Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

²Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

³And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

⁴But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

⁷And he arose and departed to his house.

⁸Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

⁹As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

¹⁰Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.

¹¹And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

¹³But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

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

¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.

¹⁷Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁸While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.”

¹⁹So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

²⁰And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.

²¹For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”

²²But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

²³When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing,

²⁴He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him.

²⁵But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

²⁶And the report of this went out into all that land.

²⁷When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

²⁸And when He had come into the house, the blind men came 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, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

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

³¹But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

³²As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.

³³And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

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

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

³⁶But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

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

³⁸Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

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

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

³the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

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

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

⁶And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.

⁷Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.

⁸And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

⁹Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

¹¹in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land,

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

¹Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

²by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

⁶After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

⁷After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

⁸Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, who am 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; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

¹¹Therefore, whether 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 Christ is not risen.

¹⁴And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

¹⁵Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.

¹⁶For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

¹⁷And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

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

¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

²⁰But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

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

²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

²³But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

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

²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

²⁷For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

²⁸Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?

³⁰And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

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

³²If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

³⁴Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

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

³⁶Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

³⁷And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.

³⁸But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

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

⁴⁰There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

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

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.

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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

⁴⁵And so 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, and afterward the spiritual.

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

⁴⁸As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

⁵⁰Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

⁵¹Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 shall be changed.

⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

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

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

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

¹Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

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

³They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

⁴These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

⁵And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth— to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—

⁷saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

⁸And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

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

¹⁰he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall 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; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

¹²Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.

¹⁵And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

¹⁶So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

¹⁸And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.”

¹⁹So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

²⁰And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

¹There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.

²And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

³Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

⁴And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.

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

⁷And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

⁸Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

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

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

¹¹But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

¹²And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

¹³Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house;

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

¹⁵when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another also 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 also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, 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 daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁹and suddenly 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 are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

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

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

²²In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

¹A Psalm of David. [1] Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

³Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

⁶He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the just, 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 have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct.

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

¹⁶A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.

¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

²²For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

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

²⁴Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

²⁶He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

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

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

³¹The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

³²The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him.

³³The LORD will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree.

³⁶Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.

³⁸But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

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

⁴⁰And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

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

²To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding,

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—

⁵A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

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

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

⁹For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

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

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

¹³We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse”—

¹⁵My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.

²¹She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:

²²“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.

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

²⁴Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

²⁵Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,

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

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

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

³⁰They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke.

³¹Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

³²For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

¹When 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 temple.

²And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house.

³When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.”

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

⁵King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

⁶And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD, which King David had made to praise the LORD, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.

⁷Furthermore Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.

⁸At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt.

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

¹⁰On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

¹¹Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the LORD and in his own house.

¹²Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

¹³When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,

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

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

¹⁶For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

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

¹⁸then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

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

²⁰then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

²¹“And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’

²²Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

¹Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.

²By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

³Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

⁴“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

⁵Therefore you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother.

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

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

⁸They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity.

⁹And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds.

¹⁰For they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the LORD.

¹¹“Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart.

¹²My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God.

¹³They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your brides commit adultery.

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, Nor your brides when they commit adultery; For the men themselves go apart with harlots, And offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the LORD lives’—

¹⁶“For Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn calf; Now the LORD will let them forage Like a lamb in open country.

¹⁷“Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone.

¹⁸Their drink is rebellion, They commit harlotry continually. Her rulers dearly love dishonor.

¹⁹The wind has wrapped her up in its wings, And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

¹And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

²he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

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

⁴Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

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

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

⁷Now the men were about twelve in all.

⁸And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

¹⁰And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

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

¹³Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

¹⁴Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

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

¹⁸And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

¹⁹Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

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

²²So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

²³And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.

²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

²⁵He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

²⁶Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.

²⁷So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.

³⁰And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him.

³¹Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

³²Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

³⁶Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.

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

³⁸Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.”

⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.