Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

²At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them.

³But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.

⁵Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.

⁶He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

⁸So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Haven’t you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹¹ This came about from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?”

¹²They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

¹³Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.

¹⁴When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

¹⁵But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”

¹⁶They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them. “Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

¹⁸Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him:

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

²⁰There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.

²¹The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.

²²None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.

²³In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”

²⁴Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God?

²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶And as for the dead being raised — haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?

²⁷He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”

²⁸One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

³¹The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”

³²Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him.

³³And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question him any longer.

³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?

³⁶David himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’

³⁷David himself calls him ‘Lord’; how then can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

³⁸He also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

⁴¹Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums.

⁴²Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.

⁴³Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

⁴⁴For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had  — all she had to live on.”

¹Now Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father.”

²And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same as before.

³The LORD said to him, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”

⁴Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were.

⁵He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same as before, but the God of my father has been with me.

⁶You know that with all my strength I have served your father

⁷and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me.

⁸If he said, ‘The spotted sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born spotted. If he said, ‘The streaked sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born streaked.

⁹God has taken away your father’s herds and given them to me.

¹⁰“When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.

¹¹In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’

¹²And he said, ‘Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.

¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to me. Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.’”

¹⁴Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father’s family?

¹⁵Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? For he has sold us and has certainly spent our purchase price.

¹⁶In fact, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has said to you.”

¹⁷So Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels.

¹⁸He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of Canaan, to his father Isaac.

¹⁹When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.

²⁰And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing.

²¹He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

²²On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled.

²³So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁴But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

²⁵When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his relatives also pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁶Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken my daughters away like prisoners of war!

²⁷Why did you secretly flee from me, deceive me, and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and lyres,

²⁸but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly.

²⁹I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me: ‘Watch yourself! Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

³⁰Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s family — but why have you stolen my gods?”

³¹Jacob answered, “I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.

³²If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live! Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³³So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tents of the two concubines, but he found nothing. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent.

³⁴Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of the camel, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.

³⁵She said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.

³⁶Then Jacob became incensed and brought charges against Laban. “What is my crime?” he said to Laban. “What is my sin, that you have pursued me?

³⁷You’ve searched all my possessions! Have you found anything of yours? Put it here before my relatives and yours, and let them decide between the two of us.

³⁸I’ve been with you these twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock.

³⁹I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night.

⁴⁰There I was — the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

⁴¹For twenty years in your household I served you — fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks  — and you have changed my wages ten times!

⁴²If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, certainly now you would have sent me off empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and my hard work, and he issued his verdict last night.”

⁴³Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne?

⁴⁴Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between the two of us.”

⁴⁵So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker.

⁴⁶Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound.

⁴⁷Laban named the mound Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.

⁴⁸Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed

⁴⁹and also Mizpah, for he said, “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight.

⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, though no one is with us, understand that God will be a witness between you and me.”

⁵¹Laban also said to Jacob, “Look at this mound and the marker I have set up between you and me.

⁵²This mound is a witness and the marker is a witness that I will not pass beyond this mound to you, and you will not pass beyond this mound and this marker to do me harm.

⁵³The God of Abraham, and the gods of Nahor — the gods of their father  — will judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain.

⁵⁵Laban got up early in the morning, kissed his grandchildren and daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban left to return home.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother:

²To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

⁴for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints

⁵because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth, the gospel

⁶that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God’s grace.

⁷You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,

⁸and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.

⁹For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

¹⁰so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,

¹¹being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully

¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

¹³He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

¹⁴In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

¹⁶For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.

¹⁷He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

¹⁸He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

²⁰and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

²¹Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds expressed in your evil actions.

²²But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him  —

²³if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church.

²⁵I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

²⁶the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

²⁷God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

²⁹I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings.

²Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,

³because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

⁴And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him.

⁶But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

⁷That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,

⁸being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation,

¹⁰but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

¹¹For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.

¹²Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

¹³No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.

¹⁴But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.

¹⁵Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

¹⁶Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.

¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

¹⁸By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

¹⁹My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

²⁰for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

²¹Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

²²But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

²³Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror.

²⁴For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.

²⁵But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works — this person will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.

²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

¹So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God.

³He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.

⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he.

⁵But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

⁶So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied: I am young in years, while you are old; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.

⁷I thought that age should speak and maturity should teach wisdom.

⁸But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding.

⁹It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge.

¹⁰Therefore I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.”

¹¹Look, I waited for your conclusions; I listened to your insights as you sought for words.

¹²I paid close attention to you. Yet no one proved Job wrong; not one of you refuted his arguments.

¹³So do not claim, “We have found wisdom; let God deal with him, not man.”

¹⁴But Job has not directed his argument to me, and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

¹⁵Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer; words have left them.

¹⁶Should I continue to wait now that they are silent, now that they stand there and no longer answer?

