Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

²Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

³Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

⁴“Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”

⁵But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts.

⁶But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation.

⁷‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,

⁸and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one,

⁹let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

¹⁰Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again.

¹¹He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her.

¹²And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

¹³One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

¹⁵I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

¹⁶Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

¹⁷As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.

¹⁹But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

²⁰“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

²¹Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁴This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.

²⁵In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁶The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁷Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

²⁸Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

²⁹“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,

³⁰will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property — along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.

³¹But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then. ”

³²They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him.

³³“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans.

³⁴They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

³⁶“What is your request?” he asked.

³⁷They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

³⁹“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering.

⁴⁰But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

⁴¹When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.

⁴²So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

⁴³But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road.

⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!”

⁵⁰Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi, ” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

⁵²And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

¹Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east.

²He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.

³It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well.

⁴Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.

⁵“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied.

⁶“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”

⁷Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight — too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?”

⁸“We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.”

⁹Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd.

¹⁰And because Rachel was his cousin — the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother — and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock.

¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud.

¹²He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side — the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.

¹³As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story,

¹⁴Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month,

¹⁵Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”

¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.

¹⁷There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.

¹⁸Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”

¹⁹“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”

²⁰So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

²¹Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”

²²So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast.

²³But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.

²⁴(Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)

²⁵But when Jacob woke up in the morning — it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”

²⁶“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied.

²⁷“But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too — provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”

²⁸So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too.

²⁹(Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.)

³⁰So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.

³¹When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.

³²So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”

³³She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The LORD heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”

³⁴Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”

³⁵Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the LORD!” And then she stopped having children.

¹Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

²Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.

³For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,

⁴though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

⁵I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin — a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

⁶I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

⁷I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

⁸Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

⁹and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

¹⁰I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,

¹¹so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

¹²I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

¹³No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

¹⁵Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.

¹⁶But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.

¹⁷Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.

¹⁸For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.

¹⁹They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.

²⁰But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

²¹He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

¹Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.

²They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

³Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.

⁴But — When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,

⁵he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

⁶He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

⁷Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

⁸This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.

⁹Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time.

¹⁰If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them.

¹¹For people like that have turned away from the truth, and their own sins condemn them.

¹²I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon as one of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to stay there for the winter.

¹³Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need.

¹⁴Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.

¹⁵Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers — all who love us. May God’s grace be with you all.

¹“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.

²A lot of good they are to me — those worn-out wretches!

³They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.

⁴They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees.

⁵They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves.

⁶So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks.

⁷They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles.

⁸They are nameless fools, outcasts from society.

⁹“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me!

¹⁰They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face.

¹¹For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.

¹²These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path.

¹³They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me.

¹⁴They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down.

¹⁵I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.

¹⁶“And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days.

¹⁷At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly.

¹⁸With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat.

¹⁹He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.

²⁰“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look.

²¹You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me.

²²You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.

²³And I know you are sending me to my death — the destination of all who live.

²⁴“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble.

²⁵Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?

²⁶So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.

²⁷My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.

²⁸I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help.

²⁹Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls.

³⁰My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever.

³¹My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep.

¹Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!

²Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is.

³Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.

⁴Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude

⁵Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people!

⁶He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him.

⁷For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

⁸Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises.

⁹Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.

¹⁰You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.

¹¹You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.

¹²Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

¹³Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you —

¹⁴yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble.

¹⁵That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you — the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.

¹⁷For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke.

¹⁸If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.

²⁰Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

¹The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message. I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God.

²I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense.

³I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.

⁴Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is his name — and his son’s name? Tell me if you know!

⁵Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

⁶Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

⁷O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.

⁸First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

⁹For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

¹⁰Never slander a worker to the employer, or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother.

¹²They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed.

¹³They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances.

¹⁴They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.

¹⁵The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied — no, four that never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother’s instructions will be plucked out by ravens of the valley and eaten by vultures.

¹⁸There are three things that amaze me — no, four things that I don’t understand:

¹⁹how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

²⁰An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

²¹There are three things that make the earth tremble — no, four it cannot endure:

²²a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers,

²³a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress.

²⁴There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:

²⁵Ants — they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.

²⁶Hyraxes — they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks.

²⁷Locusts — they have no king, but they march in formation.

²⁸Lizards — they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things that walk with stately stride — no, four that strut about:

³⁰the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,

³¹the strutting rooster, the male goat, a king as he leads his army.

³²If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, cover your mouth in shame.

³³As the beating of cream yields butter and striking the nose causes bleeding, so stirring up anger causes quarrels.

¹Then the people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him the next king in Jerusalem.

²Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.

³Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt, who demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold as tribute.

⁴The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner.

⁵Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.

⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon.

⁷Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of the LORD, and he placed them in his palace in Babylon.

⁸The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign, including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Then his son Jehoiachin became the next king.

⁹Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD’s sight.

¹⁰In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of the LORD were also taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹¹Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.

¹²But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the LORD.

¹³He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁴Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the LORD that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵The LORD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.

¹⁶But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.

¹⁷So the LORD brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁸The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the LORD’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials.

¹⁹Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value.

²⁰The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.

²¹So the message of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.

²²In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the LORD fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:

²³“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go there for this task. And may the LORD your God be with you!”

¹What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so.

²When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance.

³But this is what the LORD says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”

⁴In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you: “We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us. ”

⁵Others will set your boundaries then, and the LORD’s people will have no say in how the land is divided.

⁶“Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!”

⁷Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the LORD’s Spirit have patience with such behavior? If you would do what is right, you would find my words comforting.

⁸Yet to this very hour my people rise against me like an enemy! You steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, making them as ragged as men returning from battle.

⁹You have evicted women from their pleasant homes and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them.

¹⁰Up! Begone! This is no longer your land and home, for you have filled it with sin and ruined it completely.

¹¹Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you, “I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!” That’s just the kind of prophet you would like!

¹²“Someday, O Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds!

¹³Your leader will break out and lead you out of exile, out through the gates of the enemy cities, back to your own land. Your king will lead you; the LORD himself will guide you.”

¹When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.

²While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,

³where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

⁵They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

⁶After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

⁷On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight.

⁸The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps.

⁹As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.

¹⁰Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”

¹¹Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.

¹²Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

¹³Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship.

¹⁴He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene.

¹⁵The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus.

¹⁶Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost.

¹⁷But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.

¹⁸When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now

¹⁹I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.

²⁰I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.

²¹I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike — the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

²²“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me,

²³except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.

²⁴But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus — the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

²⁵“And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.

²⁶I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,

²⁷for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

²⁸“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock — his church, purchased with his own blood — over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.

²⁹I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.

³⁰Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

³¹Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you — my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.

³²“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

³³“I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes.

³⁴You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me.

³⁵And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them.

³⁷They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye.

³⁸They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.