Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

²Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples.

³So Judas took a company of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees and came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

⁴Then Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Who is it that you’re seeking?”

⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “I am he,” Jesus told them. Judas, who betrayed him, was also standing with them.

⁶When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground.

⁷Then he asked them again, “Who is it that you’re seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸“I told you I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you’re looking for me, let these men go.”

⁹This was to fulfill the words he had said: “I have not lost one of those you have given me.”

¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹At that, Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

¹²Then the company of soldiers, the commander, and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus and tied him up.

¹³First they led him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better for one man to die for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard.

¹⁶But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in.

¹⁷Then the servant girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” “I am not.” he said.

¹⁸Now the servants and the officials had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.

¹⁹The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.

²⁰“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered him. “I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews congregate, and I haven’t spoken anything in secret.

²¹Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said.”

²²When he had said these things, one of the officials standing by slapped Jesus, saying, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

²³“If I have spoken wrongly,” Jesus answered him, “give evidence about the wrong; but if rightly, why do you hit me?”

²⁴Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

²⁶One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?”

²⁷Peter denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed.

²⁸Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

²⁹So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”

³⁰They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.”

³¹Pilate told them, “You take him and judge him according to your law.” “It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared.

³²They said this so that Jesus’s words might be fulfilled indicating what kind of death he was going to die.

³³Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

³⁴Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about me?”

³⁵“I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

³⁶“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷“You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

³⁸“What is truth?” said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging him.

³⁹You have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

¹“If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother.

²If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him.

³Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

⁴If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen down on the road, do not ignore it; help him lift it up.

⁵“A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

⁶“If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, do not take the mother along with the young.

⁷You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free, so that you may prosper and live long.

⁸If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

⁹Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; otherwise, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled.

¹⁰Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

¹¹Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.

¹²Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.

¹³“If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her,

¹⁴and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’

¹⁵the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the city gate.

¹⁶The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her.

¹⁷He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders.

¹⁸Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him.

¹⁹They will also fine him a hundred silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father, because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

²⁰But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found,

²¹they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.

²²“If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

²⁴take the two of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death — the young woman because she did not cry out in the city and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s fiancée. You must purge the evil from you.

²⁵But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die.

²⁶Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty of an offense deserving death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

²⁷When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered,

²⁹the man who raped her is to give the young woman’s father fifty silver shekels, and she will become his wife because he violated her. He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

³⁰“A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.

¹For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.

²I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready,

³because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?

⁴For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given.

⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

⁷So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

⁸Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it.

¹¹For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.

¹²If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw,

¹³each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.

¹⁴If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward.

¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved  — but only as through fire.

¹⁶Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool so that he can become wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, since it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness;

²⁰and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are futile.

²¹So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours  —

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come  — everything is yours,

²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

¹“Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

²I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.

³I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

⁵Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

⁶Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

⁸“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life:

⁹I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

¹²“Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword:

¹³I know where you live — where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.

¹⁵In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

¹⁶So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.

¹⁸“Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze:

¹⁹I know your works — your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.

²⁰But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

²¹I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.

²²Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works,

²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

²⁴I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven’t known “the so-called secrets of Satan” — as they say — I am not putting any other burden on you.

²⁵Only hold on to what you have until I come.

²⁶The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations —

²⁷ and he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery —

²⁸just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

²⁹“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

¹Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: The righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.

²Everything is the same for everyone: There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so also it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who takes an oath, so also for the one who fears an oath.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; after that they go to the dead.

⁴But there is hope for whoever is joined with all the living, since a live dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.

⁷Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.

⁸Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head.

⁹Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

¹¹Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.

¹²For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.

¹³I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me:

¹⁴There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.

¹⁵Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

¹⁶And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

¹⁷The calm words of the wise are heeded more than the shouts of a ruler over fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much good.

¹Of David. [1] LORD, I appeal to you.

²My God, I trust in you. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me.

³No one who waits for you will be disgraced; those who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced.

⁴Make your ways known to me, LORD; teach me your paths.

⁵Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long.

