Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death.

²Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

³When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.

⁴“I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”

⁵Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

⁶The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”

⁷After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.

⁸That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood.

⁹This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says, “They took the thirty pieces of silver — the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel,

¹⁰and purchased the potter’s field, as the LORD directed. ”

¹¹Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

¹²But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.

¹³“Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded.

¹⁴But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd — anyone they wanted.

¹⁶This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.

¹⁷As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you — Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

¹⁸(He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

¹⁹Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

²⁰Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death.

²¹So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?” The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”

²²Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

²⁵And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death — we and our children!”

²⁶So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

²⁷Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment.

²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.

²⁹They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”

³⁰And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.

³¹When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

³²Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.

³³And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).

³⁴The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.

³⁵After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

³⁶Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.

³⁷A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

³⁹The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery.

⁴⁰“Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

⁴¹The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.

⁴²“He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!

⁴³He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

⁴⁴Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way.

⁴⁵At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.

⁴⁶At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

⁴⁷Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.

⁴⁸One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.

⁴⁹But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.

⁵¹At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,

⁵²and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.

⁵³They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.

⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus,

⁵⁸went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him.

⁵⁹Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth.

⁶⁰He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left.

⁶¹Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.

⁶²The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.

⁶³They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’

⁶⁴So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

⁶⁵Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.”

⁶⁶So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

¹The LORD appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day.

²He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

³“My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while.

⁴Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.

⁵And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”

⁶So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.”

⁷Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.

⁸When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.

⁹“Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.

¹⁰Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent.

¹¹Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.

¹²So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master — my husband — is also so old?”

¹³Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’

¹⁴Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the LORD said, “No, you did laugh.”

¹⁶Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

¹⁷“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the LORD asked.

¹⁸“For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.

¹⁹I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

²⁰So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.

²¹I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

²²The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham.

²³Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?

²⁴Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city — will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?

²⁵Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

²⁶And the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

²⁷Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.

²⁸Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And the LORD said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

²⁹Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?” And the LORD replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

³⁰“Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak — suppose only thirty righteous people are found?” And the LORD replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

³¹Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue — suppose there are only twenty?” And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

³²Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

³³When the LORD had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.

¹Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had.

²They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.

³And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

⁴But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

⁵God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

⁶And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

⁷Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

⁸Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.

⁹So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?

¹⁰You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years.

¹¹I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.

¹²Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles — free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you.

¹³Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News.

¹⁴But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

¹⁵Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible.

¹⁶Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

¹⁷Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them.

¹⁸If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

¹⁹Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.

²⁰I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

²¹Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says?

²²The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.

²³The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

²⁴These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.

²⁵And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law.

²⁶But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.

²⁷As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”

²⁸And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

²⁹But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

³⁰But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

³¹So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.

¹I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

²Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

³This is good and pleases God our Savior,

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

⁵For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity — the man Christ Jesus.

⁶He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.

⁷And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating — just telling the truth.

⁸In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

⁹And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.

¹⁰For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.

¹¹Women should learn quietly and submissively.

¹²I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.

¹³For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve.

¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.

¹⁵But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

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.”

¹Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!

²Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

³My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down.

⁴My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me.

⁵Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.

⁶Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!

⁷I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude

⁸How quickly I would escape — far from this wild storm of hatred.

⁹Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.

¹⁰Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.

¹¹Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.

¹²It is not an enemy who taunts me — I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me — I could have hidden from them.

¹³Instead, it is you — my equal, my companion and close friend.

¹⁴What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.

¹⁵Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.

¹⁶But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.

¹⁸He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.

¹⁹God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.

²⁰As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.

²¹His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!

²²Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

²³But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.

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.

¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.

²Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.

³When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father.

⁴However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.”

⁵Then Amaziah organized the army, assigning generals and captains for all Judah and Benjamin. He took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 select troops, twenty years old and older, all trained in the use of spear and shield.

⁶He also paid about 7,500 pounds of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel.

⁷But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, do not hire troops from Israel, for the LORD is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim!

⁸If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up.”

⁹Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God replied, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this!”

¹⁰So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back to Ephraim. This made them very angry with Judah, and they returned home in a great rage.

¹¹Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where they killed 10,000 Edomite troops from Seir.

¹²They captured another 10,000 and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off, dashing them to pieces on the rocks below.

¹³Meanwhile, the hired troops that Amaziah had sent home raided several of the towns of Judah between Samaria and Beth-horon. They killed 3,000 people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

¹⁴When King Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought with him idols taken from the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down in front of them, and offered sacrifices to them!

¹⁵This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, “Why do you turn to gods who could not even save their own people from you?”

¹⁶But the king interrupted him and said, “Since when have I made you the king’s counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!” So the prophet stopped with this warning: “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel.”

¹⁷After consulting with his advisers, King Amaziah of Judah sent this challenge to Israel’s king Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu: “Come and meet me in battle!”

¹⁸But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story: “Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it!

¹⁹“You are saying, ‘I have defeated Edom,’ and you are very proud of it. But my advice is to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?”

²⁰But Amaziah refused to listen, for God was determined to destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom.

²¹So King Jehoash of Israel mobilized his army against King Amaziah of Judah. The two armies drew up their battle lines at Beth-shemesh in Judah.

²²Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home.

²³King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah’s king, Amaziah son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he brought him to Jerusalem, where he demolished 600 feet of Jerusalem’s wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.

²⁴He carried off all the gold and silver and all the articles from the Temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-edom. He also seized the treasures of the royal palace, along with hostages, and then returned to Samaria.

²⁵King Amaziah of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.

²⁶The rest of the events in Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷After Amaziah turned away from the LORD, there was a conspiracy against his life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But his enemies sent assassins after him, and they killed him there.

²⁸They brought his body back on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.

¹Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing:

²“The virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again! She lies abandoned on the ground, with no one to help her up.”

³The Sovereign LORD says: “When a city sends a thousand men to battle, only a hundred will return. When a town sends a hundred, only ten will come back alive.”

⁴Now this is what the LORD says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live!

⁵Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

⁶Come back to the LORD and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames.

⁷You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.

⁸It is the LORD who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The LORD is his name!

⁹With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses.

¹⁰How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!

¹¹You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them.

¹²For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.

¹³So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time.

¹⁴Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.

¹⁵Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.

¹⁶Therefore, this is what the Lord, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, says: “There will be crying in all the public squares and mourning in every street. Call for the farmers to weep with you, and summon professional mourners to wail.

¹⁷There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will destroy them all,” says the LORD.

¹⁸What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the LORD were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light.

¹⁹In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion — only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house — and he’s bitten by a snake.

²⁰Yes, the day of the LORD will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope.

²¹“I hate all your show and pretense — the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.

²²I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.

²³Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

²⁴Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.

²⁵“Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel?

²⁶No, you served your pagan gods — Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god — the images you made for yourselves.

²⁷So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus, ” says the LORD, whose name is the God of Heaven’s Armies.

¹Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.

²He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them — both men and women — back to Jerusalem in chains.

³As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

⁵“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!

⁶Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!

⁸Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.

⁹He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

¹⁰Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied.

¹¹The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.

¹²I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

¹³“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!

¹⁴And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.

¹⁶And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

¹⁷So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

¹⁹Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.

²⁰And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”

²¹All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?”

²²Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

²³After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him.

²⁴They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot.

²⁵So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.

²⁶When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!

²⁷Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

²⁸So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him.

³⁰When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown.

³¹The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

³²Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda.

³³There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!” And he was healed instantly.

³⁵Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas ). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.

³⁷About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room.

³⁸But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”

³⁹So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.

⁴⁰But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!

⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.

⁴²The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.