Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain.

²But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

³Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

⁴He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

⁵And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

⁶On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching.

⁷The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

⁸But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward.

⁹Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

¹¹At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

¹²One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

¹³At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

¹⁴Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

¹⁵Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot),

¹⁶Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

¹⁷When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.

¹⁸They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed.

¹⁹Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

²⁰Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.

²¹God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.

²²What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.

²³When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

²⁴“What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now.

²⁵What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.

²⁶What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

²⁷“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.

²⁸Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

²⁹If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.

³⁰Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.

³¹Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

³²“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!

³³And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!

³⁴And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

³⁵“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

³⁶You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

³⁷“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.

³⁸Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full — pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. ”

³⁹Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?

⁴⁰Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

⁴¹“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?

⁴²How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁴³“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

⁴⁴A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.

⁴⁵A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

⁴⁶“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

⁴⁷I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.

⁴⁸It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.

⁴⁹But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

¹Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.

²In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.

³Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank.

⁴Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

⁵But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.

⁶Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.

⁷And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

⁸The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

⁹Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh.

¹⁰“Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard.

¹¹One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning.

¹²There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant.

¹³And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.”

¹⁴Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.

¹⁵Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

¹⁶“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

¹⁷So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River,

¹⁸and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.

¹⁹But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking animals in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰These thin, scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows.

²¹But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.

²²“In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.

²³Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind.

²⁴And the shriveled heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.”

²⁵Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.

²⁶The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity.

²⁷The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.

²⁸“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.

²⁹The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt.

³⁰But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land.

³¹This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased.

³²As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.

³³“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt.

³⁴Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years.

³⁵Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities.

³⁶That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.”

³⁷Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials.

³⁸So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.

⁴⁰You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

⁴¹Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”

⁴²Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt.

⁴⁴And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

⁴⁵Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.

⁴⁶He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt.

⁴⁷As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops.

⁴⁸During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities.

⁴⁹He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.

⁵⁰During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.

⁵¹Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.”

⁵²Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

⁵³At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end.

⁵⁴Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food.

⁵⁵Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”

⁵⁶So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.

¹This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.

²Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”

³There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors — no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.

⁴Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.

⁵Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham.

⁶But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.

⁷And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.

⁸The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.

⁹In addition, we might even say that these Levites — the ones who collect the tithe — paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him.

¹⁰For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.

¹¹So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?

¹²And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.

¹³For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests.

¹⁴What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.

¹⁵This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.

¹⁶Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.

¹⁷And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.

¹⁹For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath,

²¹but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.

²³There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.

²⁴But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.

²⁵Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

²⁶He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.

²⁷Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

²⁸The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

¹This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.

²May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

³By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

⁴And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

⁵In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,

⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,

⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

⁸The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

¹⁰So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.

¹¹Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹²Therefore, I will always remind you about these things — even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught.

¹³And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live.

¹⁴For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life,

¹⁵so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.

¹⁶For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes

¹⁷when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

¹⁸We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place — until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.

²⁰Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,

²¹or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

¹Then Job replied to the LORD:

²“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.

³You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I — and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.

⁴You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’

⁵I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

⁶I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

⁷After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.

⁸So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.”

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the LORD commanded them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before!

¹¹Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the LORD had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

¹²So the LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

¹³He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.

¹⁴He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.

¹⁵In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

¹⁶Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren.

¹⁷Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

¹O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying,

²for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past —

³stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.

⁴We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders.

⁵For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,

⁶so the next generation might know them — even the children not yet born — and they in turn will teach their own children.

⁷So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

⁸Then they will not be like their ancestors — stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

⁹The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.

¹⁰They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions.

¹¹They forgot what he had done — the great wonders he had shown them,

¹²the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

¹³For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls!

¹⁴In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire.

¹⁵He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring.

¹⁶He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!

¹⁷Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved.

¹⁹They even spoke against God himself, saying, “God can’t give us food in the wilderness.

²⁰Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat.”

²¹When the LORD heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel,

²²for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them.

²³But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven.

²⁴He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven.

²⁵They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold.

²⁶He released the east wind in the heavens and guided the south wind by his mighty power.

²⁷He rained down meat as thick as dust — birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!

²⁸He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents.

²⁹The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved.

³⁰But before they satisfied their craving, while the meat was yet in their mouths,

³¹the anger of God rose against them, and he killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men.

³²But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him.

³³So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror.

³⁴When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously.

³⁵Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer.

³⁶But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues.

