Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city.

²And they brought to Him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “Take courage,son; your sins are forgiven.”

³And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”

⁴And Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil 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 *said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.”

⁷And he got up and went home.

⁸But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

¹⁰Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples.

¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

¹³Now go and learnwhat this means: ‘I DESIRECOMPASSION,RATHER THAN SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁴Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “Theattendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; forthe patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

¹⁷Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁸While He was saying these things to them, behold, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.”

¹⁹Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

²⁰And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak;

²¹for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.”

²²But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith hasmade you well.” And at once the woman was made well.

²³When Jesus came into the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder,

²⁴He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him.

²⁵But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

²⁶And this news spread throughout that land.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done for you according to your faith.”

³⁰And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!”

³¹But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that land.

³²And as they were going out, behold, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him.

³³And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

³⁴But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

³⁵Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

³⁶Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

³⁸Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

¹Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan,

²and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,

³and the Negev and the territory in the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

⁴Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not go over there.”

⁵So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, in accordance with the word of the LORD.

⁶And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows his burial place to this day.

⁷Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eyesight was not dim, nor had his vigor left him.

⁸So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

⁹Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

¹¹for all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land—

¹²and for all the mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

¹Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand,

²by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

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

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

⁷then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

⁸and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit 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 did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹²Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

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

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

¹⁵Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

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

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

¹⁸Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

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

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

²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

²⁴then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

²⁵For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

²⁷For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.

²⁸When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹For otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?

³⁰Why are we also in danger every hour?

³¹I affirm, brothers and sisters, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily.

³²If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me? If the dead are not raised, LET’S EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.

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

³⁴Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

³⁶You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

³⁷and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

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

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

⁴⁵So also it is written: “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING PERSON.” The last Adam was a life-giving spirit.

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

⁴⁷The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

⁵¹Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, 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 imperishable, and we will be changed.

⁵³For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP in victory.

⁵⁵WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR VICTORY? WHERE, O 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 beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

¹Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

²And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

³And they *sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth.

⁴These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from mankind as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

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

⁶And I saw another angel flying in midheaven with an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people;

⁷and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, and sea and springs of waters.”

⁸And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

⁹Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

¹⁰he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

¹¹And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

¹²Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

¹³And 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 that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

¹⁵And another angel came out of the temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

¹⁶Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

¹⁸Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

²⁰And the wine press was trampled outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

¹There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

²Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

³His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

⁴His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send word to them and consecrate them, getting up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.

⁶Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

⁷The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

⁸The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

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

¹⁰Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

¹¹But reach out with Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will certainly curse You to Your face.”

¹²Then the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not reach out and put your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

¹³Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the female donkeys feeding beside them,

¹⁵and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three units and made a raid on the camels and took them, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁹and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

²⁰Then Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head; then he fell to the ground and worshiped.

²¹He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

²²Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.

¹Do not get upset because of evildoers, Do not be envious of wrongdoers.

²For they will wither quickly like the grass, And decay like the green plants.

³Trust in the LORD and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

⁶He will bring out your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not get upset because of one who is successful in his way, Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.

⁸Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.

⁹For evildoers will be eliminated, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

¹⁰Yet a little while and the wicked person will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

¹¹But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked plots against the righteous, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To take down the afflicted and the needy, To kill off those who are upright in conduct.

¹⁵Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken.

¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the LORD sustains the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever.

¹⁹They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will have plenty.

²⁰But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives.

²²For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be eliminated.

²³The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way.

²⁴When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

²⁵I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging for bread.

²⁶All day long he is gracious and lends, And his descendants are a blessing.

²⁷Turn from evil and do good, So that you will dwell forever.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice And does not abandon His godly ones; They are protected forever, But the descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The Law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.

³²The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to kill him.

³³The LORD will not leave him in his hand Or let him be condemned when he is judged.

³⁴Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, violent person Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

³⁶Then he passed away, and behold, he was no more; I searched for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Observe the blameless person, and look at the upright; For the person of peace will have a future.

³⁸But wrongdoers will altogether be destroyed; The future of the wicked will be eliminated.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble.

⁴⁰The LORD helps them and rescues them; He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

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

²To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

³To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity;

⁴To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

⁵A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching;

⁹For they are a graceful wreath for your head And necklaces for your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, Let’s lie in wait for blood, Let’s ambush the innocent without cause;

¹²Let’s swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, like those who go down to the pit;

¹³We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us; We will all have one money bag,”

¹⁵My son, do not walk on the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they are quick to shed blood.

¹⁷Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the ways of everyone who makes unjust gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square;

²¹At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings:

²²“How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn to my rebuke, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

²⁵And you neglected all my advice And did not want my rebuke;

²⁶I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,

²⁷When your dread comes like a storm And your disaster comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but will not find me,

²⁹Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

³⁰They did not accept my advice, They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.

³¹So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.

³²For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

¹Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house.

²And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’S house.

³All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, “Certainly He is good, certainly His faithfulness is everlasting.”

⁴Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD.

⁵King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

⁶The priests stood at their posts, and the Levites also, with the musical instruments for the LORD, which King David had made for giving praise to the LORD—“for His faithfulness is everlasting”—whenever David gave praise through their ministry; the priests on the other side blew trumpets and all Israel was standing.

⁷Then Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was before the house of the LORD, for he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings there, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to contain the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat.

⁸So Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly that came from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt.

⁹And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, because they held the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days.

¹⁰Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel.

¹¹So Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king’s palace, and successfully completed everything that he had planned on doing in the house of the LORD and in his palace.

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 house of sacrifice.

¹³If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people,

¹⁴and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

¹⁵Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

¹⁶For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there always.

¹⁷As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, to do according to everything that I have commanded you, and keep My statutes and My ordinances,

¹⁸then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’

¹⁹“But if you turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,

²⁰then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight; and I will make it a proverb and an object of scorn among all peoples.

²¹As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done these things to this land and to this house?’

²²And they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshiped and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’ ”

¹Listen to the word of the LORD, you sons of Israel, Because the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty, Nor knowledge of God in the land.

²There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, And even the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke; For your people are like those who contend with a priest.

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

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.

⁷The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.

⁸They feed on the sin of My people, And long for their wrongdoing.

⁹And it will be, like people, like priest; So I will punish them for their ways And repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat, but not have enough; They will play the prostitute, but not increase, Because they gave up devoting themselves to the LORD.

¹¹Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.

¹²My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray, And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God.

¹³They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the hills, Under oak, poplar, and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, And your brides commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, Or your brides when they commit adultery, Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined.

¹⁵Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Judah must not become guilty; Also you are not to go to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the LORD lives!”

¹⁶Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn cow, Will the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?

¹⁷Ephraim is allied with idols; Leave him alone.

¹⁸Their liquor is gone, They prostitute themselves continually; Their rulers dearly love shame.

¹⁹The wind wraps them in its wings, And they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.

¹Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

²He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.”

³And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

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

⁶And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took the disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

¹³But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Now there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

¹⁸Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

¹⁹And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of the books and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily.

²¹Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

²²And after he sent into Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time a major disturbance occurred in regard to the Way.

²⁴For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing considerable business to the craftsmen;

²⁵he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business.

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

²⁷Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

²⁸When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s Macedonian traveling companions.

³⁰And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

³¹Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.

³²So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from the sky?

³⁶So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.”

⁴¹After saying this he dismissed the assembly.