Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor.

²They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king.”

³So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

⁴Pilate turned to the leading priests and to the crowd and said, “I find nothing wrong with this man!”

⁵Then they became insistent. “But he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes — all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!”

⁶“Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked.

⁷When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.

⁸Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle.

⁹He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer.

¹⁰Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations.

¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.

¹²(Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.)

¹³Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious leaders, along with the people,

¹⁴and he announced his verdict. “You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent.

¹⁵Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty.

¹⁶So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”

¹⁷

¹⁸Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!”

¹⁹(Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.)

²⁰Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus.

²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²²For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”

²³But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed.

²⁴So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded.

²⁵As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.

²⁶As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

²⁷A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women.

²⁸But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’

³⁰People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’

³¹For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? ”

³²Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him.

³³When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified — one on his right and one on his left.

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

³⁵The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine.

³⁷They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

³⁸A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself — and us, too, while you’re at it!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?

⁴¹We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

⁴³And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.

⁴⁵The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.

⁴⁶Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

⁴⁷When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent. ”

⁴⁸And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.

⁴⁹But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

⁵⁰Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council,

⁵¹but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.

⁵²He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

⁵³Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock.

⁵⁴This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed.

⁵⁶Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

¹“Next we turned and headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edrei.

²But the LORD told me, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.’

³“So the LORD our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. Not a single person survived.

⁴We conquered all sixty of his towns — the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. Not a single town escaped our conquest.

⁵These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time.

⁶We completely destroyed the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed all the people in every town we conquered — men, women, and children alike.

⁷But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns.

⁸“So we took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River — all the way from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon.

⁹(Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir.)

¹⁰We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead and Bashan, as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og’s kingdom in Bashan.

¹¹(King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)

¹²“When we took possession of this land, I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns.

¹³Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan — Og’s former kingdom — to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This entire Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites.

¹⁴Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the whole Argob region in Bashan, all the way to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the Towns of Jair, as it is still known today.)

¹⁵I gave Gilead to the clan of Makir.

¹⁶But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier.

¹⁷They also received the Jordan Valley, all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, with the Jordan River serving as the western boundary. To the east were the slopes of Pisgah.

¹⁸“At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: ‘Although the LORD your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them.

¹⁹Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stay behind in the towns I have given you.

²⁰When the LORD has given security to the rest of the Israelites, as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may all return here to the land I have given you.’

²¹“At that time I gave Joshua this charge: ‘You have seen for yourself everything the LORD your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan.

²²Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.’

²³“At that time I pleaded with the LORD and said,

²⁴‘O Sovereign LORD, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?

²⁵Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’

²⁶“But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more.

²⁷But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River.

²⁸Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’

²⁹So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.

¹Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

²Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

³Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

⁴Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

⁵Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

⁶So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.

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

⁹So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

¹⁰We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp.

¹²So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.

¹³So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.

¹⁴For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

¹⁵Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.

¹⁶And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

¹⁷Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

¹⁸Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.

¹⁹And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.

²⁰Now may the God of peace — who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood —

²¹may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

²²I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written in this brief exhortation.

²³I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released from jail. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you.

²⁴Greet all your leaders and all the believers there. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.

²⁵May God’s grace be with you all.

¹What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?

²You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

³And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.

⁴You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

⁵Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

⁶And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

⁸Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

⁹Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

¹¹Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

¹²God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

¹³Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”

¹⁴How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

¹⁵What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

¹⁶Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

¹⁷Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

¹Job’s three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence.

²Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him.

³He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job’s arguments.

⁴Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he.

⁵But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily.

⁶Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think.

⁷I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.’

⁸But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.

⁹Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.

¹⁰So listen to me, and let me tell you what I think.

¹¹“I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, listening to you grope for words.

¹²I have listened, but not one of you has refuted Job or answered his arguments.

¹³And don’t tell me, ‘He is too wise for us. Only God can convince him.’

¹⁴If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with your kind of logic!

¹⁵You sit there baffled, with nothing more to say.

¹⁶Should I continue to wait, now that you are silent? Must I also remain silent?

¹⁷No, I will say my piece. I will speak my mind.

¹⁸For I am full of pent-up words, and the spirit within me urges me on.

¹⁹I am like a cask of wine without a vent, like a new wineskin ready to burst!

²⁰I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers.

²¹I won’t play favorites or try to flatter anyone.

²²For if I tried flattery, my Creator would soon destroy me.

