said to him, 'If they do not listen to [the messages of] Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

¹Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had very large herds of cattle, and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead [on the east side of the Jordan River], and indeed, the place was suitable for raising livestock.

²So the sons of Gad and of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,

³"[The country around] Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,

⁴the land which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land [suitable] for livestock, and your servants have [very large herds of] livestock."

⁵They said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan [River]."

⁶But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?

⁷Now why are you discouraging the hearts of the Israelites from crossing over into the land which the LORD has given them?

⁸This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land!

⁹For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the hearts of the Israelites so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

¹⁰And the Lord's anger was kindled on that day and He swore an oath, saying,

¹¹'None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not followed Me completely,

¹²except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD completely.'

¹³So the Lord's anger was kindled against the sons of Israel (Jacob) and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.

¹⁴Now look, you [the tribes of Reuben and Gad] have risen up in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel.

¹⁵For if you turn back from following Him [completely], He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people."

¹⁶But the people of Reuben and Gad approached Moses and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our flocks and [walled] cities for our children,

¹⁷but we will be armed and ready to go to war before the [other tribes of the] Israelites, until we have brought them to their place, while our children live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁸We will not return to our homes until every one of the [other] sons of Israel has taken possession of his inheritance.

¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the west side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan [River] toward the east."

²⁰Moses replied, "If you will do as you say, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for war,

²¹and every armed man of yours will cross the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies before Him,

²²and the land [west of the Jordan] is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be blameless [in this matter] before the LORD and before Israel, and this land [east of the Jordan] shall be yours as a possession before the LORD.

²³But if you do not do this, behold, you will have sinned against the LORD; and be sure that your sin will find you out.

²⁴Build yourselves cities for your children, and folds for your sheep, and do that of which you have spoken."

²⁵Then the descendants of Gad and of Reuben said to Moses, "Your servants will do just as my lord commands.

²⁶Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall be there in the cities of Gilead.

²⁷But your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to the battle, just as my lord says."

²⁸So Moses gave the command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the fathers' households of the tribes of the Israelites.

²⁹Moses said to them, "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead [east of the Jordan River] as a possession;

³⁰but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan [and surrender their right to their land east of the Jordan River]."

³¹The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, "As the LORD has said to your servants, so will we do.

³²We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, so that the possession of our inheritance on [the east] side of the Jordan may be ours."

³³So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities and territories, the cities of the surrounding land.

³⁴The sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

³⁶Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified (walled) cities, and sheepfolds for sheep.

³⁷The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

³⁸Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names being changed) and Sibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.

³⁹The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and drove out the Amorites who were in it.

⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to [the tribe of] Machir the son of Manasseh, and they settled in it.

⁴¹[The sons of] Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns (tent villages) and called them Havvoth-jair.

⁴²Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

¹Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

²of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.]

³And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits.

⁴For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit,

⁵and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come,

⁶and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.

⁷For soil that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces crops useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God;

⁸but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

⁹But, beloved, even though we speak to you in this way, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and of things that accompany salvation.

¹⁰For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown for His name in ministering to [the needs of] the saints (God's people), as you do.

¹¹And we desire for each one of you to show the same diligence [all the way through] so as to realize and enjoy the full assurance of hope until the end,

¹²so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.

¹³For when God made the promise to Abraham, He swore [an oath] by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear,

¹⁴saying, "I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you."

¹⁵And so, having patiently waited, he realized the promise [in the miraculous birth of Isaac, as a pledge of what was to come from God].

¹⁶Indeed men swear [an oath] by one greater than themselves, and with them [in all disputes] the oath serves as confirmation [of what has been said] and is an end of the dispute.

¹⁷In the same way God, in His desire to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, intervened and guaranteed it with an oath,

¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us.

¹⁹This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]—a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells],

²⁰where Jesus has entered [in advance] as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's chosen ones and [to lead and encourage them to recognize and pursue] the knowledge of the truth which leads to godliness,

²based on the hope and divine guarantee of eternal life, [the life] which God, who is ever truthful and without deceit, promised before the ages of time began,

³and at the appointed time has made known His word and revealed it as His message, through preaching, which was entrusted to me according to the command of God our Savior—

⁴To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵For this reason I left you behind in Crete, so that you would set right what remains unfinished, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

⁶namely, a man of unquestionable integrity, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of being immoral or rebellious.

