Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As He was coming out of the temple [grounds], one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, look what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!"

²Jesus replied to him, "You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another which will not be torn down!"

³As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,

⁴"Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled?"

⁵Jesus began to say to them, "Be careful and see to it that no one misleads you.

⁶Many will come in My name [misusing My name or claiming to be the Messiah], saying, 'I am He!' and will deceive and mislead many.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed (frightened, troubled); these things must take place, but the end is not yet.

⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These things are the beginning of the birth pangs [the intolerable anguish and suffering].

⁹"But be on your guard; they will turn you over to courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand [as accused] before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

¹⁰The gospel [that is, the good news regarding the way of salvation] must first be preached to all the [Gentile] nations.

¹¹When they take you and turn you over [to the court], do not worry beforehand about what to say, but say whatever is given to you [by God] in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit [who will speak through you].

¹²Brother will betray brother to [be put to] death, and a father [will hand over] his child; and children will rise up and take a stand against parents and have them put to death.

¹³You will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved.

¹⁴"But when you see theabomination of desolation standing [in the temple sanctuary] where it ought not to be (let the reader understand) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

¹⁵Whoever is on the housetop must not go down [to enter the house], or go inside to take anything out of his house;

¹⁶whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

¹⁷And woe to those women who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

¹⁸Pray that it will not occur in winter,

¹⁹for at that time there will be such tribulation as has not occurred, from the beginning of the creation which God made, until now—and never will [be again].

²⁰And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose [for Himself], He shortened the days.

²¹Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it;

²²for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will provide signs and wonders in order to deceive, if [such a thing were] possible, even the elect [those God has chosen for Himself].

²³But be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴"But in those days, after [the suffering and distress of] that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,

²⁵and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory [in royal majesty and splendor].

²⁷And then He will send out the angels, and will gather together His elect [those He has chosen for Himself] from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

²⁸"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts out its leaves, you recognize that summer is near.

²⁹Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, know [for certain] that He is near, right at the door.

³⁰I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³²But of that [exact] day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

³³"Be on guard and stay constantly alert[and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.

³⁴It is like a man away on a journey, who when he left home put his servants in charge, each with his particular task, and also ordered the doorkeeper to be continually alert.

³⁵Therefore, be continually on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

³⁶[stay alert,] in case he should come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep and unprepared.

³⁷What I say to you I say to everyone, 'Be on the alert [stay awake and be continually cautious]!'"

¹Then as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him [to reassure and protect him].

²When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp." So he named that place Mahanaim ( double camps).

³Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

⁴He commanded them, saying, "This is what to say to my lord Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says this, "I have been living temporarily with Laban, and have stayed there until now;

⁵I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants; and I have sent [this message] to tell my lord, so that I may find grace and kindness in your sight."'"

⁶The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him."

⁷Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps;

⁸and he said, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the other camp which is left will escape."

⁹Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your people, and I will make you prosper,'

¹⁰I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and compassion and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. With only my staff [long ago] I crossed over this Jordan, and now I have become [blessed and increased into these] two groups [of people].

¹¹Save me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.

¹²And You [LORD] said, 'I will certainly make you prosper and make your descendants as [numerous as] the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.'"

¹³So Jacob spent the night there. Then he selected a present for his brother Esau from the livestock he had acquired:

¹⁴two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams,

¹⁵thirty milking camels with their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten [donkey] colts.

¹⁶He put them into the care of his servants, every herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Go on ahead of me, and put an interval [of space] between the individual herds."

¹⁷Then he commanded the one in front, saying, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks to whom you belong, and where you are going, and whose are the animals in front of you?

¹⁸then you shall say, 'They are your servant Jacob's; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he also is behind us.'"

¹⁹And so Jacob commanded the second and the third as well, and all that followed the herds, saying, "This is what you shall say to Esau when you meet him;

²⁰and you shall say, 'Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he said [to himself], "I will try to appease him with the gift that is going ahead of me. Then afterward I will see him; perhaps he will accept and forgive me."

²¹So the gift [of the herds of livestock] went on ahead of him, and he himself spent that night back in the camp.

²²But he got up that same night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and waded over the ford of the Jabbok.

²³Then he took them and sent them across the brook. And he also sent across whatever he had.

²⁴So Jacob was left alone, and a Man [came and] wrestled with him until daybreak.

²⁵When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him.

²⁶Then He said, "Let Me go, for day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing on me."

²⁷So He asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."

²⁸And He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed."