⁶Remember, LORD, your compassion and your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth or my acts of rebellion; in keeping with your faithful love, remember me because of your goodness, LORD.

⁸The LORD is good and upright; therefore he shows sinners the way.

⁹He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

¹⁰All the LORD’s ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep his covenant and decrees.

¹¹LORD, for the sake of your name, forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.

¹²Who is this person who fears the LORD? He will show him the way he should choose.

¹³He will live a good life, and his descendants will inherit the land.

¹⁴The secret counsel of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he reveals his covenant to them.

¹⁵My eyes are always on the LORD, for he will pull my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am alone and afflicted.

¹⁷The distresses of my heart increase; bring me out of my sufferings.

¹⁸Consider my affliction and trouble, and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider my enemies; they are numerous, and they hate me violently.

²⁰Guard me and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and what is right watch over me, for I wait for you.

²²God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.

¹Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler; whoever goes astray because of them is not wise.

²A king’s terrible wrath is like the roaring of a lion; anyone who provokes him endangers himself.

³Honor belongs to the person who ends a dispute, but any fool can get himself into a quarrel.

⁴The slacker does not plow during planting season; at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.

⁵Counsel in a person’s heart is deep water; but a person of understanding draws it out.

⁶Many a person proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy person?

⁷A righteous person acts with integrity; his children who come after him will be happy.

⁸A king sitting on a throne to judge separates out all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?

¹⁰Differing weights and varying measures  — both are detestable to the LORD.

¹¹Even a young man is known by his actions — by whether his behavior is pure and upright.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye — the LORD made them both.

¹³Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor; open your eyes, and you’ll have enough to eat.

¹⁴“It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says, but after he is on his way, he gloats.

¹⁵There is gold and a multitude of jewels, but knowledgeable lips are a rare treasure.

¹⁶Take his garment, for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners.

¹⁷Food gained by fraud is sweet to a person, but afterward his mouth is full of gravel.

¹⁸Finalize plans with counsel, and wage war with sound guidance.

¹⁹The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth.

²⁰Whoever curses his father or mother —  his lamp will go out in deep darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained prematurely will not be blessed ultimately.

²²Don’t say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and he will rescue you.

²³Differing weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are unfair.

²⁴Even a courageous person’s steps are determined by the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?

²⁵It is a trap for anyone to dedicate something rashly and later to reconsider his vows.

²⁶A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The LORD’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life, searching the innermost parts.

²⁸Loyalty and faithfulness guard a king; through loyalty he maintains his throne.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is gray hair.

³⁰Lashes and wounds purge away evil, and beatings cleanse the innermost parts.

¹The divisions of the descendants of Aaron were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

³Together with Zadok from the descendants of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the descendants of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service.

⁴Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of ancestral families were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral families were from Ithamar’s.

⁵They were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.

⁶The secretary, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the officers, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites. One ancestral family was taken for Eleazar, and then one for Ithamar.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,

¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

¹⁷the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,

¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the LORD’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

²⁰As for the rest of Levi’s sons: from Amram’s sons: Shubael; from Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.

²¹From Rehabiah: from Rehabiah’s sons: Isshiah was the first.

²²From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from Shelomoth’s sons: Jahath.

²³Hebron’s sons: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴From Uzziel’s sons: Micah; from Micah’s sons: Shamir.

²⁵Micah’s brother: Isshiah; from Isshiah’s sons: Zechariah.

²⁶Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi, and from his sons, Jaaziah his son.

²⁷Merari’s sons, by his son Jaaziah: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

²⁸From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹From Kish, from Kish’s sons: Jerahmeel.

³⁰Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. Those were the descendants of the Levites according to their ancestral families.

³¹They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites — the family heads and their younger brothers alike.

¹King Nebuchadnezzar, To those of every people, nation, and language, who live on the whole earth: May your prosperity increase.

²I am pleased to tell you about the miracles and wonders the Most High God has done for me.

³How great are his miracles, and how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

⁴I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.

⁵I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

⁶So I issued a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon to me in order that they might make the dream’s interpretation known to me.