⁷For the overseer, as God's steward, must be blameless, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain [but financially ethical].

⁸And he must be hospitable [to believers, as well as strangers], a lover of what is good, sensible (upright), fair, devout, self-disciplined [above reproach—whether in public or in private].

⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy word [of God] as it was taught to him, so that he will be able both to give accurate instruction in sound [reliable, error-free] doctrine and to refute those who contradict [it by explaining their error].

¹⁰For there are many rebellious men who are empty talkers [just windbags] and deceivers; especially those of the circumcision [those Jews who insist that Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved].

¹¹They must be silenced, because they are upsetting whole families by teaching things they should not teach for the purpose of dishonest financial gain.

¹²One of them [Epimenides, a Cretan], a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

¹³This description is true. So rebuke them sharply so that they will be sound in the faith and free from doctrinal error,

¹⁴not paying attention to Jewish myths and the commandments and rules of men who turn their backs on the truth.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to the corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure; both their mind and their conscience are corrupted.

¹⁶They profess to know God [to recognize and be acquainted with Him], but by their actions they deny and disown Him. They are detestable and disobedient and worthless for good work of any kind.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

²"Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes peace and order in His high places.

³"Is there any number to His [vast celestial] armies? And upon whom does His light not rise?

⁴"How then can man be justified and righteous with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

⁵"Behold, even the moon has no brightness [compared to God's majesty and glory] And the stars are not pure in His sight,

⁶How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!"

¹Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers).

²Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let Zion's children rejoice in their King.

³Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre.

⁴For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

⁵Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.

⁶Let the high praises of God be in their throats, And a two-edged sword in their hands,

⁷To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples,

⁸To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron,

⁹To execute on them the judgment written. This is the honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)

¹These are also the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied:

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

³As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the hearts and minds of kings are unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, And there comes out [the pure metal for] a vessel for the silversmith [to shape].

⁵Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not be boastfully ambitious and claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men;

⁷For it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

⁸Do not rush out to argue your case [before magistrates or judges]; Otherwise what will you do in the end [when your case is lost and] When your neighbor (opponent) humiliates you?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor himself [before you go to court]; And do not reveal another's secret,

¹⁰Or he who hears it will shame you And the rumor about you [and your action in court] will have no end.

¹¹Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken at the right time.

¹²Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to an ear that listens and learns.

¹³Like the cold of snow [brought from the mountains] in the time of harvest, So is a faithful messenger to those who send him; For he refreshes the life of his masters.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts falsely of gifts [he does not give].

¹⁵By patience and a calm spirit a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft and gentle tongue breaks the bone [of resistance].

¹⁶Have you found [pleasure sweet like] honey? Eat only as much as you need, Otherwise, being filled excessively, you vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot seldom be in your neighbor's house, Or he will become tired of you and hate you.

¹⁸Like a club and a sword and a piercing arrow Is a man who testifies falsely against his neighbor (acquaintance).

¹⁹Like a broken tooth or an unsteady foot Is confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble.

²⁰Like one who takes off a garment in cold weather, or like [a reactive, useless mixture of] vinegar on soda, Is he who [thoughtlessly] sings [joyful] songs to a heavy heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

²²For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire upon his head, And the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind brings forth rain; And a backbiting tongue, an angry countenance.

²⁴It is better to live in a corner of the housetop [on the flat roof, exposed to the weather] Than in a house shared with a quarrelsome (contentious) woman.

²⁵Like cold water to a thirsty soul, So is good news from a distant land.

²⁶Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring Is a righteous man who yields and compromises his integrity before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.

²⁸Like a city that is broken down and without walls [leaving it unprotected] Is a man who has no self-control over his spirit [and sets himself up for trouble].

¹King Josiah sent word and they brought to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

²The king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house (temple) of the LORD.

³The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

⁴Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the doorkeepers to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, for [the goddess] Asherah, and for all the [starry] host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel [where Israel's idolatry began].

