Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹" Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly].

²For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you.

³Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye?

⁴Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me get the speck out of your eye,' when there is a log in your own eye?

⁵You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

⁶"Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

⁷" Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.

⁸For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.

⁹Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will [instead] give him a stone?

¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will [instead] give him a snake?

¹¹If you then, evil (sinful by nature) as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him.

¹²"So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.

¹³"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it.

¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵"Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

¹⁷Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit.

¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

²⁰Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].

²¹"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

²²Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?'

²³And then I will declare to them publicly, 'I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].'

²⁴"So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock.

²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

²⁶And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand.

²⁷And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall."

²⁸When Jesus had finished [speaking] these words [on the mountain], the crowds were astonished and overwhelmed at His teaching;

²⁹for He was teaching them as one who had authority [to teach entirely of His own volition], and not as their scribes [who relied on others to confirm their authority].

¹"Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

²"Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the light rain upon the tender grass, And as the spring showers upon the herb.

³"For I proclaim the name [and presence] of the LORD; Ascribe greatness and honor to our God!

⁴"The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness without iniquity (injustice), Just and upright is He.

⁵"They (Israel) have acted corruptly toward Him. They are not His children, because of their [moral] defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation.

⁶"Do you thus repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has acquired you [as His own]? He has made you and established you [as a nation].

⁷"Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you.

⁸"When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.

⁹"For the Lord's portion and chosen share is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the allotment of His inheritance.

¹⁰"He found him in a desert land, In the howling wasteland of a wilderness; He kept circling him, He took care of him, He protected him as the apple of His eye.

¹¹"As an eagle that protects its nest, That flutters over its young, He spread out His wings and took them, He carried them on His pinions.

¹²"So the LORD alone led him; There was no foreign god with him.

¹³"He made him (Israel) ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And [olive] oil from the flinty rock,

¹⁴Butter and curds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat; And you drank wine, the blood of grapes.

¹⁵"But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God]. You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate! Then he abandoned God who had made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.

¹⁶"They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods [by denying Him the honor and loyalty that is rightfully and uniquely His]; And with repulsive acts they provoked Him to anger.

¹⁷"They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers never feared.

¹⁸"You were unmindful of the Rock who bore you, And you forgot the God who gave you birth.

¹⁹"The LORD saw it, and rejected them, Out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.

²⁰"Then He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.

²¹'They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

²²'For a fire is kindled by My anger, And it burns to the depths of Sheol (the place of the dead, the nether world), It devours the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

²³'I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them.

²⁴'They will be wasted by hunger, and consumed by plague And a bitter destruction; And I will send the teeth of beasts against them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust.

²⁵'Outside the sword will bereave, And inside [the chambers] terror— For both young man and virgin, For the nursing child and the man of gray hair.

²⁶'I would have said, "I will cut them to pieces [scattering them far away], I will remove the memory of them from men,"

²⁷Had I not feared the provocation of the enemy, That their adversaries would misjudge, That they would say, "Our [own] hand has prevailed, And the LORD has not done all this."'

²⁸"For they are a nation devoid of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.

²⁹"O that they were wise, that they understood this, That they could discern their future and ultimate fate!

³⁰"How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had given them up?

³¹"For their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this.

³²"For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter.

³³"Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of vipers.

³⁴'Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries?

³⁵'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their disaster is at hand, And their doom hurries to meet them.'

³⁶"For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength (hand) is gone, And none remains, whether bond or free.

³⁷"And He will say, 'Where are their gods, The rock in which they took refuge?

³⁸'Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place!

³⁹'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and I who give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from [the power of] My hand.

⁴⁰'Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven, And say (swear an oath), as I live forever,

⁴¹If I sharpen the lightning of My sword, And My hand takes hold of judgment, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me.

⁴²'I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword will devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.'

⁴³"Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people."

⁴⁴Then Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun.

⁴⁵When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all [the people of] Israel,

⁴⁶he said to them, "Take to heart all the words of warning which I am speaking to you today; and you shall command your children to observe them carefully—to do all the words of this law.

⁴⁷For it is not an empty or trivial matter for you; indeed it is your [very] life. By [honoring and obeying] this word you will live long in the land, which you are crossing the Jordan to possess."

⁴⁸And the LORD said to Moses that very same day,

⁴⁹"Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession.

⁵⁰Then die on the mountain which you climb, and be gathered to your people [in death], just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people,

⁵¹because you broke faith with Me among of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat Me as holy among of the sons of Israel.

⁵²For you shall see the land opposite you from a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel."

¹If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God's love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].

²And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing.

³If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.

⁴Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.

⁵It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.

⁶It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].

⁷Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

⁸Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]. But as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for the gift of special knowledge, it will pass away.

⁹For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete].

¹⁰But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away.

¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

¹²For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God].

¹³And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God's love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.

¹And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

²She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

³Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).

⁴And his tail swept [across the sky] and dragged away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

⁵And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.

⁶Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years).

⁷And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought,

⁸but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

⁹And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.

¹¹And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.

