Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them,

²“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.

³And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”

⁴Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”

⁵He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”

⁶So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.

⁷They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.

⁸So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.

⁹Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away,

¹⁰immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.

¹²But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”

¹³And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.

¹⁵Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

¹⁶And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?

¹⁸Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”

²⁰“Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.”

²¹So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

²²Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.

²³So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

²⁴And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”

²⁵Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

²⁶Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

²⁷Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”

²⁸So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

³⁰Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

³¹And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

³²He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.

³³But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

³⁴When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

³⁵For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

³⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

³⁷Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

¹Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.”

²Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

³Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

⁴And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

⁵Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it.

⁶So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,

⁷‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’

⁸Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

⁹Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves.

¹⁰Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

¹¹And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.

¹²Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

¹³But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”

¹⁴And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

¹⁵Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

¹⁶And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

¹⁷Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

²⁰But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.”

²¹Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

²²So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

²³And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

²⁴Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”

²⁵He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”

²⁷And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed.

²⁸Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.

²⁹Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”

³⁰Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

³¹He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

³²And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

³³Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him— and indeed he shall be blessed.”

³⁴When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

³⁵But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

³⁶And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

³⁷Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

³⁸And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above.

⁴⁰By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

⁴¹So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴²And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you.

⁴³Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran.

⁴⁴And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away,

⁴⁵until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

⁴⁶And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

¹Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

⁴always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,

⁵for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

⁶being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

⁷just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.

⁸For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

⁹And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,

¹¹being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹²But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,

¹³so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;

¹⁴and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill:

¹⁶The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains;

¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

¹⁹For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

²²But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.

²³For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

²⁴Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

²⁵And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,

²⁶that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

²⁷Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,

²⁸and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

²⁹For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

³⁰having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

¹Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,

²in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,

³but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

⁴To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

⁵For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

⁶if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

⁷For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,

⁸but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,

⁹holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

¹⁰For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

¹¹whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.

¹²One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

¹³This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

¹⁴not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.

¹⁵To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

¹⁶They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

¹“Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.

²Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore.

³Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.

⁴He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro.

⁵As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

⁶Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust.

⁷That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.

⁸The proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

⁹He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.

¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing.

¹¹He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.

¹²“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

¹³Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

¹⁶It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire.

¹⁷Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above rubies.

¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.

²²Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

²³God understands its way, And He knows its place.

²⁴For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,

²⁵To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.

²⁶When He made a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁷Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

²⁸And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

²Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

³Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

⁴That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

⁵They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?”

⁶They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

⁷But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded.

⁸So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away.

⁹All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing.

¹⁰The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

²Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged.

³A poor man who oppresses the poor Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the LORD understand all.

⁶Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

⁷Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, But a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.

⁹One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, He himself will fall into his own pit; But the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding searches him out.

¹²When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people.

¹⁶A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days.

¹⁷A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.

¹⁸Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

¹⁹He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!

²⁰A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

²²A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

²³He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother, And says, “It is no transgression,” The same is companion to a destroyer.

²⁵He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.

²⁶He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

²⁷He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

²And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

³For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.

⁴They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

⁵He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes.

⁷When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

⁸In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

⁹When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem.

¹⁰Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house.

¹¹They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

¹²And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music,

¹³were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.

¹⁵Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing.

¹⁷And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.”

¹⁸Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

¹⁹Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.

²⁰Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,

²¹“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

²²So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.

²³Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,

²⁴“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah,

²⁵because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’

²⁶But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—

²⁷because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD.

²⁸“Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

²⁹Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰The king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD.

³¹Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

³²And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

³³Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers.

¹But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.

²So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.

³Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

⁴Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

⁵So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.

⁶And the LORD God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

⁷But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered.

⁸And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

⁹Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”

¹⁰But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.

¹¹And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

¹After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.

²And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.

³So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.

⁴And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

⁶But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

⁸Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

⁹Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;

¹⁰for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”

¹¹And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

¹³saying, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”

¹⁴And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you.

¹⁵But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.”

¹⁶And he drove them from the judgment seat.

¹⁷Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.

¹⁸So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.

¹⁹And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,

²¹but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

²²And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.

²³After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.

²⁵This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.

²⁶So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

²⁷And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;

²⁸for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.