⁵He got rid of the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense [to pagan gods] in the high places in Judah's cities and all around Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [of the zodiac], and to all the [starry] host of heaven.

⁶Josiah brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, and burned it there, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].

⁷And he tore down the houses of the [male] cult prostitutes, which were at the house (temple) of the LORD, where the women were weaving [tent] hangings for the Asherah [shrines].

⁸Then Josiah brought all the [idolatrous] priests from the cities of Judah, and desecrated the high places where the priests had burned incense [to idols], from Geba to Beersheba, [that is, north to south]; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the city gate.

⁹However, the priests of the high places were not allowed to go up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem [to serve], but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

¹⁰Josiah also defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom), so that no man could make his son or his daughter pass through the fire [as a burnt offering] for Molech.

¹¹And he got rid of the horses that the kings of Judah had given [in worship] to the sun at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the annex; and he burned the chariots of the sun.

¹²The altars [dedicated to the starry host of heaven] which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD, the king tore down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron.

¹³The king desecrated the high places which were opposite [east of] Jerusalem, which were on the right (south) of the mount of corruption which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the repulsiveness of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the repulsiveness of Moab, and for Milcom the repulsiveness of the sons (descendants) of Ammon.

¹⁴He broke in pieces the sacred pillars (cultic memorial stones, images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with human bones [to desecrate the places forever].

¹⁵Further, the altar that was at Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.

¹⁶And as Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent men and had the bones taken from the graves, and burned them on the altar and [thereby] desecrated it, in accordance with the word of the LORD which the man of God prophesied, who proclaimed these things [about this altar, naming Josiah before he was born].

¹⁷Then Josiah said, "What is this monument (gravestone) that I see?" The men of the city told him, "It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done to the altar of Bethel."

¹⁸He said, "Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

¹⁹Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking the LORD [to anger]; and he did to them just as he had done [to those] in Bethel.

²⁰All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them [to desecrate the places forever]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

²¹Then the king commanded all the people, saying, "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God as it is written in this book of the covenant."

²²Indeed, such a Passover as this had not been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.

²³But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover to the LORD was kept in Jerusalem.

²⁴Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the soothsayers and the teraphim (household gods) and the idols and all the repulsive things that were seen in Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might fulfill the words of the law written in the book which Hilkiah the priest found in the house (temple) of the LORD.

²⁵Before him there was no king like Josiah who turned to the LORD with all his heart and all his soul and all his might, in accordance with all the Law of Moses; nor did anyone like him arise after him.

²⁶However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath which was kindled against Judah because of all the despicable acts with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

²⁷The LORD said, "I will also remove Judah from My sight, just as I have removed Israel; and will reject this city which I have chosen, this Jerusalem, and the house, of which I said, 'My Name [and the pledge of My Presence] shall be there.'"

²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

²⁹In his days Pharaoh Neco (Necho) king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates [to help him fight Nabopolassar the king of Babylon]. King Josiah went out to meet him, but Pharaoh killed Josiah at Megiddo when he saw him.

³⁰Josiah's servants carried his dead body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in his father's place.

³¹Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for [only] three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

³²He did evil in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his forefathers had done.

³³Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

³⁴Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt, where he died.

³⁵Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money as Pharaoh commanded. He collected the silver and gold from the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

³⁶Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

³⁷He did evil in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his forefathers had done.

¹Now in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month [after the capture of King Jehoiachin], the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²"Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, 'Aha! The gateway of the people is broken; she is open to me. I will be filled, now that she is a desolate waste,'

³therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea makes its waves crest.

⁴They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her dust and debris from her and make her as bare as [the top of] a rock.

⁵Her island in the midst of the sea will become a dry place to spread nets, for I have spoken,' says the Lord GOD, 'and she will become a prey and a spoil for the nations.

⁶Also Tyre's daughters (towns, villages) on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.'"

⁷For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army.

⁸He will kill your daughters on the mainland with the sword, and he shall make siege walls against you and build a siege ramp against you and raise [a roof of] large shields [as a defense] against you.

⁹He will direct the [shocking] blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his crowbars.

¹⁰Because of the great number of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake from the noise of the horsemen and the wagons and the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached.

