Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Later on there was a Jewish feast (festival), and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

²Now in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew (Jewish Aramaic) Bethesda, having five porticoes (alcoves, colonnades).

³In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, [waiting for the stirring of the water;

⁴for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.]

⁵There was a certain man there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

⁶When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

⁷The invalid answered, "Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am coming [to get into it myself], someone else steps down ahead of me."

⁸Jesus said to him, "Get up; pick up your pallet and walk."

⁹Immediately the man was healed and recovered his strength, and picked up his pallet and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

¹⁰So the Jews kept saying to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to pick up your pallet [because it is unlawful]."

¹¹He answered them, "The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength was the One who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'"

¹²They asked him, "Who is the Man who told you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk'?"

¹³Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away [unnoticed] since there was a crowd in that place.

¹⁴Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

¹⁵The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

¹⁶For this reason the Jews began to persecute Jesus continually because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.

¹⁷But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now [He has never ceased working], and I too am working."

¹⁸This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him, for not only was He breaking the Sabbath [from their viewpoint], but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

¹⁹So Jesus answered them by saying, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way.

²⁰For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder.

²¹Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life [and allows them to live on], even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.

²²For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment [that is, the prerogative of judging] to the Son [placing it entirely into His hands],

²³so that all will give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him.

²⁴"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.

²⁵I assure you and most solemnly say to you, a time is coming and is [here] now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live.

²⁶For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent].

²⁷And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of Man [sinless humanity, qualifying Him to sit in judgment over mankind].

²⁸Do not be surprised at this; for a time is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear His voice,

²⁹and they will come out—those who did good things [will come out] to a resurrection of [new] life, but those who did evil things [will come out] to a resurrection of judgment [that is, to be sentenced].

³⁰"I can do nothing on my own initiative or authority. Just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just (fair, righteous, unbiased), because I do not seek My own will, but only the will of Him who sent Me.

³¹"If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid.

³²There is another [My Father] who testifies about Me, and I know [without any doubt] that His testimony on My behalf is true and valid.

³³You have sent [an inquiry] to John [the Baptist] and he has testified [as an eyewitness] to the truth.

³⁴But the testimony I receive is not from man [a merely human witness]; but I say these things so that you may be saved [that is, have eternal life].

³⁵John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you the way], and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.

³⁶But the testimony which I have is far greater than the testimony of John; for the works that the Father has given Me to finish—the very same works [that is, the miracles and proofs of My deity] that I am [now] doing—testify about Me, [by providing evidence] that the Father has sent Me.

³⁷And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form [His majesty and greatness—what He is like].

³⁸You do not have His word (Scripture) abiding in you [actually living in your hearts and minds], because you do not believe in Him whom He has sent.

³⁹ You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me;

⁴⁰and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

⁴¹I do not receive glory and approval from men;

⁴²but I know you and recognize that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.

⁴³I have come in My Father's name and with His power, and you do not receive Me [because your minds are closed]; but if another comes in his own name and with no authority or power except his own, you will receive him and give your approval to an imposter.

⁴⁴How can you believe [in Me], when you [seek and] receive glory and approval from one another, and yet you do not seek the glory and approval which comes from the one and only God?

⁴⁵Do not think that I [am the One who] will accuse you before the Father. There [already] is one who accuses you: Moses, [the very one] in whom you have placed your hope [for salvation].

⁴⁶For if you believed and relied on [the Scriptures written by] Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me [personally].

⁴⁷But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

¹"Hear, O Israel! You are crossing the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and more powerful than you, great cities fortified to heaven,

²a people great and tall, sons of Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?'

³So know today [with confident assurance] that the LORD your God is crossing [the Jordan] before you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, and you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has promised you.

⁴"Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD is dispossessing them before you.

⁵It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out before you, and to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

⁶"Know [without any doubt], that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked (stubborn, obstinate) people.

⁷Remember [with remorse] and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day you left the land of Egypt until you arrived in this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.

⁸And at Horeb (Sinai) you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you.

⁹When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food or drink water.

¹⁰The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God; and on them were written all the words which the LORD had spoken to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.

¹¹It came about at the end of forty days and forty nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.

¹²Then the LORD said to me, 'Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made (cast) a molten image for themselves.'

¹³Furthermore, the LORD said to me, 'I have seen this people, and indeed, they are stiff-necked (stubborn, obstinate) people.