²⁹Then Jacob asked Him, "Please tell me Your name." But He said, "Why is it that you ask My name?" And He declared a blessing [of the covenant promises] on Jacob there.

³⁰So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, "For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has not been snatched away."

³¹Now the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel (Peniel), and he was limping because of his hip.

³²Therefore, to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because He touched the socket of Jacob's thigh by the tendon of the hip.

¹For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those [believers] at Laodicea, and for all who [like yourselves] have never seen me face to face.

²[For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ,

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God].

⁴I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments.

⁵For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

⁶Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin],

⁷having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.

⁹For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God].

¹⁰And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ], and He is the head over all rule and authority [of every angelic and earthly power].

¹¹In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but by the [spiritual] circumcision of Christ in the stripping off of the body of the flesh [the sinful carnal nature],

¹²having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God, [as displayed] when He raised Christ from the dead.

¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins,

¹⁴having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross.

¹⁵When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross.

¹⁶Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.

¹⁷Such things are only a shadow of what is to come and they have only symbolic value; but the substance [the reality of what is foreshadowed] belongs to Christ.

¹⁸Let no one defraud you of your prize [your freedom in Christ and your salvation] by insisting on mock humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about visions [he claims] he has seen [to justify his authority], puffed up [in conceit] by his unspiritual mind,

¹⁹and not holding fast to the head [of the body, Jesus Christ], from whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth [that can come only] from God.

²⁰If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as,

²¹"Do not handle [this], do not taste [that], do not [even] touch!"?

²²(these things all perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men.

²³These practices indeed have the appearance [that popularly passes as that] of wisdom in self-made religion and mock humility and severe treatment of the body (asceticism), but are of no value against sinful indulgence [because they do not honor God].

¹My fellow believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of partiality [toward people—show no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery].

²For if a man comes into your meeting place wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in,

³and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, "You sit here in this good seat," and you tell the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,"

⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives?

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

⁶But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law?

⁷Do they not blaspheme the precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?

⁸If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]" you are doing well.

⁹But if you show partiality [prejudice, favoritism], you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as offenders.

¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.

¹¹For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become guilty of transgressing the [entire] Law.

¹²Speak and act [consistently] as people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that frees obedient Christians from the bondage of sin].

¹³For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.

¹⁴What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.]

¹⁵If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day,

¹⁶and one of you says to them, "Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves," but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do?

¹⁷So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].

¹⁸But someone may say, "You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do]."

¹⁹You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]!

²⁰But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless?

²¹Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]?

²²You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience].

²³And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and this [faith] was credited to him [by God] as righteousness and as conformity to His will," and he was called the friend of God.

²⁴You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith].

²⁵In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route?

²⁶For just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.

¹"However, Job, please listen to my words, And pay attention to everything I say.

²"Behold, I have opened my mouth [to begin my speech]; My tongue in my mouth is going to speak.

³"My words will express the uprightness of my heart, And my lips will speak what they know with utter sincerity.

⁴"The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life [which inspires me].

⁵"Answer me, if you can; Set yourselves before me, take your stand.

⁶"Behold, I belong to God like you; I too was formed out of the clay.

⁷"Behold, I will not make you afraid or terrified of me [for I am only mortal and not God], Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.

⁸"Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying:

⁹'I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

¹⁰'Behold, God finds pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹'He puts my feet in the stocks [to hinder and humiliate me]; He [suspiciously] watches all my paths,' [you say].

¹²"Look, let me answer you, in this you are not right or just; For God is greater and far superior to man.

¹³"Why do you complain against Him? That He does not answer [you with] all His doings.

¹⁴"For God speaks once, And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].

¹⁵"In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God's voice], When deep sleep falls on men While slumbering upon the bed,

¹⁶Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction,

¹⁷That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep him from pride;

¹⁸He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction], And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

¹⁹"Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones,

²⁰So that his life makes him loathe food, And his soul [loathe] even his favorite dishes.

²¹"His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, And his bones which were not seen now stick out.

²²"Then his soul draws near to the pit [of destruction], And his life to those who bring death (the destroyers).

²³"If there is an angel as a mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],

²⁴Then the angel is gracious to him, and says, 'Spare him from going down to the pit [of destruction]; I have found a ransom [a consideration, or reason for redemption, an atonement]!'

²⁵"Let his flesh be restored and become fresher than in youth; Let him return to the days of his youthful strength.

²⁶"He will pray to God, and He shall be favorable to him, So that he looks at His face with joy; For God restores to man His righteousness [that is, his right standing with God—with its joys].

