Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.

²And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

³Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.

⁴So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.

⁵And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.

⁶So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

⁷Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.

⁸And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

⁹So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

¹⁰And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.

¹¹Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’

¹²Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”

¹³So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.

¹⁵Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

¹⁶for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;

¹⁸for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

²¹But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.

²²And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

²³Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

²⁴Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.

²⁵And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’

²⁶But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.

²⁷For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.

²⁸“But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.

²⁹And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me,

³⁰that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

³¹And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

³²But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

³³But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

³⁴Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

³⁵And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.”

³⁶Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

³⁷For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

³⁸So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

³⁹Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.

⁴⁰When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,

⁴²saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

⁴³Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

⁴⁴And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.

⁴⁶Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

⁴⁷And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.

⁴⁸But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”

⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

⁵³When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

⁵⁴Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance.

⁵⁵Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.

⁵⁶And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”

⁵⁷But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”

⁵⁸And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

⁵⁹Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

⁶¹And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

⁶²So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

⁶³Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.

⁶⁴And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?”

⁶⁵And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

⁶⁶As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying,

⁶⁷“If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe.

⁶⁸And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.

⁶⁹Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”

⁷¹And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

¹“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me, and we skirted Mount Seir for many days.

²“And the LORD spoke to me, saying:

³‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.

⁴And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully.

⁵Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

⁶You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

⁷“For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

⁸“And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from Elath and Ezion Geber, we turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab.

⁹Then the LORD said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

¹⁰(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim.

¹¹They were also regarded as giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.

¹²The Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave them.)

¹³“ ‘Now rise and cross over the Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered.

¹⁴And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them.

¹⁵For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they were consumed.

¹⁶“So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people,

¹⁷that the LORD spoke to me, saying:

¹⁸‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab.

¹⁹And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

²⁰(That was also regarded as a land of giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,

²¹a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place,

²²just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day.

²³And the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza— the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

²⁴“ ‘Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle.

²⁵This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

²⁶“And I sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying,

²⁷‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left.

²⁸You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot,

²⁹just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD our God is giving us.’

³⁰“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.

³¹“And the LORD said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’

³²Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz.

³³And the LORD our God delivered him over to us; so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people.

³⁴We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining.

³⁵We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took.

³⁶From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from the city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; the LORD our God delivered all to us.

³⁷Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon—anywhere along the River Jabbok, or to the cities of the mountains, or wherever the LORD our God had forbidden us.

¹Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

²looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

⁴You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

⁶For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

⁸But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

⁹Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

¹⁰For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

¹¹Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

¹⁴Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

¹⁵looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

¹⁶lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

¹⁷For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

¹⁸For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,

¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

²⁰(For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.”

²¹And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

²³to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

²⁴to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

²⁵See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

²⁶whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”

²⁷Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

²⁹For our God is a consuming fire.

¹My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

²For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

³Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

⁴Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

⁵Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

⁸But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

¹⁵This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

¹⁶For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

¹⁸Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?

²For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

³Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

⁴Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?

⁵“If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

⁶Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity.

⁷If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

⁸Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

¹⁰Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her.

¹¹For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.

¹²For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.

¹³“If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,

¹⁴What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

¹⁵Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶“If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

¹⁷Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it

¹⁸(But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);

¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;

²⁰If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

²¹If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;

²²Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket.

²³For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

²⁴“If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;

²⁵If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much;

²⁶If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,

²⁷So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;

²⁸This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.

²⁹“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him

³⁰(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul);

³¹If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

³²(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler);

³³If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

³⁴Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door—

³⁵Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book!

³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown;

³⁷I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.

³⁸“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

³⁹If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

⁴⁰Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

¹To the Chief Musician. With flutes. A Psalm of David. [1] Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.

²Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.

³My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.

⁵The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

⁸Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

¹²For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

¹The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:

²What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?

³Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink;

⁵Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more.

⁸Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die.

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

¹⁰Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.

¹¹The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

¹³She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.

¹⁵She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.

¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.

²⁰She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.

²²She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.

²⁵Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.

²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

²⁷She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹“Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

¹The sons of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

²And Reaiah the son of Shobal begot Jahath, and Jahath begot Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.

³These were the sons of the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi;

⁴and Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah the father of Bethlehem.

⁵And Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

⁶Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.

⁷The sons of Helah were Zereth, Zohar, and Ethnan;

⁸and Koz begot Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.

⁹Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”

¹⁰And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

¹¹Chelub the brother of Shuhah begot Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

¹²And Eshton begot Beth-Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-Nahash. These were the men of Rechah.

¹³The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel were Hathath,

¹⁴and Meonothai who begot Ophrah. Seraiah begot Joab the father of Ge Harashim, for they were craftsmen.