¹⁴Let Me alone, so that I may destroy them and wipe out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.'

¹⁵"So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.

¹⁶And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf (idol). You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

¹⁷So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my two hands and smashed them before your very eyes!

¹⁸Then, as before, I fell down before the LORD for [another] forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food or drink water, because of all the sin you had committed by doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger.

¹⁹For I was afraid of the anger and absolute fury which the LORD held against you, [enough divine fury] to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also.

²⁰The LORD was very angry with Aaron, angry [enough] to destroy him, so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time.

²¹I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it in the fire and thoroughly crushed it, grinding the metal thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

²²"At Taberah also and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath.

²³And when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, 'Go up and take possession of the land which I have given you,' then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God, and you did not believe and rely on Him, nor did you obey His voice.

²⁴You have been rebellious against the LORD from the [first] day that I knew you.

²⁵"So I fell down and lay face down before the LORD forty days and nights because the LORD had said He would destroy you.

²⁶Then I prayed to the LORD and said, 'O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought from Egypt with a mighty hand.

²⁷Remember [with compassion] Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or at their sin,

²⁸so that the [people of the] land from which You brought us will not say, "Because the LORD was not capable of bringing them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to the wilderness [in order] to kill them."

²⁹Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm.'

¹What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God's gift of] grace may increase and overflow?

²Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer?

³Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

⁴We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].

⁵For if we have become one with Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection.

⁶We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.

⁷For the person who has died [with Christ] has been freed from [the power of] sin.

⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with Him,

⁹because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him.

¹⁰For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner's debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].

¹¹Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin [and your relationship to it broken], but alive to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions.

¹³Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to a new life], and your members [all of your abilities—sanctified, set apart] as instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God.

¹⁴For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace [as recipients of God's favor and mercy].

¹⁵What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God's] grace? Certainly not!

¹⁶Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?

¹⁷But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.

¹⁸And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God's will and purpose].

¹⁹I am speaking in [familiar] human terms because of your natural limitations [your spiritual immaturity]. For just as you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification [that is, being set apart for God's purpose].

²⁰When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God's will].

²¹So what benefit did you get at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None!] For the outcome of those things is death!

²²But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God's purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹Therefore, I strongly urge the elders among you [pastors, spiritual leaders of the church], as a fellow elder and as an eyewitness [called to testify] of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed:

²shepherd and guide and protect the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not [motivated] for shameful gain, but with wholehearted enthusiasm;

³not lording it over those assigned to your care [do not be arrogant or overbearing], but be examples [of Christian living] to the flock [set a pattern of integrity for your congregation].

⁴And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror's] unfading crown of glory.

⁵Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant's apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time,

⁷casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

⁸Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

⁹But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]

¹⁰After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be].

¹¹To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

¹²By Silvanus, our faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly, to counsel and testify that this is the true grace [the undeserved favor] of God. Stand firm in it!

¹³She [the church] who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son [in the faith], Mark.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. To all of you who are in Christ, may there be peace.

¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

²"Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom] By words without knowledge?

³"Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

⁴"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.

⁵"Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know? Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?

⁶"On what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?

⁸"Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it burst forth and went out of the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,

¹⁰And marked for it My [appointed] boundary And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines],

¹¹And said, 'This far you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop'?

¹²"Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth And shake the wickedness out of it?

¹⁴"The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.

¹⁵"Their light is withheld from the wicked, And the uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶"Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

¹⁸"Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹"Where is the way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory And that you may know the paths to its house?

²¹"You [must] know, since you were born then, And because you are so extremely old!

²²"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?

²⁴"Where is the way that the light is distributed, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵"Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain and for the flood, Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To bring rain on the uninhabited land, And on the desert where no man lives,

²⁷To satisfy the barren and desolate ground And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

²⁸"Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹"Out of whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

³⁰"Water becomes like stone [and hides itself], And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.

³¹"Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?

³²"Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons?

³³"Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?

³⁴"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

³⁵"Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'?

³⁶"Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds] Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?

³⁷"Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom, Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,

³⁸When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

³⁹"Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair?

⁴¹"Who provides prey for the raven When its young cry to God And wander about without food?

¹To the Chief Musician; set an octave below. A Psalm of David. Save and help and rescue, LORD, for godly people cease to be, For the faithful vanish from among the sons of men.

²They speak deceitful and worthless words to one another; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things [in boasting];

⁴Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord and master over us?"

