Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near.

²The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.

³Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve;

⁴he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them.

⁵They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money.

⁶So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

⁸So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.”

⁹They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?”

¹⁰“Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters

¹¹and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

¹²He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.”

¹³So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁴When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.

¹⁵He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

¹⁶for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;

¹⁸for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

²¹But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.

²²For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!”

²³Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

²⁴A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

²⁵But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors.

²⁶But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves.

²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

²⁸“You are those who have stood by me in my trials;

²⁹and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom,

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

³¹“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat,

³²but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³³And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!”

³⁴Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.”

³⁵He said to them, “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “No, not a thing.”

³⁶He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.

³⁷For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawless’; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.”

³⁸They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” He replied, “It is enough.”

³⁹He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him.

⁴⁰When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”

⁴¹Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed,

⁴²“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”

⁴³[42] [[Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.

⁴⁴In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]]

⁴⁵When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief,

⁴⁶and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him;

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

⁴⁹When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?”

⁵⁰Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?

⁵³When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”

⁵⁴Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance.

⁵⁵When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.

⁵⁶Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.”

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

⁵⁸A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

⁵⁹Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.

⁶¹The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”

⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

⁶³Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him;

⁶⁴they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

⁶⁵They kept heaping many other insults on him.

⁶⁶When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council.

⁶⁷They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe;

⁶⁸and if I question you, you will not answer.

⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”

¹we journeyed back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea, as the LORD had told me and skirted Mount Seir for many days.

²Then the LORD said to me:

³“You have been skirting this hill country long enough. Head north,

⁴and charge the people as follows: You are about to pass through the territory of your kindred, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so, be very careful

⁵not to engage in battle with them, for I will not give you even so much as a foot’s length of their land, since I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

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

⁷Surely the LORD your God has blessed you in all your undertakings; he knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.”

⁸So we passed by our kin, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind the route of the Arabah, and leaving behind Elath and Ezion-geber. When we had headed out along the route of the wilderness of Moab,

⁹the LORD said to me: “Do not harass Moab or engage them in battle, for I will not give you any of its land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”

¹⁰(The Emim — a large and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim — had formerly inhabited it.

¹¹Like the Anakim, they are usually reckoned as Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim.

¹²Moreover, the Horim had formerly inhabited Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, destroying them and settling in their place, as Israel has done in the land that the LORD gave them as a possession.)

¹³“Now then, proceed to cross over the Wadi Zered.” So we crossed over the Wadi Zered.

¹⁴And the length of time we had traveled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of warriors had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn concerning them.

¹⁵Indeed, the LORD’s own hand was against them, to root them out from the camp, until all had perished.

¹⁶Just as soon as all the warriors had died off from among the people,

¹⁷the LORD spoke to me, saying,

¹⁸“Today you are going to cross the boundary of Moab at Ar.

¹⁹When you approach the frontier of the Ammonites, do not harass them or engage them in battle, for I will not give the land of the Ammonites to you as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot.”

²⁰(It also is usually reckoned as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly inhabited it, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,

²¹a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place.

²²He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by destroying the Horim before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place even to this day.

²³As for the Avvim, who had lived in settlements in the vicinity of Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)

²⁴“Proceed on your journey and cross the Wadi Arnon. See, I have handed over to you King Sihon the Amorite of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession by engaging him in battle.

²⁵This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under heaven; when they hear report of you, they will tremble and be in anguish because of you.”

²⁶So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon with the following terms of peace:

²⁷“If you let me pass through your land, I will travel only along the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left.

²⁸You shall sell me food for money, so that I may eat, and supply me water for money, so that I may drink. Only allow me to pass through on foot —

²⁹just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir have done for me and likewise the Moabites who live in Ar — until I cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.”

³⁰But King Sihon of Heshbon was not willing to let us pass through, for the LORD your God had hardened his spirit and made his heart defiant in order to hand him over to you, as he has now done.

³¹The LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to take possession of his land.”

³²So when Sihon came out against us, he and all his people for battle at Jahaz,

³³the LORD our God gave him over to us; and we struck him down, along with his offspring and all his people.

³⁴At that time we captured all his towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed men, women, and children. We left not a single survivor.

³⁵Only the livestock we kept as spoil for ourselves, as well as the plunder of the towns that we had captured.

³⁶From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon (including the town that is in the wadi itself) as far as Gilead, there was no citadel too high for us. The LORD our God gave everything to us.

³⁷You did not encroach, however, on the land of the Ammonites, avoiding the whole upper region of the Wadi Jabbok as well as the towns of the hill country, just as the LORD our God had charged.

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

²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

³Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children — “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him;

⁶for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

⁷Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?

⁸If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.

⁹Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness.

¹¹Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,

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

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

¹⁵See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.

¹⁶See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

¹⁷You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

¹⁸You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,

¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.

²⁰(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.”

²¹Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”)

²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,

²³and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

²⁴and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven!

²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.”

²⁷This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;

²⁹for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

²For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.

³If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.

⁴Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!

⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,

⁸but no one can tame the tongue — a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.

¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?

¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth.

¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.

¹⁶For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.

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

¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin?

²What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high?

³Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity?

⁴Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps?

⁵“If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit —

⁶let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity! —

⁷if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, and if any spot has clung to my hands;

⁸then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door;

¹⁰then let my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel over her.

¹¹For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense;

¹²for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest.

¹³“If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me;

¹⁴what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

¹⁵Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

¹⁷or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it —

¹⁸for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow —

¹⁹if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering,

²⁰whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

²¹if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate;

²²then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.