⁷When the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

⁸Finally Daniel, named Belteshazzar after the name of my god — and a spirit of the holy gods is in him  — came before me. I told him the dream:

⁹“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, because I know that you have the spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery puzzles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation.

¹⁰In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this: There was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very tall.

¹¹The tree grew large and strong; its top reached to the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.

¹²Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and on it was food for all. Wild animals found shelter under it, the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every creature was fed from it.

¹³“As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

¹⁴He called out loudly: Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

¹⁵But leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share the plants of the earth with the animals.

¹⁶Let his mind be changed from that of a human, and let him be given the mind of an animal for seven periods of time.

¹⁷This word is by decree of the watchers, and the decision is by command from the holy ones. This is so that the living will know that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms. He gives them to anyone he wants and sets the lowliest of people over them.

¹⁸This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can make the interpretation known to me. But you can, because you have a spirit of the holy gods.”

¹⁹Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was stunned for a moment, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

²⁰The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky and was visible to the whole earth,

²¹and whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant — and on it was food for all, under it the wild animals lived, and in its branches the birds of the sky lived —

²²that tree is you, Your Majesty. For you have become great and strong: your greatness has grown and even reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.

²³“The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.’

²⁴This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree of the Most High that has been issued against my lord the king:

²⁵You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.

²⁶As for the command to leave the tree’s stump with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules.

²⁷Therefore, may my advice seem good to you my king. Separate yourself from your sins by doing what is right, and from your injustices by showing mercy to the needy. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

²⁸All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.

²⁹At the end of twelve months, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon,

³⁰the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?”

³¹While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you.

³²You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals, and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.”

³³At that moment the message against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

³⁴But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever: For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

³⁵All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing, and he does what he wants with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can block his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

³⁶At that time my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and my nobles sought me out, I was reestablished over my kingdom, and even more greatness came to me.

³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

¹“Are these things true?” the high priest asked.

²“Brothers and fathers,” he replied, “listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

³and said to him: Leave your country and relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.

⁴“Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land in which you are now living.

⁵He didn’t give him an inheritance in it — not even a foot of ground — but he promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless.

⁶God spoke in this way: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and they would enslave and oppress them for four hundred years.

⁷I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, God said. After this, they will come out and worship me in this place.

⁸And so he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him out of all his troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole household.

¹¹Now a famine and great suffering came over all of Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food.

¹²When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time.

¹³The second time, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.

¹⁴Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five people in all,

¹⁵and Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our ancestors died there,

¹⁶were carried back to Shechem, and were placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷“As the time was approaching to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt

¹⁸until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt.

¹⁹He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them abandon their infants outside so that they wouldn’t survive.

²⁰At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. He was cared for in his father’s home for three months.

²¹When he was put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and raised him as her own son.

²²So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions.

²³“When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.

²⁴When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian.

²⁵He assumed his people would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.

²⁶The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other? ’

²⁷“But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying: Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹“When he heard this, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he was approaching to look at it, the voice of the Lord came:

³²I am the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.

³³“The Lord said to him: Take off the sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.

³⁴I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt.

³⁵“This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?  — this one God sent as a ruler and a deliverer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶This man led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷“This is the Moses who said to the Israelites: God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers and sisters.

³⁸He is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us.

³⁹Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

⁴⁰They told Aaron: Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him.

⁴¹They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made.

⁴²God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: House of Israel, did you bring me offerings and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness?

⁴³You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship. So I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.

⁴⁵Our ancestors in turn received it and with Joshua brought it in when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before them, until the days of David.

⁴⁶He found favor in God’s sight and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷It was Solomon, rather, who built him a house,

⁴⁸but the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says:

⁴⁹Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. What sort of house will you build for me? says the Lord, or what will be my resting place?

⁵⁰Did not my hand make all these things?

⁵¹“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.

⁵³You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it.”

⁵⁴When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him.

⁵⁵Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

⁵⁶He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him.

⁵⁸They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning Stephen, he called out: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

⁶⁰He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he died.