¹⁷I too will answer; yes, I will tell what I know.

¹⁸For I am full of words, and my spirit compels me to speak.

¹⁹My heart is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like new wineskins.

²⁰I must speak so that I can find relief; I must open my lips and respond.

²¹I will be partial to no one, and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.

²²For I do not know how to give such titles; otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song. [1] God arises. His enemies scatter, and those who hate him flee from his presence.

²As smoke is blown away, so you blow them away. As wax melts before the fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God.

³But the righteous are glad; they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.

⁴Sing to God! Sing praises to his name. Exalt him who rides on the clouds  —  his name is the LORD  — and celebrate before him.

⁵God in his holy dwelling is a father of the fatherless and a champion of widows.

⁶God provides homes for those who are deserted. He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a scorched land.

⁷God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the desert, Selah

⁸the earth trembled and the skies poured rain before God, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.

⁹You, God, showered abundant rain; you revived your inheritance when it languished.

¹⁰Your people settled in it; God, you provided for the poor by your goodness.

¹¹The Lord gave the command; a great company of women brought the good news:

¹²“The kings of the armies flee — they flee!” She who stays at home divides the spoil.

¹³While you lie among the sheep pens, the wings of a dove are covered with silver, and its feathers with glistening gold.

¹⁴When the Almighty scattered kings in the land, it snowed on Zalmon.

¹⁵Mount Bashan is God’s towering mountain; Mount Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.

¹⁶Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks, at the mountain God desired for his abode? The LORD will dwell there forever!

¹⁷God’s chariots are tens of thousands, thousands and thousands; the Lord is among them in the sanctuary as he was at Sinai.

¹⁸You ascended to the heights, taking away captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious, so that the LORD God might dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord! Day after day he bears our burdens; God is our salvation. Selah

²⁰Our God is a God of salvation, and escape from death belongs to the LORD my Lord.

²¹Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies, the hairy brow of one who goes on in his guilty acts.

²²The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan; I will bring them back from the depths of the sea

²³so that your foot may wade in blood and your dogs’ tongues may have their share from the enemies.”

²⁴People have seen your procession, God, the procession of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

²⁵Singers lead the way, with musicians following; among them are young women playing tambourines.

²⁶Bless God in the assemblies; bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.

²⁷There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them, the rulers of Judah in their assembly, the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.

²⁸Your God has decreed your strength. Show your strength, God, you who have acted on our behalf.

²⁹Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings will bring tribute to you.

³⁰Rebuke the beast in the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those with bars of silver. Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.

³¹Ambassadors will come from Egypt; Cush will stretch out its hands to God.

³²Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; sing praise to the Lord, Selah

³³to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens. Look, he thunders with his powerful voice!

³⁴Ascribe power to God. His majesty is over Israel, his power is among the clouds.

³⁵God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

¹The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

²For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings;

³for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity;

⁴for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced, knowledge and discretion to a young man —

⁵let a wise person listen and increase learning, and let a discerning person obtain guidance —

⁶for understanding a proverb or a parable, the words of the wise, and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,

⁹for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded.

¹¹If they say — “Come with us! Let’s set an ambush and kill someone. Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol, whole, like those who go down to the Pit.

¹³We’ll find all kinds of valuable property and fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us, and we’ll all share the loot”  —

¹⁵my son, don’t travel that road with them or set foot on their path,

¹⁶because their feet run toward evil and they hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷It is useless to spread a net where any bird can see it,

¹⁸but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it.

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares.

²¹She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:

²²“How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge?

²³If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.

²⁴Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention,

²⁵since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction,

²⁶I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and stress overcome you.

²⁸Then they will call me, but I won’t answer; they will search for me, but won’t find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose to fear the LORD,

³⁰were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my correction,

³¹they will eat the fruit of their way and be glutted with their own schemes.

³²For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.”

¹These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.

²They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the Israelite men included

