Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:

²“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,

³and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.

⁴Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’

⁵But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.

⁶And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.

⁷But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

⁸Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

⁹Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’

¹⁰So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.

¹²So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.

¹³Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.

¹⁶And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.

¹⁷Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?

¹⁹Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

²¹They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²²When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

²³The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,

²⁴saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

²⁵Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.

²⁶Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.

²⁷Last of all the woman died also.

²⁸Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

²⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

³⁰For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.

³¹But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,

³²‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

³³And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

³⁴But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

³⁵Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,

³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

³⁷Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

³⁸This is the first and great commandment.

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

⁴¹While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

⁴²saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”

⁴³He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

⁴⁴‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?

⁴⁵If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”

⁴⁶And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

¹Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

²Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

³So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

⁴Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.

⁵And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

⁶So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.

⁷But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

⁹Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

¹⁰And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”

¹²And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

¹³Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

¹⁴And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

¹⁵Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,

¹⁶and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—

¹⁷blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

¹⁸In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

¹⁹So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

²⁰Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

²¹Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

²²Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”

²³And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

²⁴His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

¹Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

²Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

³Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

⁴If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?

⁵I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?

⁶But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

⁷Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

⁸No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!

⁹Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,

¹⁰nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

¹¹And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

¹²All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

¹³Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

¹⁴And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!

¹⁶Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”

¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

¹⁸Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

²⁰For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,

²to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers,

⁵hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,

⁶that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

⁷For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

⁸Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting,

⁹yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—

¹⁰I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains,

¹¹who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

¹²I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,

¹³whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.

¹⁴But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

¹⁵For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever,

¹⁶no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

²¹Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

²²But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

²⁵The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end?

⁶For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you,

¹¹Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

¹³And you say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod,

¹⁶Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to them?’

¹⁸Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹“The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them:

²⁰‘Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

²⁴Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

²⁵Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver;

²⁶For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. [1] My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

²O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.

³But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.

⁵They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

⁶But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.

⁷All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

⁸“He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

⁹But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.

¹⁰I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.

¹¹Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

¹³They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

¹⁷I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

¹⁸They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

²⁰Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.

²¹Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.

²²I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

²³You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

²⁴For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.

²⁵My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.

²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations.

²⁹All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

³⁰A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,

³¹They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.

¹A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

²²Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

²³For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go,

²⁵Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

¹Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh,

²and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.

³You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.

⁴And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.

⁵But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

⁶So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,

⁸and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

⁹So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

¹⁰And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar.

¹¹Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.”

¹²And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

¹³Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead,

¹⁴and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel.

¹⁵Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,

¹⁶“Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD?

¹⁷Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,

¹⁸but that you must turn away this day from following the LORD? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

¹⁹Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’s tabernacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God.

²⁰Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’ ”

²¹Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel:

²²“The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day.

²³If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the LORD Himself require an account.

²⁴But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel?

²⁵For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the LORD.” So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the LORD.’

²⁶Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice,

²⁷but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the LORD.” ’

²⁸Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’

²⁹Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn from following the LORD this day, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle.”

³⁰Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.

³¹Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, “This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.”

³²And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them.

³³So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

³⁴The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

¹The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,

²You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle.

³All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar.

⁴Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”

⁵For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord GOD of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain.

⁶Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield.

⁷It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

⁸He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest;

⁹You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

¹⁰You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall.

¹¹You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

¹²And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.

¹³But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the house, and say:

¹⁶‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?

¹⁷Indeed, the LORD will throw you away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you.

¹⁸He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master’s house.

¹⁹So I will drive you out of your office, And from your position he will pull you down.

²⁰‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;

²¹I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah.

²²The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

²³I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

²⁴‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers.

²⁵In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.’ ”

¹“Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”

²And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:

³“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

⁵as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.

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

⁸So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹“And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.

¹⁰So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’

¹¹And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹²“Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,

¹³came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him.

¹⁴Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.

¹⁵For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance

¹⁸and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’

¹⁹So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.

²⁰And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

²¹Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

²²And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”

²³Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

²⁵And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”

²⁷Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.”

²⁸The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

²⁹Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.