Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing;

⁵and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?

⁶He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,

⁷saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.”

⁸And they remembered His words,

⁹and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.

¹⁰Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

¹¹But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe the women.

¹²Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped and looked in, he *saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

¹³And behold, on that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.

¹⁴And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.

¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

¹⁶But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.

¹⁷And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they came to a stop, looking sad.

¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?”

¹⁹And He said to them, “What sort of things?” And they said to Him, “Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

²⁰and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him.

²¹But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

²²But also some women among us left us bewildered. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,

²³and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.

²⁴And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

²⁵And then He said to them, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

²⁶Was it not necessary for theChrist to suffer these things and to come into His glory?”

²⁷Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸And they approached the village where they were going, and He gave the impression that He was going farther.

²⁹And so they strongly urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.

³⁰And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them.

³¹And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³²They said to one another, “Were our hearts not burning within us when He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

³³And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them,

³⁴saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon!”

³⁵They began to relate their experiences on the road, and how He was recognized by them at the breaking of the bread.

³⁶Now while they were telling these things, Jesus Himself suddenly stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.”

³⁷But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at a spirit.

³⁸And He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in yourhearts?

³⁹See My hands and My feet, thatit is I Myself; touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.”

⁴⁰And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

⁴¹While they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

⁴²They served Him a piece of broiled fish;

⁴³and He took it and ate it in front of them.

⁴⁴Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

⁴⁶and He said to them, “So it is written, that theChrist would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

⁴⁷and that repentancefor forgiveness of sins would be proclaimedin His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

⁵¹While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

⁵²And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

⁵³and were continually in the temple praising God.

¹“Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you will live and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

²You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I am commanding you.

³Your eyes have seen what the LORD has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the LORD your God has destroyed them from among you.

⁴But you who clung to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you.

⁵“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it.

⁶So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

⁷For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him?

⁸Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today?

⁹“Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

¹⁰Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may have them hear My words so that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

¹¹You came forward and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire to the heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud, and thick gloom.

¹²Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—there was only a voice.

¹³So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

¹⁴The LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, so that you would perform them in the land where you are going over to take possession of it.

¹⁵“So be very careful yourselves, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

¹⁶so that you do not act corruptly and make a carved image for yourselves in the form of any figure, a representation of male or female,

¹⁷a representation of any animal that is on the earth, a representation of any winged bird that flies in the sky,

¹⁸a representation of anything that crawls on the ground, or a representation of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

¹⁹And be careful not to raise your eyes to heaven and look at the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the heavenly lights, and allow yourself to be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

²⁰But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people of His own possession, as today.

²¹“Now the LORD was angry with me on your account, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

²²For I am going to die in this land; I am not crossing the Jordan, but you are going to cross, and you will take possession of this good land.

²³So be careful yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you.

²⁴For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

²⁵“When you father children and have grandchildren, and you grow old in the land, and you act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger,

²⁶I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will certainly perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to take possession of it. You will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed.

²⁷The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you.

²⁸There you will serve gods, the work of human hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell anything.

²⁹But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

³⁰When you are in distress and all these things happen to you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.

³¹For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

³²“Indeed, ask now about the earlier days that were before your time, since the day that God created mankind on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it?

³³Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?

³⁴Or has a god ventured to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, just as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

³⁵You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him.

³⁶Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.

³⁷Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,

³⁸driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.

³⁹Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

⁴⁰So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, so that it may go well for you and for your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

⁴¹Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east,

⁴²for one to flee there who unintentionally killed his neighbor, without having hatred for him in time past; and by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

⁴³Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

⁴⁴Now this is the Law which Moses set before the sons of Israel;

⁴⁵these are the testimonies and the statutes, and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt,

⁴⁶across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt.

⁴⁷And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the east,

⁴⁸from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of Arnon, even as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon),

⁴⁹with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

¹Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

²which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

³concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

⁴who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

⁵through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name,

⁶among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world.

⁹For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,

¹⁰always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you.

¹¹For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;

¹²that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles.

