Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

²It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

³Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

⁴When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

⁶So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

⁷Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

⁸The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

¹⁰But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

¹¹These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

¹²Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”

¹³However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

¹⁴Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

¹⁵And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

¹⁷So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

¹⁹And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

²⁰Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

²¹Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

²²But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

²⁶And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

²⁸And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.”

²⁹As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.

³¹Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

³²Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

³⁴And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

³⁷And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

⁴¹Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

⁴²And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

⁴³Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

⁴⁴And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

⁴⁶But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.

⁴⁸If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

⁴⁹And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,

⁵⁰nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”

⁵¹Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

⁵²and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

⁵³Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.

⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

⁵⁵And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.

⁵⁶Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?”

⁵⁷Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

¹“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.

²And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release.

³Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,

⁴except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—

⁵only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.

⁶For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

⁷“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,

⁸but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.

⁹Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you.

¹⁰You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

¹¹For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

¹²“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

¹³And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;

¹⁴you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him.

¹⁵You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.

¹⁶And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you,

¹⁷then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.

¹⁸It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

¹⁹“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall sanctify to the LORD your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

²⁰You and your household shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD chooses.

²¹But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

²²You may eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer.

²³Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

⁴For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

⁵so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

⁷or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

⁸he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

¹⁰Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

¹¹not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

¹²rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

¹³distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

¹⁸If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

¹⁹Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

²⁰Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

²Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

⁴Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

⁵And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

⁶Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

⁸He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

⁹Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

¹²not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

¹⁵Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

¹⁹And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

²⁰For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

²²And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

²⁴Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

¹I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity.

²I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?”

³I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards.

⁵I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

⁶I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove.

⁷I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

⁸I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.

⁹So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

¹⁰Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.

¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.

¹²Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already done.

¹³Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.

¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all.

¹⁵So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.”

¹⁶For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!

¹⁷Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.

²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

²²For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?

²³For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

²⁴Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?

²⁶For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: [1] I will love You, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁴The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

⁵The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.

⁹He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.

¹⁰And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.

¹²From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.

²³I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁴Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

²⁶With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.

²⁸For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

²⁹For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

³¹For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.

³³He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.

³⁴He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.

³⁶You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.

³⁷I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

³⁸I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet.

³⁹For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

⁴⁰You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

⁴²Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; A people I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me.

⁴⁵The foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts.

⁴⁶The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁷It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me;

⁴⁸He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.

⁴⁹Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.

¹A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

³He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

⁴The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

⁵A righteous man hates lying, But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.

⁶Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

⁷There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

⁸The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.

¹¹Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

¹³He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.

¹⁶Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble, But a faithful ambassador brings health.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

²⁰He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

²¹Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste.

²⁴He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

²⁵The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

¹Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains.”

²Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

⁴“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in.

⁵For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

⁶Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar–’ ” ’

⁷Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.

⁸And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth.

⁹Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,

¹⁰since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house.

¹¹And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

¹³I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.

¹⁴And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁵According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

¹⁶Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

¹⁷And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God.

¹⁸What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant.

¹⁹O LORD, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

²⁰O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people—to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt?

²²For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.

²³“And now, O LORD, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let it be established forever, and do as You have said.

²⁴So let it be established, that Your name may be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You.

²⁵For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before You.

²⁶And now, LORD, You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant.

²⁷Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You have blessed it, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.”

¹“Moreover, when you divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall set apart a district for the LORD, a holy section of the land; its length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and the width ten thousand. It shall be holy throughout its territory all around.

²Of this there shall be a square plot for the sanctuary, five hundred by five hundred rods, with fifty cubits around it for an open space.

³So this is the district you shall measure: twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide; in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.

⁴It shall be a holy section of the land, belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD; it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

⁵An area twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide shall belong to the Levites, the ministers of the temple; they shall have twenty chambers as a possession.

⁶“You shall appoint as the property of the city an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, adjacent to the district of the holy section; it shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

⁷“The prince shall have a section on one side and the other of the holy district and the city’s property; and bordering on the holy district and the city’s property, extending westward on the west side and eastward on the east side, the length shall be side by side with one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border.

⁸The land shall be his possession in Israel; and My princes shall no more oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel, according to their tribes.”

⁹‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Enough, O princes of Israel! Remove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people,” says the Lord GOD.

¹⁰“You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.

¹¹The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; their measure shall be according to the homer.

¹²The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

¹³“This is the offering which you shall offer: you shall give one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley.

¹⁴The ordinance concerning oil, the bath of oil, is one-tenth of a bath from a kor. A kor is a homer or ten baths, for ten baths are a homer.

¹⁵And one lamb shall be given from a flock of two hundred, from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them,” says the Lord GOD.

¹⁶“All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel.

¹⁷Then it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

¹⁸‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary.

¹⁹The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court.

²⁰And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.

²¹“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.

²²And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

²³On the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.

²⁴And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ephah.

²⁵“In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

¹Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

²And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

⁴So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”

⁵But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

¹⁰They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

¹¹After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

¹²And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.

¹³From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli,

¹⁴where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.

¹⁵And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,

¹⁸who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death.

¹⁹But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation.

²⁰For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

²¹Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you.

²²But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

²⁴And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

²⁵So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

²⁶saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;

²⁷For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ’

²⁸“Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”

²⁹And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.

³⁰Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,

³¹preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.