⁵"Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."

⁶The words and promises of the LORD are pure words, Like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.

⁷You, O LORD, will preserve and keep them; You will protect him from this [evil] generation forever.

⁸The wicked strut about [in pompous self-importance] on every side, As vileness is exalted and baseness is prized among the sons of men.

¹My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you].

²Keep my commandments and live, And keep my teaching and law as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them [securely] on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, "You are my sister," And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the foreigner [who does not observe God's laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice.

⁷And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible], I saw among the youths A young man lacking [good] sense,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

⁹In the twilight, in the evening; In the black and dark night.

¹⁰And there a woman met him, Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.

¹¹She was boisterous and rebellious; She would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places, Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him And with a brazen and impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵"So I came out to meet you [that you might share with me the feast of my offering], Diligently I sought your face and I have found you.

¹⁶"I have spread my couch with coverings and cushions of tapestry, With colored fine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷"I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸"Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us console and delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹"For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey;

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him, And he will come home on the appointed day."

²¹With her many persuasions she caused him to yield; With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome], Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

²³Until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound]; Like a bird fluttering straight into the net, He did not know that it would cost him his life.

²⁴Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her [evil, immoral] paths.

²⁶For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded; Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

¹Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron, saying, "Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.

²In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the LORD your God said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over My people Israel.'"

³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant (solemn agreement) with them there before the LORD; and they anointed him king over Israel, in accordance with the word of the LORD through Samuel.

⁴Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there.

⁵Then the Jebusites said to David, "You shall not come in here." But David captured the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).

⁶Now David said, "Whoever strikes down a Jebusite first shall be chief and commander." Joab the son of Zeruiah [David's half sister] went up first, and so he was made chief.

⁷Then David lived in the stronghold; so it was called the City of David.

⁸He built the city around it, from the Millo (fortification) to the surrounding area; and Joab repaired the rest of the [old Jebusite] city.

⁹David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him.

¹⁰Now these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who strongly supported him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, in accordance with the word of the LORD concerning Israel.

¹¹This is the list of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the thirty [heroes]. He lifted up his spear against three hundred whom he killed at one time.

¹²Next to him [in rank] was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men.

¹³He was with David at Pasdammim [where David had killed Goliath] and there the Philistines were gathered together for battle, and there was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people [of Israel] fled before the Philistines.

¹⁴But they took their stand in the midst of that plot and defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the LORD rescued them by a great victory.

¹⁵Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁶David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem.

¹⁷David had a craving and said, "Oh that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is next to the gate!"

¹⁸Then the three [mighty men] broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was next to the gate, and brought it to David. But David would not drink it; he poured it out to the LORD [as an offering];

¹⁹and he said, "Far be it from me before my God that I would do this thing! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For they brought it at the risk of their lives." So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

²⁰Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the [other] three, and he lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and he had a name as well as the three.

²¹Of the three in the second [rank] he was the most honored and became their captain; however, he did not attain to the first three [Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah].

²²Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a courageous man of Kabzeel who had done great things, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. Also he went down and killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day.

²³He killed an Egyptian also, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. In the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam, and Benaiah went down to him with [only] a staff (rod) and grabbed the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

²⁴Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did these things, and had a name as well as the three mighty men.

²⁵He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to [the rank of] the [first] three. David appointed him over his bodyguard.

²⁶Now the mighty men of the armies were: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁷Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,

²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth,

²⁹Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,

³⁰Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite,

³¹Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjamites, Benaiah the Pirathonite,

³²Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,

³³Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

³⁴the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite,

³⁵Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur,

³⁶Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,

³⁷Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai,

³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri,

³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah [David's half sister],

⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

⁴¹Uriah the Hittite [Bathsheba's husband], Zabad the son of Ahlai,

⁴²Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty [heroes] with him,

⁴³Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,

⁴⁴Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,

⁴⁵Jediael the son of Shimri, and his brother Joha, the Tizite,

⁴⁶Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite,

⁴⁷Eliel and Obed and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

¹"And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince (ruler) of Meshech and Tubal;

²and I will turn you around and lead you along, and bring you up from the remotest parts of the north, and I will bring you against the mountains of Israel.

³I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows to fall out of your right hand.

⁴You will fall [dead] on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the nations who are with you. I will give you to every kind of predatory bird and animal of the field as food.

⁵You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD.

