Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River.

²Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick.

³Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ ”

⁵And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’

⁶Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

⁷“Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

⁹And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery — unless his wife has been unfaithful. ”

¹⁰Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!”

¹¹“Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps.

¹²Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

¹³One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

¹⁵And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

¹⁶Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question — if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely.

¹⁹Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

²¹Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁴I’ll say it again — it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁵The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

²⁷Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”

²⁸Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.

¹That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground.

²“My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”

³But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate.

⁴But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house.

⁵They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

⁶So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.

⁷“Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing.

⁸Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

⁹“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.

¹⁰But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door.

¹¹Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

¹²Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place — your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else.

¹³For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.

¹⁵At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”

¹⁶When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.

¹⁷When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

¹⁸“Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged.

¹⁹“You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.

²⁰See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”

²¹“All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village.

²²But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)

²³Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon.

²⁴Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.

²⁵He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.

²⁶But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

²⁷Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD’s presence.

²⁸He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.

²⁹But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.

³⁰Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.

³¹One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children.

³²Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.”

³³So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

³⁴The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.”

³⁵So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

³⁶As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father.

³⁷When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.

³⁸When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

¹Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.

²I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,

³for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

⁴When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?

⁵After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

⁶I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

⁷It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.

⁸The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.

⁹For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

¹⁰Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have — Jesus Christ.

¹²Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials — gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.

¹³But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

¹⁴If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

¹⁵But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

¹⁶Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

¹⁷God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”

²⁰And again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”

²¹So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you —

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,

²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

¹This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives.

²This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God — who does not lie — promised them before the world began.

³And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.

⁴I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.

⁵I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.

⁶An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious.

⁷A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.

⁸Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life.

⁹He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

¹⁰For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation.

¹¹They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money.

¹²Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.”

¹³This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith.

¹⁴They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth.

¹⁵Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.

¹⁶Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.

¹Then Job spoke again:

²“How long will you torture me? How long will you try to crush me with your words?

³You have already insulted me ten times. You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.

⁴Even if I have sinned, that is my concern, not yours.

⁵You think you’re better than I am, using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.

⁶But it is God who has wronged me, capturing me in his net.

⁷“I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me. I protest, but there is no justice.

⁸God has blocked my way so I cannot move. He has plunged my path into darkness.

⁹He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head.

¹⁰He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished. He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.

¹¹His fury burns against me; he counts me as an enemy.

¹²His troops advance. They build up roads to attack me. They camp all around my tent.

¹³“My relatives stay far away, and my friends have turned against me.

¹⁴My family is gone, and my close friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵My servants and maids consider me a stranger. I am like a foreigner to them.

¹⁶When I call my servant, he doesn’t come; I have to plead with him!

¹⁷My breath is repulsive to my wife. I am rejected by my own family.

¹⁸Even young children despise me. When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.

¹⁹My close friends detest me. Those I loved have turned against me.

²⁰I have been reduced to skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

²¹“Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for the hand of God has struck me.

²²Must you also persecute me, like God does? Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

²³“Oh, that my words could be recorded. Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,

²⁴carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead, engraved forever in the rock.

²⁵“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.

²⁶And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!

²⁷I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!

²⁸“How dare you go on persecuting me, saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?

²⁹You should fear punishment yourselves, for your attitude deserves punishment. Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”

¹The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

²Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.

³They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.

⁴Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.

⁵It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.

⁶The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.

⁷The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

⁸The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.

⁹Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.

¹⁰They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.

¹¹They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

¹²How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

¹³Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.

¹⁴May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

¹Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool.

²Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.

³People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.

⁴Wealth makes many “friends”; poverty drives them all away.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape.

⁶Many seek favors from a ruler; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!

⁷The relatives of the poor despise them; how much more will their friends avoid them! Though the poor plead with them, their friends are gone.

⁸To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed.

¹⁰It isn’t right for a fool to live in luxury or for a slave to rule over princes!

¹¹Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

¹²The king’s anger is like a lion’s roar, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish child is a calamity to a father; a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.

¹⁴Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife.

¹⁵Lazy people sleep soundly, but idleness leaves them hungry.

¹⁶Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death.

¹⁷If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD — and he will repay you!

¹⁸Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives.

¹⁹Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.

²⁰Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.

²¹You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.

²²Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest.

²³Fear of the LORD leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.

²⁴Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

²⁵If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded will learn a lesson; if you correct the wise, they will be all the wiser.

²⁶Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are an embarrassment and a public disgrace.

²⁷If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge.