³Parosh’s descendants — 2,172

⁴Shephatiah’s descendants — 372

⁵Arah’s descendants — 775

⁶Pahath-moab’s descendants: Jeshua’s and Joab’s descendants — 2,812

⁷Elam’s descendants — 1,254

⁸Zattu’s descendants — 945

⁹Zaccai’s descendants — 760

¹⁰Bani’s descendants — 642

¹¹Bebai’s descendants — 623

¹²Azgad’s descendants — 1,222

¹³Adonikam’s descendants — 666

¹⁴Bigvai’s descendants — 2,056

¹⁵Adin’s descendants — 454

¹⁶Ater’s descendants: of Hezekiah — 98

¹⁷Bezai’s descendants — 323

¹⁸Jorah’s descendants — 112

¹⁹Hashum’s descendants — 223

²⁰Gibbar’s descendants — 95

²¹Bethlehem’s people — 123

²²Netophah’s men — 56

²³Anathoth’s men — 128

²⁴Azmaveth’s people — 42

²⁵Kiriatharim’s, Chephirah’s, and Beeroth’s people — 743

²⁶Ramah’s and Geba’s people — 621

²⁷Michmas’s men — 122

²⁸Bethel’s and Ai’s men — 223

²⁹Nebo’s people — 52

³⁰Magbish’s people — 156

³¹the other Elam’s people — 1,254

³²Harim’s people — 320

³³Lod’s, Hadid’s, and Ono’s people — 725

³⁴Jericho’s people — 345

³⁵Senaah’s people — 3,630

³⁶The priests included Jedaiah’s descendants of the house of Jeshua — 973

³⁷Immer’s descendants — 1,052

³⁸Pashhur’s descendants — 1,247

³⁹and Harim’s descendants — 1,017

⁴⁰The Levites included Jeshua’s and Kadmiel’s descendants from Hodaviah’s descendants — 74

⁴¹The singers included Asaph’s descendants — 128

⁴²The gatekeepers’ descendants included Shallum’s descendants, Ater’s descendants, Talmon’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants, Hatita’s descendants, Shobai’s descendants, in all — 139

⁴³The temple servants included Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants, Tabbaoth’s descendants,

⁴⁴Keros’s descendants, Siaha’s descendants, Padon’s descendants,

⁴⁵Lebanah’s descendants, Hagabah’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants,

⁴⁶Hagab’s descendants, Shalmai’s descendants, Hanan’s descendants,

⁴⁷Giddel’s descendants, Gahar’s descendants, Reaiah’s descendants,

⁴⁸Rezin’s descendants, Nekoda’s descendants, Gazzam’s descendants,

⁴⁹Uzza’s descendants, Paseah’s descendants, Besai’s descendants,

⁵⁰Asnah’s descendants, Meunim’s descendants, Nephusim’s descendants,

⁵¹Bakbuk’s descendants, Hakupha’s descendants, Harhur’s descendants,

⁵²Bazluth’s descendants, Mehida’s descendants, Harsha’s descendants,

⁵³Barkos’s descendants, Sisera’s descendants, Temah’s descendants,

⁵⁴Neziah’s descendants, and Hatipha’s descendants.

⁵⁵The descendants of Solomon’s servants included Sotai’s descendants, Hassophereth’s descendants, Peruda’s descendants,

⁵⁶Jaalah’s descendants, Darkon’s descendants, Giddel’s descendants,

⁵⁷Shephatiah’s descendants, Hattil’s descendants, Pochereth-hazzebaim’s descendants, and Ami’s descendants.

⁵⁸All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants — 392.

⁵⁹The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their ancestral families and their lineage were Israelite:

⁶⁰Delaiah’s descendants, Tobiah’s descendants, Nekoda’s descendants — 652

⁶¹and from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai — who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name.

⁶²These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.

⁶³The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴The whole combined assembly numbered — 42,360

⁶⁵not including their 7,337 male and female servants, and their 200 male and female singers.

⁶⁶They had 736 horses, 245 mules,

⁶⁷435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁶⁸After they arrived at the LORD’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.

⁶⁹Based on what they could give, they gave 61,000 gold coins, 6,250 pounds of silver, and 100 priestly garments to the treasury for the project.

⁷⁰The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.

¹In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will stream to it,

²and many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about his ways so we may walk in his paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

³He will settle disputes among many peoples and provide arbitration for strong nations that are far away. They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war.

⁴But each person will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Armies has spoken.

⁵Though all the peoples each walk in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

⁶On that day — this is the LORD’s declaration — I will assemble the lame and gather the scattered, those I have injured.

⁷I will make the lame into a remnant, those far removed into a strong nation. Then the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time on and forever.

⁸And you, watchtower for the flock, fortified hill of Daughter Zion, the former rule will come to you; sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.

⁹Now, why are you shouting loudly? Is there no king with you? Has your counselor perished so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?

¹⁰Writhe and cry out, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the grasp of your enemies!

¹¹Many nations have now assembled against you; they say, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”

¹²But they do not know the LORD’s intentions or understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

¹³Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will make your horns iron and your hooves bronze so you can crush many peoples. Then you will set apart their plunder for the LORD, their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.

¹“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

²When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.

³He continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail,

⁵as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

⁸“I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’

⁹Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’

¹¹“Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.

¹²Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,

¹³came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him.

¹⁴And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth,

¹⁵since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

¹⁷“After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

¹⁸and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹“But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.

²⁰And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’

²¹“He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’  ”

²²They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!”

²³As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this.

²⁵As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he said.

²⁸The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.

²⁹So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.

³⁰The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. He brought Paul down and placed him before them.