¹⁴I am under obligation both to Greeks and to the uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish.

¹⁵So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS one will live by faith.”

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

¹⁹because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

²¹For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

²³and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

²⁴Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

²⁵For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature,

²⁷and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

²⁸And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper,

²⁹people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips,

³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

³¹without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful;

³²and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.

¹Come now, you rich people, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

²Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

³Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

⁴Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of armies.

⁵You have lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

⁶You have condemned and put to death the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

⁷Therefore be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.

⁸You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

⁹Do not complain, brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.

¹⁰As an example, brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

¹¹We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹²But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

¹⁵and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.

¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

¹⁸Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back,

²⁰let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

¹“However, please hear my speech, Job, And listen to all my words.

²Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks.

³My words are from the integrity of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Refute me if you can; Line up against me, take your stand.

⁶Behold, I belong to God, like you; I too have been formed out of the clay.

⁷Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

⁸“You have in fact spoken while I listened, And I heard the sound of your words:

⁹‘I am pure, without wrongdoing; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

¹⁰Behold, He invents criticisms against me; He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’

¹²Behold, let me respond to you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than mankind.

¹³“Why do you complain to Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?

¹⁴Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.

¹⁵In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds,

¹⁶Then He opens the ears of people, And horrifies them with warnings,

¹⁷So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct, And keep a man from pride;

¹⁸He keeps his soul back from the pit, And his life from perishing by the spear.

¹⁹“A person is also rebuked by pain in his bed, And with constant complaint in his bones,

²⁰So that his life loathes bread, And his soul, food that he should crave.

²¹His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones, which were not seen, stick out.

²²Then his soul comes near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.

²³“If there is an interceding angel for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a person of what is right for him,

²⁴And he is gracious to him, and says, ‘Free him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’;

²⁵Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;

²⁶Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, So that he may see His face with joy, And He will restore His righteousness to that person.

²⁷He will sing to people and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.

²⁸He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life will see the light.’

²⁹“Behold, God does all these things for a man two or three times,

³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit, So that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and let me speak.

³²Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.

³³If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

¹O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and rescue me,

²Or he will tear my soul like a lion, Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.

³O LORD my God, if I have done this, If there is injustice in my hands,

⁴If I have done evil to my friend, Or have plundered my enemy for no reason,

⁵Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life to the ground And lay my glory in the dust. Selah

⁶Arise, LORD, in Your anger; Raise Yourself against the rage of my enemies, And stir Yourself for me; You have ordered judgment.

⁷Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You, And return on high over it.

⁸The LORD judges the peoples; Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.

⁹Please let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God puts hearts and minds to the test.

¹⁰My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹God is a righteous judge, And a God who shows indignation every day.

¹²If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and taken aim.

¹³He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

¹⁴Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice, And he conceives harm and gives birth to lies.

¹⁵He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made.

¹⁶His harm will return on his own head, And his violence will descend on the top of his own head.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

¹My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,

²Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding.

³For if you cry out for insight, And raise your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸Guarding the paths of justice, And He watches over the way of His godly ones.

⁹Then you will discern righteousness, justice, And integrity, and every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be delightful to your soul;

¹¹Discretion will watch over you, Understanding will guard you,

¹²To rescue you from the way of evil, From a person who speaks perverse things;

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

¹⁵Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

¹⁶To rescue you from the strange woman, From the foreign woman who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

²⁰So you will walk in the way of good people And keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will live in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be eliminated from the land, And the treacherous will be torn away from it.

¹The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua,

⁵Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi,

⁶Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth,

⁷Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub,

⁸Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz,

⁹Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan,

¹⁰Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as the priest in the house which Solomon built in Jerusalem),

¹¹Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub,

¹²Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum,

¹³Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah,

¹⁴Azariah fathered Seraiah, and Seraiah fathered Jehozadak;

¹⁵Jehozadak went along when the LORD led Judah and Jerusalem into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶The sons of Levi were Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

²⁰Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,

²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son.

²²The sons of Kohath were Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

²³Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son,

²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

²⁵The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth.