¹O LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.

²Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.

³I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until you restore me?

⁴Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.

⁵For the dead do not remember you. Who can praise you from the grave?

⁶I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.

⁷My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.

⁸Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

⁹The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

¹⁰May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame.

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

²Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.

³Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

⁴These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance

⁶by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

⁹What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!

¹¹They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave ; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.

¹³Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.

¹⁴Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”

¹⁵My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths.

¹⁶They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder.

¹⁷If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.

¹⁸But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.

²¹She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:

²²“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?

²³Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

²⁴“I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.

²⁵You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.

²⁶So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you —

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸“When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.

³¹Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.

³²For simpletons turn away from me — to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.

³³But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

¹The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son.

²The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph.

³The sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴The descendants of Joel were Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei,

⁵Micah, Reaiah, Baal,

⁶and Beerah. Beerah was the leader of the Reubenites when they were taken into captivity by King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria.

⁷Beerah’s relatives are listed in their genealogical records by their clans: Jeiel (the leader), Zechariah,

⁸and Bela son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel. The Reubenites lived in the area that stretches from Aroer to Nebo and Baal-meon.

⁹And since they had so many livestock in the land of Gilead, they spread east toward the edge of the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River.

¹⁰During the reign of Saul, the Reubenites defeated the Hagrites in battle. Then they moved into the Hagrite settlements all along the eastern edge of Gilead.

¹¹Next to the Reubenites, the descendants of Gad lived in the land of Bashan as far east as Salecah.

¹²Joel was the leader in the land of Bashan, and Shapham was second-in-command, followed by Janai and Shaphat.

¹³Their relatives, the leaders of seven other clans, were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber.

¹⁴These were all descendants of Abihail son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz.

¹⁵Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the leader of their clans.

¹⁶The Gadites lived in the land of Gilead, in Bashan and its villages, and throughout all the pasturelands of Sharon.

¹⁷All of these were listed in the genealogical records during the days of King Jotham of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel.

¹⁸There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows.

¹⁹They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites.

²⁰They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him. So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated.

²¹The plunder taken from the Hagrites included 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and goats, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 captives.

²²Many of the Hagrites were killed in the battle because God was fighting against them. The people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh lived in their land until they were taken into exile.

²³The half-tribe of Manasseh was very large and spread through the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon.

²⁴These were the leaders of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. These men had a great reputation as mighty warriors and leaders of their clans.

²⁵But these tribes were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They worshiped the gods of the nations that God had destroyed.

²⁶So the God of Israel caused King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser) to invade the land and take away the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as captives. The Assyrians exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River, where they remain to this day.

¹Once again a message came to me from the LORD:

²“Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman.

³When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.

⁴Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.

⁵They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.

⁶But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’

⁷“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.

⁸If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.

⁹But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.

¹⁰“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’

¹¹As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?

¹²“Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.

¹³When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins.

¹⁴And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right.

¹⁵For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die.

¹⁶None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.

¹⁷“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.

¹⁸For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.

¹⁹But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.

²⁰O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.”

²¹On January 8, during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”

²²The previous evening the LORD had taken hold of me and given me back my voice. So I was able to speak when this man arrived the next morning.

²³Then this message came to me from the LORD:

²⁴“Son of man, the scattered remnants of Israel living among the ruined cities keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he gained possession of the entire land. We are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’

²⁵So tell these people, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols, and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours?

²⁶Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’

²⁷“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword. And I will send wild animals to eat those living in the open fields. Those hiding in the forts and caves will die of disease.

²⁸I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them.

²⁹When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’

³⁰“Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the LORD is saying!’

³¹So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.

³²You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!

³³But when all these terrible things happen to them — as they certainly will — then they will know a prophet has been among them.”

¹Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.

²Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium,

³so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day.

⁶Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.

⁷Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there.

⁸So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.

⁹That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

¹⁰So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

¹¹We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis.

¹²From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.

¹⁴One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

¹⁵She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

¹⁶One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes.

¹⁷She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”

¹⁸This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.

¹⁹Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace.

²⁰“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials.

²¹“They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”

²²A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.

²³They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.

²⁴So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

²⁵Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

²⁶Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

²⁷The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself.

²⁸But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

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

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

³²And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.

³³Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.

³⁴He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

³⁵The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!”

³⁶So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison — and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”

³⁸When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

³⁹So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city.

⁴⁰When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.