¹⁵The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz.

¹⁶The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

¹⁷The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

¹⁸(His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.

¹⁹The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the Maachathite.

²⁰And the sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

²¹The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea;

²²also Jokim, the men of Chozeba, and Joash; Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem. Now the records are ancient.

²³These were the potters and those who dwell at Netaim and Gederah; there they dwelt with the king for his work.

²⁴The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul,

²⁵Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, and Mishma his son.

²⁶And the sons of Mishma were Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, and Shimei his son.

²⁷Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did any of their families multiply as much as the children of Judah.

²⁸They dwelt at Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual,

²⁹Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,

³⁰Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,

³¹Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David.

³²And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five cities—

³³and all the villages that were around these cities as far as Baal. These were their dwelling places, and they maintained their genealogy:

³⁴Meshobab, Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah;

³⁵Joel, and Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel;

³⁶Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, and Benaiah;

³⁷Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah—

³⁸these mentioned by name were leaders in their families, and their father’s house increased greatly.

³⁹So they went to the entrance of Gedor, as far as the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

⁴⁰And they found rich, good pasture, and the land was broad, quiet, and peaceful; for some Hamites formerly lived there.

⁴¹These recorded by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and they attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and utterly destroyed them, as it is to this day. So they dwelt in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks there.

⁴²Now some of them, five hundred men of the sons of Simeon, went to Mount Seir, having as their captains Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.

⁴³And they defeated the rest of the Amalekites who had escaped. They have dwelt there to this day.

¹And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: ‘You are like a young lion among the nations, And you are like a monster in the seas, Bursting forth in your rivers, Troubling the waters with your feet, And fouling their rivers.

³‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will therefore spread My net over you with a company of many people, And they will draw you up in My net.

⁴Then I will leave you on the land; I will cast you out on the open fields, And cause to settle on you all the birds of the heavens. And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.

⁵I will lay your flesh on the mountains, And fill the valleys with your carcass.

⁶“I will also water the land with the flow of your blood, Even to the mountains; And the riverbeds will be full of you.

⁷When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light.

⁸All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, And bring darkness upon your land,” Says the Lord GOD.

⁹‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.

¹⁰Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.

¹¹‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.

¹²By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall. “They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt, And all its multitude shall be destroyed.

¹³Also I will destroy all its animals From beside its great waters; The foot of man shall muddy them no more, Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.

¹⁴Then I will make their waters clear, And make their rivers run like oil,” Says the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“When I make the land of Egypt desolate, And the country is destitute of all that once filled it, When I strike all who dwell in it, Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

¹⁶“This is the lamentation With which they shall lament her; The daughters of the nations shall lament her; They shall lament for her, for Egypt, And for all her multitude,” Says the Lord GOD.’ ”

¹⁷It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

¹⁸“Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, And cast them down to the depths of the earth, Her and the daughters of the famous nations, With those who go down to the Pit:

¹⁹‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’

²⁰“They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword; She is delivered to the sword, Drawing her and all her multitudes.

²¹The strong among the mighty Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell With those who help him: ‘They have gone down, They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

²²“Assyria is there, and all her company, With their graves all around her, All of them slain, fallen by the sword.

²³Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit, And her company is all around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who caused terror in the land of the living.

²⁴“There is Elam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, Who caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

²⁵They have set her bed in the midst of the slain, With all her multitude, With her graves all around it, All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; Though their terror was caused In the land of the living, Yet they bear their shame With those who go down to the Pit; It was put in the midst of the slain.

²⁶“There are Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes, With all their graves around it, All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

²⁷They do not lie with the mighty Who are fallen of the uncircumcised, Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war; They have laid their swords under their heads, But their iniquities will be on their bones, Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

²⁸Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, And lie with those slain by the sword.

²⁹“There is Edom, Her kings and all her princes, Who despite their might Are laid beside those slain by the sword; They shall lie with the uncircumcised, And with those who go down to the Pit.

³⁰There are the princes of the north, All of them, and all the Sidonians, Who have gone down with the slain In shame at the terror which they caused by their might; They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

³¹“Pharaoh will see them And be comforted over all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, Slain by the sword,” Says the Lord GOD.

³²“For I have caused My terror in the land of the living; And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised With those slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude,” Says the Lord GOD.

¹And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.

⁴And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

⁹and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

¹²Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

¹³And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:

¹⁴Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;

¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.’

¹⁸“Known to God from eternity are all His works.

¹⁹Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

²³They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—

²⁵it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

³⁰So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

³²Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.

³³And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.

³⁴However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.