Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.

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

³So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

⁴Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

⁵They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.

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

⁷So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”

⁹This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

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

¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

¹²So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

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

¹⁴It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,

¹⁶but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in.

¹⁷The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

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

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

²⁰Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.

²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.”

²²When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”

²³Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”

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

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

²⁶One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”

²⁷Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

²⁸Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.

²⁹So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?”

³⁰They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.”

³¹Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”

³²This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

³³So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

³⁴Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”

³⁵Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

³⁷Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

³⁸Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.

³⁹But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

¹“You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother.

²And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him.

³And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it.

⁴You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.

⁵“A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

⁶“If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young.

⁷You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.

⁸“When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

⁹“You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard.

¹⁰You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

¹¹You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.

¹²“You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.

¹³“If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her

¹⁴and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’

¹⁵then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate.

¹⁶And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her;

¹⁷and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city.

¹⁸Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him,

¹⁹and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days.

²⁰But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman,

²¹then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

²²“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

²³“If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her,

²⁴then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

²⁵“But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.

²⁶But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor,

²⁷because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸“If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found,

²⁹then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

³⁰“A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not uncover his father's nakedness.

¹But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

²I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

³for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

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

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

⁸He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

⁹For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

¹⁰According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

¹¹For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw —

¹³each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

¹⁴If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

¹⁵If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

¹⁶Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

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

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

²⁰and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

²¹So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours,

²³and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

¹“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

⁹“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.

¹⁵So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

¹⁶Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

¹⁹ “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

²⁰But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

²¹I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

²²Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,

²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

²⁴But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.

²⁵Only hold fast what you have until I come.

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

²⁷and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

²⁸And I will give him the morning star.

²⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.

²It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁴But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

⁸Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.

⁹Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

¹¹Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

¹²For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

¹³I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.

¹⁴There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.

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

¹⁶But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.

¹⁷The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

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

¹To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

²O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.

³Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

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

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

⁶Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

⁷Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

⁸Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

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

¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

¹¹For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

¹²Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

¹³His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.

¹⁴The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

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

¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.

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

¹⁹Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.

²⁰Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

²²Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.

³It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.

⁴The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

⁵The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

⁶Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

⁷The righteous who walks in his integrity — blessed are his children after him!

⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.

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

¹⁰Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

¹¹Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

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

¹³Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes away, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.

¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.

¹⁹Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

²⁰If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.

²²Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

²³Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD, and false scales are not good.

²⁴A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?

²⁵It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows.

²⁶A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.

²⁸Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.

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

³⁰Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.

¹The divisions of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests.

³With the help of Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service.

⁴Since more chief men were found among the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of Ithamar, they organized them under sixteen heads of fathers' houses of the sons of Eleazar, and eight of the sons of Ithamar.

⁵They divided them by lot, all alike, for there were sacred officers and officers of God among both the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar.

⁶And the scribe Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the princes and Zadok the priest and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites, one father's house being chosen for Eleazar and one chosen 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, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹These had as their appointed duty in their service to come into the house of the LORD according to the procedure established for them by Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

²⁰And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.

²¹Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief.

²²Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath.

²³The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴The sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir.

²⁵The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.

²⁶The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Jaaziah: Beno.

²⁷The sons of Merari: of Jaaziah, Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

²⁸Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹Of Kish, the sons of Kish: Jerahmeel.

³⁰The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.

³¹These also, the head of each father's house and his younger brother alike, cast lots, just as their brothers the sons of Aaron, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites.

¹King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you!

²It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

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

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

⁵I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.

⁶So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

⁷Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.

⁸At last Daniel came in before me — he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods — and I told him the dream, saying,

⁹“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.

¹⁰The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

¹¹The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

¹²Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

¹³“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.

¹⁴He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.

¹⁵But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

¹⁶Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him.

¹⁷The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’

¹⁸This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

¹⁹Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!

²⁰The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth,

²¹whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived —

²²it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.

²³And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’

²⁴this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king,

²⁵that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

²⁶And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.

²⁷Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

²⁸All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.

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

³⁰and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

³¹While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,

³²and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”

³³Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.

³⁴At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

³⁵all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

³⁶At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me.

³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

¹And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

²And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

³and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’

⁴Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.

⁵Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.

⁶And God spoke to this effect — that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.

⁷‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’

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

⁹“And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

¹¹Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.

¹³And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

¹⁴And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.

¹⁵And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers,

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

¹⁷“But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

¹⁸until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.

¹⁹He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

²⁰At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house,

²¹and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

²²And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

²³“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

²⁴And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

²⁵He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

²⁶And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’

²⁷But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

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

³⁰“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:

³²‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

³³Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

³⁴I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ — this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

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

³⁷This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’

³⁸This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.

³⁹Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,

⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

⁴¹And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

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

⁴⁴“Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.

⁴⁵Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David,

⁴⁶who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

⁴⁸Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

⁴⁹“‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Did not my hand make all these things?’

⁵¹“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

⁵³you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

⁵⁴Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

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

⁵⁶And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

⁵⁸Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.