²⁷"He sings out to other men, 'I have sinned and perverted that which was right, And it was not proper for me!

²⁸'God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction], And my life shall see the light.'"

²⁹[Elihu comments,] "Behold, God does all these things twice, yes, three times, with a man,

³⁰To bring his life back from the pit [of destruction], That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

³¹"Pay attention, Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will speak.

³²"If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.

³³"If not [and you have nothing to say], listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

¹To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] "Lilies." A Psalm of David. Save me, O God, For the waters have threatened my life [they have come up to my neck].

²I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.

³I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait [with confident expectation] for my God.

⁴Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head; Those who would destroy me are powerful, being my enemies wrongfully; I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

⁵O God, You know my folly; My wrongs are not hidden from You.

⁶Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

⁷Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Confusion and dishonor have covered my face.

⁸I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother's sons.

⁹For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the [mocking] insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I wept and humbled myself with fasting, It became my reproach.

¹¹When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning], I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.

¹²They who sit in the [city's] gate talk about me and mock me, And I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable and opportune time; O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].

¹⁴Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink; Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep waters.

¹⁵Do not let the floodwater overwhelm me, Nor the deep waters swallow me up, Nor the pit [of Sheol] shut its mouth over me.

¹⁶Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is sweet and good and comforting; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.

¹⁷Do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me quickly.

¹⁸Draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies [so that they do not delight in my distress].

¹⁹You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor [how I am insulted]; My adversaries are all before You [each one fully known].

²⁰Reproach and insults have broken my heart and I am so sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They (self-righteous hypocrites) also gave me gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

²²May their table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare [to them]; And when they are in peace [secure at their sacrificial feasts], may it become a trap.

²³May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see, And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].

²⁴Pour out Your indignation on them, And let [the fierceness of] Your burning anger overtake them.

²⁵May their encampment be desolate; May no one dwell in their tents.

²⁶For they have persecuted him whom You have struck, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have pierced and wounded.

²⁷Add [unforgiven] iniquity to their iniquity [in Your book], And may they not come into Your righteousness.

²⁸May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end] And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God).

²⁹But I am sorrowful and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me [securely] on high.

³⁰I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

³¹And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

³²The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God [requiring Him as your greatest need], let your heart revive and live.

³³For the LORD hears the needy And does not despise His who are prisoners.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, That His servants may remain there and possess it.

³⁶The descendants of His servants will inherit it, And those who love His name will dwell in it.

¹My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,

²So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];

³Yes, if you cry out for insight, And lift up your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you would silver And search for her as you would hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives [skillful and godly] wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him]; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of honorable character and moral courage],

⁸He guards the paths of justice; And He preserves the way of His saints (believers).

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice [in every circumstance] And integrity and every good path.

¹⁰For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you, Understanding and discernment will guard you,

¹²To keep you from the way of evil and the evil man, From the man who speaks perverse things;

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who find joy in doing evil And delight in the perversity of evil,

¹⁵Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

¹⁶To keep you from the immoral woman; From the seductress with her flattering words,

¹⁷Who leaves the companion (husband) of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house leads down to death And her paths lead to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return again, Nor do they regain the paths of life—

²⁰So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character], And keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright [those who are in right standing with God] will live in the land And those [of integrity] who are blameless [in God's sight] will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous shall be [forcibly] uprooted and removed from it.

¹When the seventh month came and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

²Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.

³So they set up the altar on its [old] foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, morning and evening.

⁴They celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the fixed number of daily burnt offerings, in accordance with the ordinances, as each day required;

⁵and afterward, there was the continual burnt offering, the offering at the New Moons, and at all the appointed festivals of the LORD that were consecrated, and the offerings of everyone who made a voluntary offering to the LORD.

⁶From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, but the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

⁷They gave money to the masons and to the carpenters, and gave food, drink, and [olive] oil to the people from Sidon and Tyre, to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the seaport of Joppa, in accordance with the authorization they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸In the second year of their coming to God's house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began [the work], with the rest of their brothers—the priests and Levites and all who came to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

⁹Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the house of God.

¹⁰Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with their cymbals, to praise the LORD in accordance with the directions of David king of Israel.

¹¹They sang [responsively], praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, "For He is good, for His lovingkindness (mercy) toward Israel endures forever." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

¹²But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first house (temple), wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,

¹³so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

¹"Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; A state of siege has been placed against us. They shall strike the ruler of Israel on the cheek with a rod (scepter).

²"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah; From you One shall come forth for Me [who is] to be Ruler in Israel, His goings forth (appearances) are from long ago, From ancient days."

