Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death.

²They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

³When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

⁴He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.”

⁵Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

⁶But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.”

⁷After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners.

⁸For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

⁹Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price,

¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.”

¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer.

¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?”

¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted.

¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas.

¹⁷So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

¹⁸For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over.

¹⁹While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.”

²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed.

²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

²²Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!”

²³Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”

²⁵Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

²⁶So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him.

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

²⁹and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

³⁰They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.

³¹After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³²As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),

³⁴they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

³⁵And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots;

³⁶then they sat down there and kept watch over him.

³⁷Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

³⁹Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads

⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying,

⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.

⁴³He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’”

⁴⁴The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

⁴⁵From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

⁴⁶And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

⁴⁷When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

⁴⁸At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.

⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.

⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.

⁵²The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

⁵³After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

⁵⁵Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him.

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

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.

⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

⁵⁹So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth

⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.

⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate

⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’

⁶⁴Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.”

⁶⁶So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

¹The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.

²He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.

³He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.

⁴Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

⁵Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”

⁶And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.”

⁷Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.

⁸Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”

¹⁰Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.

¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

¹²So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?”

¹³The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’

¹⁴Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”

¹⁵But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

¹⁶Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

¹⁷The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

¹⁸seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

¹⁹No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

²⁰Then the LORD said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!

²¹I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.”

²²So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

²³Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

²⁶And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

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

²⁹Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”

³⁰Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”

³¹He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”

³²Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

³³And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

¹My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property;

²but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father.

³So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world.

⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods.

⁹Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again?

¹⁰You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years.

¹¹I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.

¹²Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong.

¹³You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you;

¹⁴though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.

¹⁵What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

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

¹⁷They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them.

¹⁸It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.

¹⁹My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

²⁰I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

²¹Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law?

²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman.

²³One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise.

²⁴Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery.

²⁵Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

²⁶But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother.

²⁷For it is written, “Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married.”

²⁸Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac.

²⁹But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.

³⁰But what does the scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.”

³¹So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.

¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,

²for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

⁴who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,

⁶who gave himself a ransom for all — this was attested at the right time.

⁷For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument;

⁹also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes,

¹⁰but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God.

¹¹Let a woman learn in silence with full submission.

¹²I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent.

¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve;

¹⁴and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

¹⁵Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

¹Then Job answered:

²“How long will you torment me, and break me in pieces with words?

³These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me?

⁴And even if it is true that I have erred, my error remains with me.

⁵If indeed you magnify yourselves against me, and make my humiliation an argument against me,

⁶know then that God has put me in the wrong, and closed his net around me.

⁷Even when I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I am not answered; I call aloud, but there is no justice.

⁸He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths.

⁹He has stripped my glory from me, and taken the crown from my head.

¹⁰He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, he has uprooted my hope like a tree.

¹¹He has kindled his wrath against me, and counts me as his adversary.

¹²His troops come on together; they have thrown up siegeworks against me, and encamp around my tent.

¹³“He has put my family far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.

¹⁴My relatives and my close friends have failed me;

¹⁵the guests in my house have forgotten me; my serving girls count me as a stranger; I have become an alien in their eyes.

¹⁶I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must myself plead with him.

¹⁷My breath is repulsive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family.

¹⁸Even young children despise me; when I rise, they talk against me.

¹⁹All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me.

²⁰My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

²¹Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!

²²Why do you, like God, pursue me, never satisfied with my flesh?

²³“O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book!

²⁴O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever!

²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God,

²⁷whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

²⁸If you say, ‘How we will persecute him!’ and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him’;

²⁹be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”

¹Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication.

²Attend to me, and answer me; I am troubled in my complaint. I am distraught

³by the noise of the enemy, because of the clamor of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.

⁶And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;

⁷truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

⁸I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech; for I see violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;

¹¹ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.

¹²It is not enemies who taunt me — I could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me — I could hide from them.

¹³But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend,

¹⁴with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked in the house of God with the throng.

¹⁵Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

¹⁶But I call upon God, and the LORD will save me.

¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will redeem me unharmed from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.

¹⁹God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah will hear, and will humble them — because they do not change, and do not fear God.

²⁰My companion laid hands on a friend and violated a covenant with me

²¹with speech smoother than butter, but with a heart set on war; with words that were softer than oil, but in fact were drawn swords.

²²Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

²³But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.

¹Better the poor walking in integrity than one perverse of speech who is a fool.

²Desire without knowledge is not good, and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.

³One’s own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the LORD.

⁴Wealth brings many friends, but the poor are left friendless.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will not escape.

⁶Many seek the favor of the generous, and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.