¹²Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!"

¹³And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male Child.

¹⁴But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time (three and one-half years), away from the presence of the serpent (Satan).

¹⁵And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.

¹⁶But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth.

¹⁷So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children (seed), those who keep and obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [holding firmly to it and bearing witness to Him].

¹"How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! The curves of your hips are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

²"Your navel is a round goblet Which never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is like a heap of wheat Surrounded with lilies.

³"Your two breasts are like two fawns, The twins of a gazelle.

⁴"Your neck is like a tower of ivory, Your eyes the [sparkling] pools of Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looks toward Damascus.

⁵"Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, And the flowing hair of your head like purple threads; I, the king, am held captive by your tresses.

⁶"How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your delights!

⁷"Your stature is like that of a palm tree And your breasts like its clusters [of dates].

⁸"I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will grasp its branches. Let your breasts be like clusters of the grapevine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹'And your kisses like the best wine!'" (The Shulammite Bride) "It goes down smoothly and sweetly for my beloved, Gliding gently over his lips while he sleeps.

¹⁰"I am my beloved's, And his desire is for me.

¹¹"Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country, Let us spend the night in the villages.

¹²"Let us go out early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded And its blossoms have opened, And whether the pomegranates have flowered. There I will give you my love.

¹³"The mandrakes give forth fragrance, And over our doors are all [kinds of] choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have saved up for you, my beloved.

¹A Psalm of David. Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me.

²Take hold of shield and buckler ( small shield), And stand up for my help.

³Draw also the spear and javelin to meet those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."

⁴Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back [in defeat] and humiliated who plot evil against me.

⁵Let them be [blown away] like chaff before the wind [worthless, without substance], With the angel of the LORD driving them on.

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing and harassing them.

⁷For without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit [of destruction] for my life.

⁸Let destruction come upon my enemy by surprise; Let the net he hid for me catch him; Into that very destruction let him fall.

⁹Then my soul shall rejoice in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation.

¹⁰All my bones will say, "LORD, who is like You, Who rescues the afflicted from him who is too strong for him [to resist alone], And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?"

¹¹Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know.

¹²They repay me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul.

¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth (mourning garment); I humbled my soul with fasting, And I prayed with my head bowed on my chest.

¹⁴I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother; I bowed down in mourning, as one who sorrows for his mother.

¹⁵But in my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered together [against me]; The slanderers whom I did not know gathered against me; They slandered and reviled me without ceasing.

¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast, They gnashed at me with their teeth [in malice].

¹⁷LORD, how long will You look on [without action]? Rescue my life from their destructions, My only life from the young lions.

¹⁸I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty people.

¹⁹Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink their eye [maliciously].

²⁰For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words [half-truths and lies] against those who are quiet in the land.

²¹They open their mouths wide against me; They say, "Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!"

²²You have seen this, O LORD; do not keep silent. O Lord, do not be far from me.

²³Wake Yourself up, and arise to my right And to my cause, my God and my Lord.

²⁴Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness and justice; And do not let them rejoice over me.

²⁵Do not let them say in their heart, "Aha, that is what we wanted!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up and destroyed him."

²⁶Let those be ashamed and humiliated together who rejoice at my distress; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.

²⁷Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication and want what is right for me; Let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, who delights and takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

²⁸And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness (justice), And Your praise all the day long.

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: The man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:

²Surely I am more brutish and stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man [for I do not know what I do not know].

³I have not learned [skillful and godly] wisdom, Nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One [who is the source of wisdom].

⁴Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Certainly you know!

⁵Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver]; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar.

⁷Two things I have asked of You; Do not deny them to me before I die:

⁸Keep deception and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,

⁹So that I will not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I will not be poor and steal, And so profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander or malign a servant before his master [stay out of another's personal life], Or he will curse you [for your interference], and you will be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation (class of people) that curses its father And does not bless its mother.

¹²There is a generation (class of people) that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³There is a generation (class of people)—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴There is a generation (class of people) whose teeth are like swords And whose jaw teeth are like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters, "Give, give!" There are three things that are never satisfied, Four that do not say, "It is enough":

¹⁶Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "It is enough."

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young vultures will devour it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too astounding and unexpectedly wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth And says, "I have done no wrong."

²¹Under three things the earth is disquieted and quakes, And under four it cannot bear up:

²²Under a servant when he reigns, Under a [spiritually blind] fool when he is filled with food,

²³Under an unloved woman when she gets married, And under a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴There are four things that are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are not a strong people, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The shephanim are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in groups;

²⁸You may grasp the lizard with your hands, Yet it is in kings' palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in step, Even four which are stately in their stride:

³⁰The lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn back before any;

³¹The strutting rooster, the male goat also, And the king when his army is with him.

³²If you have foolishly exalted yourself, Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

³³Surely the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.

¹Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the LORD was finished. He brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, and he put the silver and the gold and all the utensils in the treasuries of the house of God.

²Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' households of the Israelites, in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the City of David, which is Zion.