³Therefore, He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has given birth to a child. Then what is left of His kinsmen Shall return to the children of Israel.

⁴And He shall stand and shepherd and guide His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall dwell [secure in undisturbed peace], Because at that time He shall be great [extending His authority] [Even] to the ends of the earth.

⁵This One [the Messiah] shall be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land And tramples on our citadels and in our palaces, Then shall we raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princes [an overpowering force] among men.

⁶They shall devastate the land of Assyria with the sword and The land of Nimrod within her [own] gates. And He (the Messiah) shall rescue us from the Assyrian (all enemy nations) When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory.

⁷Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be among many peoples Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass [a source of blessing] Which [come suddenly and] do not wait for man Nor delay for the sons of men.

⁸The remnant of Jacob Shall be among the nations, In the midst of many peoples Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion [suddenly appearing] among the flocks of sheep Which, if he passes through, Tramples down and tears into pieces [the nations in judgment], And there is no one to rescue.

⁹Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off and destroyed.

¹⁰"And in that day," says the LORD, "I will cut off your horses from among you And destroy your chariots [on which you depend].

¹¹"I will cut off the cities of your land And tear down all your fortifications.

¹²"I will cut off witchcrafts and sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no more fortune-tellers.

¹³"I will also cut off your carved images And your sacred pillars from among you, So that you will no longer worship and bow down To the work of your hands.

¹⁴"I will root out your Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) from among you And destroy your cities [which are the centers of pagan worship].

¹⁵"And in anger and wrath I shall execute vengeance On the nations which have not obeyed [such vengeance as they have not known before]."

¹Then Paul, looking intently at the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), said, "Kinsmen, I have lived my life before God with a perfectly good conscience until this very day."

²[At this] the high priest Ananias ordered those who stood beside him to strike Paul on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you actually sit to judge me according to the Law, and yet in violation of the Law order me to be struck?"

⁴But those who stood near Paul said, "Are you insulting the high priest of God?"

⁵Paul said, "I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"

⁶But recognizing that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began affirming loudly in the Council chamber, "Kinsmen, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!"

⁷When he said this, an angry dispute erupted between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the [whole crowded] assembly was divided [into two factions].

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no [such thing as a] resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees [speak out freely and] acknowledge [their belief in] them all.

⁹Then a great uproar occurred, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and began to argue heatedly [in Paul's favor], saying, "We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has [really] spoken to him?"

¹⁰And as the dissension became even greater, the commander, fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered the troops to go down and forcibly take him from them, and bring him to the barracks.

¹¹On the following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Be brave; for as you have solemnly and faithfully witnessed about Me at Jerusalem, so you must also testify at Rome."

¹²Now when day came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath (curse), saying that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty [men] who formed this plot [and swore this oath].

¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath not to taste anything [neither food nor drink] until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵So now you, along with the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), notify the commander to bring Paul down to you, as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But we are ready to kill him before he comes near [the place]."

¹⁶But the son of Paul's sister heard of their [planned] ambush, and he went to the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷Then Paul, calling in one of the centurions, said, "Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him."

¹⁸So he took him and led him to the commander and said, "Paul the prisoner called for me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you."

¹⁹The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to ask him privately, "What is it that you have to tell me?"

²⁰And he said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) tomorrow, as if they were going to interrogate him more thoroughly.

²¹But do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him, and they have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Even now they are ready, just waiting for your promise."

²²So the commander let the young man leave, instructing him, "Do not tell anyone that you have given me this information."

²³Then summoning two of the centurions, he said, "Have two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night (9:00 p.m.) to go as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen;

²⁴also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and bring him safely to Felix the governor."

²⁵And [after instructing the centurions] he wrote a letter to this effect:

²⁶"Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings.

²⁷"This man was seized [as a prisoner] by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, when I came upon him with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen.

²⁸And wanting to know the exact charge which they were making against him, I brought him down to their Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court);

²⁹and I discovered that he was accused in regard to questions and issues in their Law, but [he was] under no accusation that would call for the penalty of death or [even] for imprisonment.

³⁰"When I was told that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you immediately, also directing his accusers to bring their charges against him before you."

³¹So the soldiers, in compliance with their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night.

³²And the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the barracks.

³³When these [horsemen] reached Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor, and also presented Paul to him.

³⁴After reading the letter, he asked which province Paul was from, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia [an imperial province],

³⁵he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers have arrived," giving orders that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's Praetorium (the governor's official residence).