¹¹With the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar will trample all your streets; with the sword he will kill your people, and your strong pillars (obelisks) will fall to the ground.

¹²Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water.

¹³So I will silence your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard.

¹⁴I will make you [Tyre] a bare rock; you will be a dry place on which to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken," says the Lord GOD.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre, "Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst?

¹⁶Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you.

¹⁷They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you, 'How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city, From the seas, O renowned city, Which was mighty on the sea, She and her inhabitants, Who imposed her terror On all who lived there!

¹⁸'Now the coastlands will tremble On the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands which are by the sea Will be terrified at your departure.'"

¹⁹For thus says the Lord GOD, "When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you,

²⁰then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead), to the people of old, and I will make you [Tyre] live in the depths of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory and splendor in the land of the living.

²¹I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more. Though you will be sought, yet you will never be found again," says the Lord GOD.

¹Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord [and relentless in his search for believers], went to the high priest,

²and he asked for letters [of authority] from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any men or women there belonging to the Way [believers, followers of Jesus the Messiah], men and women alike, he could arrest them and bring them bound [with chains] to Jerusalem.

³As he traveled he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him [displaying the glory and majesty of Christ];

⁴and he fell to the ground and heard a voice [from heaven] saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting and oppressing Me?"

⁵And Saul said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He answered, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,

⁶now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

⁷The men who were traveling with him [were terrified and] stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹And he was unable to see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now in Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he answered, "Here I am, Lord."

¹¹And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul; for he is praying [there],

¹²and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him, so that he may regain his sight."

¹³But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, especially how much suffering and evil he has brought on Your saints (God's people) at Jerusalem;

¹⁴and here [in Damascus] he has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call on Your name [confessing You as Savior]."

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, "Go, for this man is a [deliberately] chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

¹⁶for I will make clear to him how much he must suffer and endure for My name's sake."

¹⁷So Ananias left and entered the house, and he laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came [to Damascus], has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit [in order to proclaim Christ to both Jews and Gentiles]."

¹⁸Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized;

¹⁹and he took some food and was strengthened. For several days [afterward] Saul remained with the disciples who were at Damascus.

²⁰And immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "This Man is the Son of God [the promised Messiah]!"

²¹All those who heard him continued to be amazed and said, "Is this not the man who in Jerusalem attacked those who called on this name [of Jesus], and had come here [to Damascus] for the express purpose of bringing them bound [with chains] before the chief priests?"

²²But Saul increased in strength more and more, and continued to perplex the Jews who lived in Damascus by examining [theological evidence] and proving [with Scripture] that this Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

²³After considerable time had passed [about three years or so], the Jews plotted together to kill him,

²⁴but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the city's gates day and night so they could kill him;

²⁵but his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

²⁶When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.

²⁷However, Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road [to Damascus], and how He had spoken to him, and how at Damascus Saul had preached openly and spoken confidently in the name of Jesus.

²⁸So he was with them, moving around freely [as one among them] in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He was talking and arguing with the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews); but they were attempting to kill him.

³⁰When the brothers found out [about the plot], they brought him down to Caesarea [Maritima] and sent him off to Tarsus [his home town].

³¹So the church throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace [without persecution], being built up [in wisdom, virtue, and faith]; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort and encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it continued to grow [in numbers].

³²Now as Peter was traveling throughout the land, he went down to [visit] the saints (God's people) who lived at Lydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed.

³⁴Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed." Immediately Aeneas got up.

³⁵Then all who lived at Lydda and the plain of Sharon saw [what had happened to] him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, (which translated into Greek means Dorcas). She was rich in acts of kindness and charity which she continually did.

³⁷During that time it happened that she became sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upstairs room.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, "Come to us without delay."

³⁹So Peter got up [at once] and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upstairs room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing [him] all the tunics and robes that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

⁴⁰But Peter sent them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise!" And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

⁴¹And he gave her his hand and helped her up; and then he called in the saints (God's people) and the widows, and he presented her [to them] alive.

⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord [that is, to adhere to and trust in and rely on Jesus as Christ and Savior].

⁴³And so it was that Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with Simon, a tanner.