²³For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.

²⁴“If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence;

²⁵if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much;

²⁶if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor,

²⁷and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand;

²⁸this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.

²⁹“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them —

³⁰I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse —

³¹if those of my tent ever said, ‘O that we might be sated with his flesh!’ —

³²the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler —

³³if I have concealed my transgressions as others do, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

³⁴because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors —

³⁵O that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) O that I had the indictment written by my adversary!

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

³⁷I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.

³⁸“If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together;

³⁹if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners;

⁴⁰let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

¹Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my sighing.

²Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

³O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you.

⁵The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

⁶You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.

⁷But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.

⁸Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

⁹For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues.

¹⁰Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you.

¹²For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover them with favor as with a shield.

¹The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

²No, my son! No, son of my womb! No, son of my vows!

³Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink;

⁵or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed, and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;

⁷let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more.

⁸Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.

⁹Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

¹⁰A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

¹³She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away.

¹⁵She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant-girls.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

²⁰She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson.

²²She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her:

²⁹“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

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

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

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

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

⁵Ashhur 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: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.

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

⁹Jabez was honored more than his brothers; and his mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”

¹⁰Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!” And God granted what he asked.

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

¹²Eshton became the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah.

¹³The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.

¹⁴Meonothai became the father of Ophrah; and Seraiah became the father of Joab father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were artisans.

¹⁵The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son of Elah: Kenaz.

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

¹⁷The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married; and she conceived and bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah father of Eshtemoa.

¹⁸And his Judean wife bore Jered father of Gedor, Heber father of Soco, and Jekuthiel father of Zanoah.

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

²⁰The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.

²¹The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er father of Lecah, Laadah father of Mareshah, and the families of the guild of linen workers at Beth-ashbea;

²²and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who married into Moab but returned to Lehem (now the records are ancient).

²³These were the potters and inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah; they lived there with the king in his service.

²⁴The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul;

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

²⁶The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son.

²⁷Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did all their family multiply like the Judeans.

²⁸They lived in Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual,

²⁹Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,

³⁰Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,

³¹Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their towns until David became king.

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

³³along with all their villages that were around these towns as far as Baal. These were their settlements. And they kept a genealogical record.

³⁴Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah,

³⁵Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah son of Seraiah son of Asiel,

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

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

³⁸these mentioned by name were leaders in their families, and their clans increased greatly.

³⁹They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks,

⁴⁰where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful; for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham.

⁴¹These, registered by name, came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, and attacked their tents and the Meunim who were found there, and exterminated them to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.

⁴²And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, sons of Ishi;

⁴³they destroyed the remnant of the Amalekites that had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

¹In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

²Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, trouble the water with your feet, and foul your streams.

³Thus says the Lord GOD: In an assembly of many peoples I will throw my net over you; and I will haul you up in my dragnet.

⁴I will throw you on the ground, on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you, and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves with you.

⁵I will strew your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass.

⁶I will drench the land with your flowing blood up to the mountains, and the watercourses will be filled with you.

⁷When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.

⁸All the shining lights of the heavens I will darken above you, and put darkness on your land, — says the Lord GOD.

⁹I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, as I carry you captive among the nations, into countries you have not known.

¹⁰I will make many peoples appalled at you; their kings shall shudder because of you. When I brandish my sword before them, they shall tremble every moment for their lives, each one of them, on the day of your downfall.

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

¹²I will cause your hordes to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most terrible among the nations. They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes shall perish.

¹³I will destroy all its livestock from beside abundant waters; and no human foot shall trouble them any more, nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble them.

¹⁴Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their streams to run like oil, says the Lord GOD.

¹⁵When I make the land of Egypt desolate and when the land is stripped of all that fills it, when I strike down all who live in it, then they shall know that I am the LORD.

¹⁶This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted. The women of the nations shall chant it. Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall chant it, says the Lord GOD.

¹⁷In the twelfth year, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

¹⁸Mortal, wail over the hordes of Egypt, and send them down, with Egypt and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, with those who go down to the Pit.

¹⁹“Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down! Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!”

²⁰They shall fall among those who are killed by the sword. Egypt has been handed over to the sword; carry away both it and its hordes.

²¹The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: “They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.”

²²Assyria is there, and all its company, their graves all around it, all of them killed, fallen by the sword.

²³Their graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit. Its company is all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

²⁴Elam is there, and all its hordes around its grave; all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

²⁵They have made Elam a bed among the slain with all its hordes, their graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit; they are placed among the slain.

²⁶Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their multitude, their graves all around them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for they spread terror in the land of the living.

²⁷And they do not lie with the fallen warriors of long ago who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose shields are upon their bones; for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living.

²⁸So you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword.

²⁹Edom is there, its kings and all its princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit.

³⁰The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

³¹When Pharaoh sees them, he will be consoled for all his hordes — Pharaoh and all his army, killed by the sword, says the Lord GOD.

³²For he spread terror in the land of the living; therefore he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword — Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.

¹Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders.

³So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.

⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.

⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.

⁸And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us;

⁹and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.

¹⁰Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

¹²The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they finished speaking, James replied, “My brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name.

¹⁵This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,

¹⁶‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up,

¹⁷so that all other peoples may seek the Lord — even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things

¹⁸known from long ago.’

¹⁹Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood.

²¹For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues.”

²²Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers,

²³with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,

²⁵we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

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

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When its members read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation.

³²Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.

³³After they had been there for some time, they were sent off in peace by the believers to those who had sent them.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and there, with many others, they taught and proclaimed the word of the Lord.

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

³⁹The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.