²⁸A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice; the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

²⁹Punishment is made for mockers, and the backs of fools are made to be beaten.

¹The second allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Simeon. Their homeland was surrounded by Judah’s territory.

²Simeon’s homeland included Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah,

³Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem,

⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,

⁵Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah,

⁶Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen — thirteen towns with their surrounding villages.

⁷It also included Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan — four towns with their villages,

⁸including all the surrounding villages as far south as Baalath-beer (also known as Ramah of the Negev). This was the homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Simeon.

⁹Their allocation of land came from part of what had been given to Judah because Judah’s territory was too large for them. So the tribe of Simeon received an allocation within the territory of Judah.

¹⁰The third allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun. The boundary of Zebulun’s homeland started at Sarid.

¹¹From there it went west, going past Maralah, touching Dabbesheth, and proceeding to the brook east of Jokneam.

¹²In the other direction, the boundary went east from Sarid to the border of Kisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and up to Japhia.

¹³Then it continued east to Gath-hepher, Eth-kazin, and Rimmon and turned toward Neah.

¹⁴The northern boundary of Zebulun passed Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtah-el.

¹⁵The towns in these areas included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem — twelve towns with their surrounding villages.

¹⁶The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun included these towns and their surrounding villages.

¹⁷The fourth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Issachar.

¹⁸Its boundaries included the following towns: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem,

¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,

²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,

²¹Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez.

²²The boundary also touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan River — sixteen towns with their surrounding villages.

²³The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Issachar included these towns and their surrounding villages.

²⁴The fifth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Asher.

²⁵Its boundaries included these towns: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph,

²⁶Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The boundary on the west touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath,

²⁷then it turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the valley of Iphtah-el, going north to Beth-emek and Neiel. It then continued north to Cabul,

²⁸Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and as far as Greater Sidon.

²⁹Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortress of Tyre, where it turned toward Hosah and came to the Mediterranean Sea. The territory also included Mehebel, Aczib,

³⁰Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob — twenty-two towns with their surrounding villages.

³¹The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Asher included these towns and their surrounding villages.

³²The sixth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali.

³³Its boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and as far as Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River.

³⁴The western boundary ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and touched the border of Zebulun in the south, the border of Asher on the west, and the Jordan River on the east.

³⁵The fortified towns included in this territory were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth,

³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,

³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor,

³⁸Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh — nineteen towns with their surrounding villages.

³⁹The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali included these towns and their surrounding villages.

⁴⁰The seventh allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Dan.

⁴¹The land allocated as their homeland included the following towns: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh,

⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,

⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron,

⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,

⁴⁵Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon,

⁴⁶Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the territory across from Joppa.

⁴⁷But the tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land, so they attacked the town of Laish. They captured it, slaughtered its people, and settled there. They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor.

⁴⁸The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Dan included these towns and their surrounding villages.

⁴⁹After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a piece of land to Joshua as his allocation.

⁵⁰For the LORD had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.

⁵¹These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders allocated as grants of land to the tribes of Israel by casting sacred lots in the presence of the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. So the division of the land was completed.

¹This message came to me concerning Egypt: Look! The LORD is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.

²“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian — brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province.

³The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.

⁴I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

⁵The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry.

⁶The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes.

⁷All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away.

⁸The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart.

⁹There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers.

¹⁰They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart.

¹¹What fools are the officials of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom? Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors?

¹²Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh? Let them tell you what God plans, what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt.

¹³The officials of Zoan are fools, and the officials of Memphis are deluded. The leaders of the people have led Egypt astray.

¹⁴The LORD has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his vomit.

¹⁵There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless — the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.

¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁷Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them.

¹⁸In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.

¹⁹In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its border.

²⁰It will be a sign and a witness that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them.

²¹The LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make a vow to the LORD and will keep it.

²²The LORD will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them.

²³In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God.

²⁴In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.

²⁵For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!”

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.

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

³“Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

⁵As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

⁹But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia — both Jews and Greeks — heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.

¹²When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

¹³A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”

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

¹⁵But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

¹⁷The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.

¹⁸Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.

¹⁹A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.

²⁰So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.

²¹Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”

²²He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.

²³About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.

²⁴It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.

²⁵He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.

²⁶But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!

²⁷Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis — this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world — will be robbed of her great prestige!”

²⁸At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

³⁰Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him.

³¹Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

³²Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.

³³The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.

³⁴But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.

³⁶Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

³⁸“If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges.

³⁹And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

⁴¹Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.