³All the men of Israel gathered before the king at the feast in the seventh month.

⁴And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

⁵The Levitical priests brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy utensils that were in the Tent.

⁶And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who gathered together with him before the ark were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

⁷Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim;

⁸for the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, making a covering above the ark and its carrying poles.

⁹The poles were so long that the ends of the poles of the ark were visible from the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), but were not visible from the outside. They are there to this day.

¹⁰There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets [of the Ten Commandments] which Moses put there at Mount Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹When the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves [separating themselves from everything unclean], without regard to their assigned divisions),

¹²and all of the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres were standing at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets

¹³in unison when the trumpeters and singers were to make themselves heard with one voice praising and thanking the LORD, and when they raised their voices accompanied by the trumpets and cymbals and [other] instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD, saying, "For He is good, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever," then the house of the LORD was filled with a cloud,

¹⁴so that the priests could not remain standing to minister because of the cloud; for the glory and brilliance of the LORD filled the house of God.

¹"[Hosea,] say to your brothers, 'Ammi (you are my people),' and to your sisters, 'Ruhamah (you have been pitied and have obtained mercy).'

²"Contend with your mother (nation); contend, For she is not my wife and I am not her husband; And have her remove her [marks of] prostitution from her face And her adultery from between her breasts

³Or I will strip her naked And expose her as on the day she was born, And make her like a wilderness And make her like a parched land And slay her with thirst.

⁴"Also, I will have no mercy on her children, Because they are the children of prostitution.

⁵"For their mother has played the prostitute; She who conceived them has acted shamefully, For she said, 'I will pursue my lovers Who give me my food and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my [refreshing] drinks.'

⁶"Therefore, behold, I [the LORD God] will hedge up her way with thorns; And I will build a wall against her [shutting off her way] so that she cannot find her paths.

⁷"She will [passionately] pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, 'Let me go and return to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!'

⁸"For she (Israel) has not noticed nor understood nor realized that it was I [the LORD God] who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal and made into his image.

⁹"Therefore, I will return and take back My grain at harvest time And My new wine in its season. I will also take away My wool and My flax Given to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰"And now I will uncover her lewdness and shame In the sight of her lovers, And no one will rescue her from My hand.

¹¹"I will also put an end to all her rejoicing, Her feasts, her New Moons, her Sabbaths, And all her festivals.

¹²"I will destroy her vines and her fig trees Of which she has said, 'These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.' And I will make them a forest, And the animals of the open country will devour them.

¹³"And I will punish her for the [feast] days of the Baals, When she used to offer sacrifices and burn incense to them And adorn herself with her earrings and nose rings and her jewelry, And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me," says the LORD.

¹⁴"Therefore, behold, I will allure Israel And bring her into the wilderness, And I will speak tenderly to her [to reconcile her to Me].

¹⁵"Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And make the Valley of Achor a door of hope and expectation [anticipating the time when I will restore My favor on her]. And she will sing there and respond as in the days of her youth As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

¹⁶"It shall come about in that day," says the LORD, "That you will call Me Ishi (my husband) And will no longer call Me Baali (my Baal).

¹⁷"For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will no longer be mentioned or remembered by their names.

¹⁸"And in that day I will make a covenant for Israel With the animals of the open country And with the birds of the heavens And with the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow and the sword and [banish] war from the land And will make them lie down in safety.

¹⁹"And I will betroth you (Israel) to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and loyalty, and in compassion.

²⁰"I will betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness. Then you will know (recognize, appreciate) the LORD [and respond with loving faithfulness].

²¹"It will come about in that day that I will respond," says the LORD. "I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they will respond to the earth [which begs for the rain],

²²And the earth shall respond to the grain and the new wine and the oil [which beg it to bring them forth], And they will respond to Jezreel [My Israel, who will now be restored].

²³"I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people,' And they will say, 'You are my God!'"

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

²And Paul entered the synagogue, as was his custom, and for three Sabbaths he engaged in discussion and friendly debate with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and pointing out [scriptural evidence] that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)."

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

⁵But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason's house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.

⁶But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too;

⁷and Jason has welcomed them [into his house and protected them]! And they all are saying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] claiming that there is another king, Jesus."

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

⁹And when they had taken security (bail) from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they entered the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹²As a result many of them became believers, together with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] had also been preached by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds.

¹⁴So at that time the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea].

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens; and [after] receiving instructions [from Paul] for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was greatly angered when he saw that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place day after day with any who happened to be there.

¹⁸And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, "What could this idle babbler [with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning] have in mind to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities"—because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹They took him and brought him to the Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, "May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

²⁰For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean."

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

²²So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects.

²³Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

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

²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.

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

²⁷This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

²⁸For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'

²⁹So then, being God's children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man.

³⁰Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God's purpose for their lives],

³¹because He has set a day when He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead."

³²Now when they heard [the term] resurrection from the dead, some mocked and sneered; but others said, "We will hear from you again about this matter."

³³So Paul left them.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, [a judge] of the Council of Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.