Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.

²And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

³But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

⁴how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”

⁵And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.

⁷So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.

⁸But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.

⁹Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”

¹⁰And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

¹¹But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹²Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

¹³And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

¹⁴Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;

¹⁵Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;

¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

¹⁷And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

¹⁸as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.

¹⁹And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

²⁰Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.

²²Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.

²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴“But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.

²⁵Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

²⁷“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

²⁸bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

²⁹To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

³¹And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

³²“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

³³And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.

³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

³⁶Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

³⁷“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

³⁸Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?

⁴²Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

⁴³“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

⁴⁴For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

⁴⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

⁴⁶“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

⁴⁷Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

⁴⁹But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

¹Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.

²Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

³Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

⁴And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

⁵He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.

⁶Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

⁷And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

⁸Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day.

¹⁰When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker,

¹¹we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

¹²Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream.

¹³And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river.

¹⁸Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

¹⁹Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows.

²¹When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

²²Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good.

²³Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

²⁴And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:

²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one.

²⁷And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.

²⁸This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

²⁹Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt;

³⁰but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.

³¹So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.

³²And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.

³⁵And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.

³⁶Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

³⁷So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴²Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly.

⁴⁸So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.

⁴⁹Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

⁵⁰And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.

⁵¹Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”

⁵²And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended,

⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

⁵⁵So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.”

⁵⁶The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

¹For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

²to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”

³without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

⁴Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.

⁵And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;

⁶but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

⁷Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

⁸Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

⁹Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?

¹²For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

¹³For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

¹⁵And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest

¹⁶who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.

¹⁷For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,

¹⁹for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath

²¹(for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The LORD has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),

²²by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

²³Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.

²⁴But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

²⁵Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

²⁷who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

¹Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

³as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

⁴by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

⁵But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,

⁶to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

⁷to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

⁸For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

¹¹for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹²For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

¹³Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,

¹⁴knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.

¹⁵Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

¹⁶For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

¹⁷For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

¹⁸And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

²⁰knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

²¹for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

¹Then Job answered the LORD and said:

²“I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

³You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

⁴Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

⁵“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.

⁶Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

⁷And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

⁸Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job.

¹⁰And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

¹¹Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.

¹²Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.

¹³He also had seven sons and three daughters.

¹⁴And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch.

¹⁵In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

¹⁶After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.

¹⁷So Job died, old and full of days.

¹A Contemplation of Asaph. [1] Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

²I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,

³Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

⁵For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;

⁶That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children,

⁷That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;

⁸And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

¹⁰They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,

¹¹And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.

¹²Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

¹³He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.

¹⁴In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.

¹⁵He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.

¹⁶He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.

¹⁷But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.

¹⁸And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.

¹⁹Yes, they spoke against God: They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

²⁰Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?”

²¹Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel,

²²Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.

²³Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,

²⁴Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

²⁵Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.

²⁶He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.

²⁷He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;

²⁸And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.

²⁹So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.

³⁰They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,

³¹The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel.

³²In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.

³³Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.

³⁴When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.

³⁵Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.

³⁶Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;

³⁷For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

³⁸But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath;

³⁹For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.

⁴⁰How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!

⁴¹Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,

⁴³When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan;

⁴⁴Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.

⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.

⁴⁶He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost.

⁴⁸He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning.

⁴⁹He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them.

⁵⁰He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,

⁵¹And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.

⁵²But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

⁵³And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

⁵⁴And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.

⁵⁵He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

⁵⁶Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies,

⁵⁷But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

⁵⁸For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

⁵⁹When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel,

⁶⁰So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,

⁶¹And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy’s hand.

⁶²He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance.

⁶³The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage.

⁶⁴Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.

⁶⁶And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach.

⁶⁷Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

⁶⁸But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.

⁶⁹And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.

⁷⁰He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.

⁷²So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

¹Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

⁷When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.

⁸The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead.

⁹The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

¹⁴Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

¹⁵He who is surety for a stranger will suffer, But one who hates being surety is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman retains honor, But ruthless men retain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

¹⁹As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.

²⁰Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their ways are His delight.

²¹Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.

²²As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.

²⁵The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.

²⁶The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage.

²⁹He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.

³¹If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, How much more the ungodly and the sinner.

¹And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.

²Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid,

³and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”

⁴Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

⁵And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

⁶Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

⁷Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,

⁸and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

⁹Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

¹⁰When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

¹¹So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

¹²Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.

¹³And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.

¹⁴Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.

¹⁵So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.

¹⁶And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

¹⁷Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”

¹⁸And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.

¹⁹But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”

²⁰So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

¹The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

²“I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land,” Says the LORD;

³“I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,” Says the LORD.

⁴“I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests—

⁵Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who also swear by Milcom;

⁶Those who have turned back from following the LORD, And have not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him.”

⁷Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.

⁸“And it shall be, In the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

⁹In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

¹⁰“And there shall be on that day,” says the LORD, “The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills.

¹¹Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off.

¹²“And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’

¹³Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”

¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.

¹⁵That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,

¹⁶A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.

¹⁷“I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.”

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.

¹Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,

²being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,

⁶as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:

⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

¹¹This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’

¹²Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

¹⁸So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.

²⁰For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

²¹So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.

²²For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

²³And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

²⁵who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?

²⁶The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’

²⁷“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

²⁹Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

³⁰by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

³²Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

³³And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

³⁴Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,

³⁵and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

³⁶And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,

³⁷having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.