Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town.

²Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”

³At this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “He’s blaspheming!”

⁴Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?

⁵For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”  — then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”

⁷So he got up and went home.

⁸When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the toll booth, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.

¹⁰While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.

¹³Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse.

¹⁷And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁸As he was telling them these things, suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹So Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him.

²⁰Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years approached from behind and touched the end of his robe,

²¹for she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.”

²²Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” he said. “Your faith has saved you.” And the woman was made well from that moment.

²³When Jesus came to the leader’s house, he saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly.

²⁴“Leave,” he said, “because the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they laughed at him.

²⁵After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

²⁶Then news of this spread throughout that whole area.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹Then he touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

³⁰And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out.”

³¹But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that whole area.

³²Just as they were going out, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to him.

³³When the demon had been driven out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³⁴But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

³⁵Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

³⁶When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.

³⁸Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

¹Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan,

²all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,

³the Negev, and the plain in the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

⁴The LORD then said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”

⁵So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the LORD’s word.

⁶He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.

⁷Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him.

⁸The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

⁹Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.

¹¹He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do against the land of Egypt — to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land,

¹²and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

¹Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand

²and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.

³For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

⁶Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

⁸Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

¹¹Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?

¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.

¹⁵Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ — whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

¹⁸Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.

¹⁹If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

²⁰But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

²¹For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.

²²For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

²³But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

²⁴Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.

²⁵For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet.

²⁶The last enemy to be abolished is death.

²⁷For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception.

²⁸When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?

³⁰Why are we in danger every hour?

³¹I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

³²If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

³³Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

³⁴Come to your senses and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?”

³⁶You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

³⁷And as for what you sow — you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain.

³⁸But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body.

³⁹Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones.

⁴¹There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.

⁴²So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption;

⁴³sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power;

⁴⁴sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.

⁴⁸Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.

⁴⁹And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

⁵⁰What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.

⁵¹Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,

⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

⁵³For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.

⁵⁴When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.

⁵⁵Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

⁵⁸Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

¹Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

²I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps.

³They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.

⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth — to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

⁷He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸And another, a second angel, followed, saying, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen. She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”

⁹And another, a third angel, followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

¹⁰he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,

¹¹and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name.

¹²This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

¹⁴Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

¹⁶So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven.

¹⁸Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because its grapes have ripened.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

²⁰Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles.

¹There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

²He had seven sons and three daughters.

³His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

⁴His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

⁶One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

⁷The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” “From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”

⁸Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

⁹Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

¹⁰Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

¹¹But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

¹²“Very well,” the LORD told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.

¹³One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁴a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

¹⁵the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house.

¹⁹Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

²⁰Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

²¹saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.

²²Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

¹Of David. [1] Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.

²For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.

³Trust in the LORD and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.

⁴Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act,

⁶making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.

⁷Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans.

⁸Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated — it can only bring harm.

⁹For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there.

¹¹But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked person schemes against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him.

¹³The Lord laughs at him because he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the bow to bring down the poor and needy and to slaughter those whose way is upright.

¹⁵Their swords will enter their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶The little that the righteous person has is better than the abundance of many wicked people.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD supports the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever.

¹⁹They will not be disgraced in times of adversity; they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

²⁰But the wicked will perish; the LORD’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures, will fade away — they will fade away like smoke.

²¹The wicked person borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one is gracious and giving.

²²Those who are blessed by the LORD will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be destroyed.

²³A person’s steps are established by the LORD, and he takes pleasure in his way.

²⁴Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD supports him with his hand.

²⁵I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread.

²⁶He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil, do what is good, and settle permanently.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice and will not abandon his faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom; his tongue speaks what is just.

³¹The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

³²The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous and intends to kill him;

³³the LORD will not leave him in the power of the wicked one or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.

³⁴Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, violent person well-rooted, like a flourishing native tree.

³⁶Then I passed by and noticed he was gone; I searched for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the person of peace will have a future.

³⁸But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future of the wicked will be destroyed.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD, their refuge in a time of distress.

⁴⁰The LORD helps and delivers them; he will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in him.

¹The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

²For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings;

³for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity;

⁴for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced, knowledge and discretion to a young man —

⁵let a wise person listen and increase learning, and let a discerning person obtain guidance —

⁶for understanding a proverb or a parable, the words of the wise, and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,

⁹for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded.

¹¹If they say — “Come with us! Let’s set an ambush and kill someone. Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol, whole, like those who go down to the Pit.

¹³We’ll find all kinds of valuable property and fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us, and we’ll all share the loot”  —

¹⁵my son, don’t travel that road with them or set foot on their path,

¹⁶because their feet run toward evil and they hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷It is useless to spread a net where any bird can see it,

¹⁸but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it.

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares.

²¹She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:

²²“How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge?

²³If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.

²⁴Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention,

²⁵since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction,

²⁶I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and stress overcome you.

²⁸Then they will call me, but I won’t answer; they will search for me, but won’t find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose to fear the LORD,

³⁰were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my correction,

³¹they will eat the fruit of their way and be glutted with their own schemes.

³²For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.”

¹When Solomon finished praying, fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

²The priests were not able to enter the LORD’s temple because the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD.

³All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the LORD came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised the LORD: For he is good, for his faithful love endures forever.

⁴The king and all the people were offering sacrifices in the LORD’s presence.

⁵King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats. In this manner the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple.

⁶The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the LORD, which King David had made to give thanks to the LORD  — “for his faithful love endures forever” — when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.

⁷Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not accommodate the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the LORD’s temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.

⁸So Solomon and all Israel with him — a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath to the Brook of Egypt — observed the festival at that time for seven days.

⁹On the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for the dedication of the altar lasted seven days and the festival seven days.

¹⁰On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people home, rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel.

¹¹So Solomon finished the LORD’s temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon’s heart to do for the LORD’s temple and for his own palace succeeded.

¹²Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice.

¹³If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people,

¹⁴and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

¹⁵My eyes will now be open and my ears attentive to prayer from this place.

¹⁶And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.

¹⁷As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances,

¹⁸I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel.

¹⁹However, if you turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have set before you and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,

²⁰then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for my name I will banish from my presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

²¹As for this temple, which was exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will say: Why did the LORD do this to this land and this temple?

²²Then they will say: Because they abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, he brought all this ruin on them.

¹Hear the word of the LORD, people of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!

²Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

³For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for my case is against you priests.

⁵You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother.

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.

⁷The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against me. I will change their honor into disgrace.

⁸They feed on the sin of my people; they have an appetite for their iniquity.

⁹The same judgment will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned their devotion to the LORD.

¹¹Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away one’s understanding.

¹²My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray; they act promiscuously in disobedience to their God.

¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and they burn offerings on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters act promiscuously and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they act promiscuously or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, for the men themselves go off with prostitutes and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes. People without discernment are doomed.

¹⁵Israel, if you act promiscuously, don’t let Judah become guilty! Do not go to Gilgal or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven, and do not swear an oath: As the LORD lives!

¹⁶For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow. Can the LORD now shepherd them like a lamb in an open meadow?

¹⁷Ephraim is attached to idols; leave him alone!

¹⁸When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel’s leaders fervently love disgrace.

¹⁹A wind with its wings will carry them off, and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples

²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other tongues and to prophesy.

⁷Now there were about twelve men in all.

⁸Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,

¹²so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.

¹⁵The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

¹⁸And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,

¹⁹while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed.

²¹After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”

²²After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.

²⁴For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.

²⁵When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.

²⁷Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

³⁰Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him.

³¹Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven?

³⁶Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.”

⁴¹After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.