²⁶As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were Zophai his son, Nahath his son,

²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son.

²⁸The sons of Samuel were Joel, the firstborn, and Abijah, the second.

²⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,

³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

³¹Now these are the ones whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the ark rested there.

³²They were ministering in song in front of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon’s building of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem; and they served in their office according to their order.

³³These are the ones who served with their sons: From the sons of the Kohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

³⁴the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

³⁵the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

³⁶the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

³⁷the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

³⁸the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.

³⁹Heman’s brother Asaph stood at his right hand, Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea,

⁴⁰the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah,

⁴¹the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,

⁴²the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,

⁴³the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴On the left hand were their kinsmen the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,

⁴⁵the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,

⁴⁶the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer,

⁴⁷the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸Their kinsmen the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, in accordance with everything that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,

⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,

⁵³Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

⁵⁴Now these are their settlements according to their camps within their borders. To the sons of Aaron of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the first lot),

⁵⁵to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its pasture lands around it;

⁵⁶but they gave the fields of the city and its settlements to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

⁵⁷To the sons of Aaron they gave the following cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah together with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,

⁵⁸Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands,

⁵⁹Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands;

⁶⁰and from the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with its pasture lands, Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. Their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities in all.

⁶¹Then to the rest of the sons of Kohath were given by lot, from the family of the tribe, from the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities.

⁶²To the sons of Gershom, according to their families, were given from the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the tribe of Manasseh, thirteen cities in Bashan.

⁶³To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

⁶⁴So the sons of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasture lands.

⁶⁵They gave by lot from the tribe of the sons of Judah, the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, these cities which are mentioned by name.

⁶⁶Now some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory from the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁷They gave to them the following cities of refuge: Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim with its pasture lands, Gezer with its pasture lands,

⁶⁸Jokmeam with its pasture lands, Beth-horon with its pasture lands,

⁶⁹Aijalon with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands;

⁷⁰and from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner with its pasture lands and Bileam with its pasture lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹To the sons of Gershom were given, from the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands;

⁷²and from the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands,

⁷³Ramoth with its pasture lands, and Anem with its pasture lands;

⁷⁴and from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands,

⁷⁵Hukok with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands;

⁷⁶and from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, Hammon with its pasture lands, and Kiriathaim with its pasture lands.

⁷⁷To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, from the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasture lands, Tabor with its pasture lands,

⁷⁸and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them, from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, Jahzah with its pasture lands,

⁷⁹Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands;

⁸⁰and from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,

⁸¹Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands.

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

²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not feed the flock?

³You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.

⁴Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have dominated them.

⁵They scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every animal of the field and scattered.

⁶My flock strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.” ’ ”

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

⁸“As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “certainly, because My flock has become plunder, and My flock has become food for all the animals of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock,

⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

¹⁰‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them stop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will save My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.” ’ ”

¹¹For the Lord GOD says this: “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them.

¹²As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

¹³I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

¹⁴I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁵I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁶“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will feed them with judgment.

¹⁷“As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats.

¹⁸Is it too little a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet?

¹⁹But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!’ ”

²⁰Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says to them: “Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

²¹Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and gore all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,

²²therefore, I will save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

²³“Then I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.

²⁴And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.

²⁵“And I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

²⁶I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will make showers fall in their season; they will be showers of blessing.

²⁷Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

²⁸They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid.

²⁹I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore.

³⁰Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord GOD.

³¹“As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²And according to Paul’s custom, he visited them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

⁴And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a significant number of the leading women.

⁵But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and they attacked the house of Jason and were seeking to bring them out to the people.

⁶When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;

⁷and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

⁸They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

⁹And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

¹²Therefore, many of them believed, along with a significant number of prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

¹⁴Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present.

¹⁸And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

²⁰For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”

²¹(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

²²So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.

²³For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;

²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

²⁶and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

²⁷that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

²⁸for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’

²⁹Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

³⁰So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent,

³¹because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

³²Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you again concerning this.”

³³So Paul went out from among them.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.