Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.

²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

³Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.”

⁶When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.

⁷And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.

⁹Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.

¹⁰And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.

¹¹Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.

¹²That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

¹³Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people,

¹⁴said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;

¹⁵no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.

¹⁶I will therefore chastise Him and release Him”

¹⁷(for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”—

¹⁹who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.

²¹But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²²Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.

²⁴So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.

²⁵And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

²⁶Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.

²⁸But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’

³⁰Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’

³¹For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

³²There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.

³³And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.

³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

³⁵And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,

³⁷and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

³⁸And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

⁴⁵Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

⁴⁶And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.

⁴⁷So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.

⁴⁹But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

⁵⁰Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.

⁵¹He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.

⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.

⁵⁴That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.

⁵⁶Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

¹“Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and Og king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

²And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’

³“So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining.

⁴And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

⁵All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns.

⁶And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.

⁷But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.

⁸“And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon

⁹(the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir),

¹⁰all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

¹¹“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.

¹²“And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites.

¹³The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the giants.

¹⁴Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and called Bashan after his own name, Havoth Jair, to this day.)

¹⁵“Also I gave Gilead to Machir.

¹⁶And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, the border of the people of Ammon;

¹⁷the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

¹⁸“Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel.

¹⁹But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you,

²⁰until the LORD has given rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’

²¹“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass.

²²You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’

²³“Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying:

²⁴‘O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?

²⁵I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’

²⁶“But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter.

²⁷Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan.

²⁸But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’

²⁹“So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.

¹Let brotherly love continue.

²Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

³Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

⁴Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

⁶So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

⁷Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

⁹Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.

¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

¹³Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

¹⁴For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

¹⁵Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

¹⁶But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

¹⁷Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

¹⁸Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.

¹⁹But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

²⁰Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

²¹make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words.

²³Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

²⁴Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵Grace be with you all. Amen.

¹Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

²You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

³You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

⁴Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

⁵Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

⁶But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

⁷Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

⁹Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

¹¹Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

¹²There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;

¹⁴whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

¹⁵Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

¹⁶But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

¹So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.

³Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

⁴Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.

⁵When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.

⁶So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you.

⁷I said, ‘Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’

⁸But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

⁹Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.

¹⁰“Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.’

¹¹Indeed I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.

¹²I paid close attention to you; And surely not one of you convinced Job, Or answered his words—

¹³Lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom’; God will vanquish him, not man.

¹⁴Now he has not directed his words against me; So I will not answer him with your words.

¹⁵“They are dismayed and answer no more; Words escape them.

¹⁶And I have waited, because they did not speak, Because they stood still and answered no more.

¹⁷I also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion.

¹⁸For I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me.

¹⁹Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; It is ready to burst like new wineskins.

²⁰I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.

²¹Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone; Nor let me flatter any man.

²²For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon take me away.

¹To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. [1] O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

²Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

³My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD—how long?

⁴Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!

⁵For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

⁶I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.

⁷My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies.

⁸Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

⁹The LORD has heard my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer.

¹⁰Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding,

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—

⁵A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

⁹For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

¹³We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse”—

¹⁵My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.

²¹She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:

²²“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.

²³Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

²⁵Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,

²⁷When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD,

³⁰They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke.

³¹Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

³²For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

¹Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel— he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright;

²yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s—

³the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,

⁵Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son,

⁶and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria carried into captivity. He was leader of the Reubenites.

⁷And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was registered: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,

⁸and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon.

⁹Eastward they settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead.

¹⁰Now in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the entire area east of Gilead.

¹¹And the children of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salcah:

¹²Joel was the chief, Shapham the next, then Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan,

¹³and their brethren of their father’s house: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all.

¹⁴These were the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;

¹⁵Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father’s house.

¹⁶And the Gadites dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its villages, and in all the common-lands of Sharon within their borders.

¹⁷All these were registered by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war.

¹⁹They made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

²⁰And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him.

²¹Then they took away their livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys—also one hundred thousand of their men;

²²for many fell dead, because the war was God’s. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.

²³So the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir, or Mount Hermon.

²⁴These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers’ houses.

²⁵And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

²⁶So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

¹Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,

³when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people,

⁴then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

⁵He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

⁶But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

⁷“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.

⁸When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

⁹Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

¹⁰“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ’

¹¹Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

¹²“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’

¹³When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.

¹⁴Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right,

¹⁵if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

¹⁶None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

¹⁷“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair!

¹⁸When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.

¹⁹But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it.

²⁰Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”

²¹And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been captured!”

²²Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

²³Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

²⁴“Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’

²⁵“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?

²⁶You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

²⁷“Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence.

²⁸For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.

²⁹Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

³⁰“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’

³¹So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.

³²Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.

³³And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

¹Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.

²He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.

³Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

⁴And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

⁶Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.

⁷After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.

⁸So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,

¹²and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.

¹³And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

¹⁴Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.

¹⁵And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

¹⁶Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

¹⁷This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

¹⁸And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.

¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

²⁰And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;

²¹and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”

²²Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

²³And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

²⁴Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

²⁷And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

²⁸But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

²⁹Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

³³And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

³⁴Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

³⁵And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.”

³⁶So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”

³⁸And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.

³⁹Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.

⁴⁰So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.