⁷If the poor are hated even by their kin, how much more are they shunned by their friends! When they call after them, they are not there.

⁸To get wisdom is to love oneself; to keep understanding is to prosper.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, and the liar will perish.

¹⁰It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.

¹¹Those with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to overlook an offense.

¹²A king’s anger is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³A stupid child is ruin to a father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.

¹⁴House and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

¹⁵Laziness brings on deep sleep; an idle person will suffer hunger.

¹⁶Those who keep the commandment will live; those who are heedless of their ways will die.

¹⁷Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and will be repaid in full.

¹⁸Discipline your children while there is hope; do not set your heart on their destruction.

¹⁹A violent tempered person will pay the penalty; if you effect a rescue, you will only have to do it again.

²⁰Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.

²¹The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established.

²²What is desirable in a person is loyalty, and it is better to be poor than a liar.

²³The fear of the LORD is life indeed; filled with it one rests secure and suffers no harm.

²⁴The lazy person buries a hand in the dish, and will not even bring it back to the mouth.

²⁵Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove the intelligent, and they will gain knowledge.

²⁶Those who do violence to their father and chase away their mother are children who cause shame and bring reproach.

²⁷Cease straying, my child, from the words of knowledge, in order that you may hear instruction.

²⁸A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

²⁹Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and flogging for the backs of fools.

¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a true heart.

³As soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand he killed his servants who had murdered his father the king.

⁴But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the law, in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, “The parents shall not be put to death for the children, or the children be put to death for the parents; but all shall be put to death for their own sins.”

⁵Amaziah assembled the people of Judah, and set them by ancestral houses under commanders of the thousands and of the hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those twenty years old and upward, and found that they were three hundred thousand picked troops fit for war, able to handle spear and shield.

⁶He also hired one hundred thousand mighty warriors from Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

⁷But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel — all these Ephraimites.

⁸Rather, go by yourself and act; be strong in battle, or God will fling you down before the enemy; for God has power to help or to overthrow.”

⁹Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”

¹⁰Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim, letting them go home again. But they became very angry with Judah, and returned home in fierce anger.

¹¹Amaziah took courage, and led out his people; he went to the Valley of Salt, and struck down ten thousand men of Seir.

¹²The people of Judah captured another ten thousand alive, took them to the top of Sela, and threw them down from the top of Sela, so that all of them were dashed to pieces.

¹³But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, fell on the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon; they killed three thousand people in them, and took much booty.

¹⁴Now after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up as his gods, and worshiped them, making offerings to them.

¹⁵The LORD was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you resorted to a people’s gods who could not deliver their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶But as he was speaking the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be put to death?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice.”

¹⁷Then King Amaziah of Judah took counsel and sent to King Joash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.”

¹⁸King Joash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife’; but a wild animal of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thornbush.

¹⁹You say, ‘See, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. Now stay at home; why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

²⁰But Amaziah would not listen — it was God’s doing, in order to hand them over, because they had sought the gods of Edom.

²¹So King Joash of Israel went up; he and King Amaziah of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

²²Judah was defeated by Israel; everyone fled home.

²³King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh; he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of four hundred cubits.

²⁴He seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, and Obed-edom with them; he seized also the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages; then he returned to Samaria.

²⁵King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of King Joash son of Jehoahaz of Israel.

²⁶Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷From the time that Amaziah turned away from the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there.

²⁸They brought him back on horses; he was buried with his ancestors in the city of David.

¹Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

²Fallen, no more to rise, is maiden Israel; forsaken on her land, with no one to raise her up.

³For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that marched out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which marched out a hundred shall have ten left.

⁴For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: Seek me and live;

⁵but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.

⁶Seek the LORD and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.

⁷Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground!

⁸The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name,

⁹who makes destruction flash out against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

¹⁰They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.

¹¹Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

¹²For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins — you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.

¹³Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time.

¹⁴Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.

¹⁵Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

¹⁶Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: In all the squares there shall be wailing; and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! alas!” They shall call the farmers to mourning, and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing;

¹⁷in all the vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of you, — says the LORD.

¹⁸Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light;

¹⁹as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.

²⁰Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

²¹I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

²²Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.

²³Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

²⁴But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

²⁵Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

²⁶You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves;

²⁷therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

¹Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

⁶But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,

¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;

¹⁶I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

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

¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,

¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul Preaches in Damascus For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,

²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

²¹All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

²²Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

²³After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,

²⁴but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him;

²⁵but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

²⁶When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him.

³⁰When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

³²Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda.

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

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up.

³⁵And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.

³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”

³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.

⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.