⁶I will also send fire on Magog and on those who live securely in the coastlands; and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.

⁷"I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

⁸Behold, it is coming and it will be done," says the Lord GOD. "That is the day of which I have spoken.

⁹And [when you, Gog, no longer exist] those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both the [large] shields and the bucklers (small shields), the bows and the arrows, the war clubs and the spears; and for seven years they will burn them.

¹⁰They will not take any wood from the field or cut down and gather [any] firewood from the forests, because they will make their fires using the weapons. And they will take the spoil from those who despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them," says the Lord GOD.

¹¹"And on that day I will give Gog a place for burial there in Israel, the valley of those who pass through east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass through. So they will bury Gog there with all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog (the multitude of Gog).

¹²For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.

¹³Yes, all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My glory and brilliance," says the Lord GOD.

¹⁴They will elect men who will constantly go through the land, [men commissioned] to bury those who were passing through, those bodies that lie unburied on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will do a search.

¹⁵As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.

¹⁶And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. In this manner they shall cleanse the land."'

¹⁷"As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Say to every kind of bird and to every animal of the field, "Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice that I am slaughtering for you, as a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh and drink blood.

¹⁸You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan [east of the Jordan].

¹⁹So you will eat fat until you are filled and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast which I have prepared for you.

²⁰You will eat your fill at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men, and with all the men of war," says the Lord GOD.

²¹"And I will bring [and manifest] My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment and justice [in the punishment] which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.

²²So the house of Israel will know [with absolute confidence] that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.

²³And the nations will know [without any doubt] that the house of Israel went into exile for their great sin, because they acted treacherously against Me; and I hid My face (favor, blessing) from them. So I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell [into captivity or were killed] by [the power of] the sword.

²⁴I dealt with them in accordance with their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid My face from them."'"

²⁵Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob (Israel) and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine].

²⁶They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery (unfaithfulness) which they perpetuated against Me, when they live securely in their own land and there is no one who makes them afraid.

²⁷When I bring them back from the nations and gather them out of their enemies' lands, then I shall show Myself holy [and My justice and holiness will be vindicated] through them in the sight of many nations.

²⁸Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them there [among the nations] any longer.

²⁹I will not hide My face from them any longer, because I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," says the Lord GOD.

¹"Brethren and fathers (kinsmen), hear my defense which I now offer to you."

²When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. And he continued,

³"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being ardent and passionate for God just as all of you are today.

⁴I persecuted and pursued the followers of this Way to the death, binding them with chains and putting [followers of Jesus] both men and women into prisons,

⁵as the high priest and all the Council of the elders (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) can testify; because from them I received letters to the brothers, and I was on my way to Damascus in order to bring those [believers] who were there to Jerusalem in chains to be punished.

⁶"But as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven and shone around me.

⁷And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

⁸And I replied, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'

⁹Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

¹⁰And I asked, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that is appointed and destined for you to do.'

¹¹But since I could not see because of the [glorious intensity and dazzling] brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

¹²"And one Ananias, a devout man according to the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

¹³came to [see] me, and standing near, he said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I [recovered my sight and] looked up at him.

¹⁴And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, [and to progressively understand His plan with clarity and power] and to see the Righteous One [Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and to hear a message from His [own] mouth.

¹⁵For you will be His witness to all men testifying of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶Now, why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name [for salvation].'

¹⁷"Then it happened when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple [enclosure], that I fell into a trance (vision);

¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.'

¹⁹And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know [without any doubt] that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You [and Your message of salvation].

²⁰And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby approving and consenting [to his death], and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.'

²¹And the Lord said to me, 'Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

²²They listened to Paul until [he made] this [last] statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, "Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!"

²³And as they were shouting and throwing off their coats [getting ready to stone Paul] and tossing dust into the air [expressing their anger],

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he was to be interrogated with a whip in order to learn why the people were shouting against him that way.

²⁵But when they had stretched him out with the leather straps [in preparation for the whip], Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned [without a trial]?"

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said to him, "What are you about to do? This man is a Roman!"

²⁷So the commander came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."

²⁸The commander replied, "I purchased this citizenship [of mine] for a large sum of money [so how did you acquire yours?]." Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."

²⁹So those who were about to interrogate him by torture immediately let him go; and the commander was also afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman and he had put him in chains.

³⁰But on the next day, wanting to know the real reason why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) to assemble; and brought Paul down and presented him before them.