³⁷Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant.

³⁸Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury!

³⁹For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.

⁴⁰Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.

⁴¹Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember his power and how he rescued them from their enemies.

⁴³They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders on the plain of Zoan.

⁴⁴For he turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams.

⁴⁵He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them and hordes of frogs to ruin them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to caterpillars; their harvest was consumed by locusts.

⁴⁷He destroyed their grapevines with hail and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet.

⁴⁸He abandoned their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.

⁴⁹He loosed on them his fierce anger — all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels.

⁵⁰He turned his anger against them; he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives but ravaged them with the plague.

⁵¹He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.

⁵²But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness.

⁵³He kept them safe so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.

⁵⁴He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this land of hills he had won for them.

⁵⁵He drove out the nations before them; he gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.

⁵⁶But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws.

⁵⁷They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.

⁵⁸They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols.

⁵⁹When God heard them, he was very angry, and he completely rejected Israel.

⁶⁰Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.

⁶¹He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.

⁶²He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people — his special possession.

⁶³Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs.

⁶⁴Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths.

⁶⁵Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.

⁶⁶He routed his enemies and sent them to eternal shame.

⁶⁷But he rejected Joseph’s descendants; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁸He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved.

⁶⁹There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth.

⁷⁰He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens.

⁷¹He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants — God’s own people, Israel.

⁷²He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.

¹The LORD detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.

²Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

³Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

⁴Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

⁵The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.

⁶The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

⁷When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength.

⁸The godly are rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous.

¹⁰The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the wicked die.

¹¹Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

¹²It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.

¹³A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

¹⁴Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.

¹⁵There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.

¹⁶A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.

¹⁸Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.

¹⁹Godly people find life; evil people find death.

²⁰The LORD detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.

²¹Evil people will surely be punished, but the children of the godly will go free.

²²A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

²³The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgment.

²⁴Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

²⁵The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

²⁶People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

²⁷If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!

²⁸Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

²⁹Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise.

³⁰The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.

³¹If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, what will happen to wicked sinners?

¹Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence.

²So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified,

³but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

⁴The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven,

⁵I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

⁶The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.

⁷I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah.

⁸And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.

⁹When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen to protect me.

¹⁰But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very displeased that someone had come to help the people of Israel.

¹¹So I arrived in Jerusalem. Three days later,

¹²I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding.

¹³After dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well, and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates.

¹⁴Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble.

¹⁵So, though it was still dark, I went up the Kidron Valley instead, inspecting the wall before I turned back and entered again at the Valley Gate.

¹⁶The city officials did not know I had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders — the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration.

¹⁷But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!”

¹⁸Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king. They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.

¹⁹But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.

²⁰I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

¹The LORD gave this message to Zephaniah when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.

²“I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” says the LORD.

³“I will sweep away people and animals alike. I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth,” says the LORD.

⁴“I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear.

⁵For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the LORD, but then they worship Molech, too.

⁶And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the LORD’s guidance or seek my blessings.”

⁷Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD, for the awesome day of the LORD’s judgment is near. The LORD has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners.

⁸“On that day of judgment,” says the LORD, “I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs.

⁹Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

¹⁰“On that day,” says the LORD, “a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city. And a great crash will sound from the hills.

¹¹Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed.

¹²“I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the LORD will do nothing to them, either good or bad.

¹³So their property will be plundered, their homes will be ransacked. They will build new homes but never live in them. They will plant vineyards but never drink wine from them.

¹⁴“That terrible day of the LORD is near. Swiftly it comes — a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out.

¹⁵It will be a day when the LORD’s anger is poured out — a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

¹⁶a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements!

¹⁷“Because you have sinned against the LORD, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”

¹⁸Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of the LORD’s anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.

¹While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees.

²These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead.

³They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.

⁴But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

⁵The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.

⁶Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.

⁷They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

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

⁹are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed?

¹⁰Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.

¹¹For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’

¹²There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

¹³The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

¹⁴But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say.

¹⁵So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.

¹⁶“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.

¹⁷But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.”

¹⁸So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?

²⁰We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

²¹The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God

²²for this miraculous sign — the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.

²³As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.

²⁴When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them —

²⁵you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans?

²⁶The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the LORD and against his Messiah.’

²⁷“In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.

²⁸But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will.

²⁹And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

³⁰Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

³²All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.

³³The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.

³⁴There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them

³⁵and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

³⁶For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.

³⁷He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.