Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

²and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

⁴Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:

⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

⁶Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

⁸And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.”

⁹Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been granted to know themysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so thatwhile seeing they may not see, andwhile hearing they may not understand.

¹¹“Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God.

¹²And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

¹³Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root;they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation theyfall away.

¹⁴And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the wordwith a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit withperseverance.

¹⁶“Now no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what hethinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁹Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

²²Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.

²³But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

²⁴They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

²⁵And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

²⁸And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”

²⁹For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert.

³⁰And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; because many demons had entered him.

³¹And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

³²Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs. And He gave them permission.

³³And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country.

³⁵And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

³⁶Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been made well.

³⁷And all the people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.

³⁸But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰And as Jesus was returning, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.

⁴¹And a man named Jairus came, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house;

⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,

⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had left Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith hasmade you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will bemade well.”

⁵¹When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother.

⁵²Now they were all weeping and mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”

⁵³And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.

⁵⁴He, however, took her by the hand and spoke forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!”

⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat.

⁵⁶Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

¹Now the famine was severe in the land.

²So it came about, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

³Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “The man sternly warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’

⁴If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.

⁵But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”

⁶Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, by telling the man whether you still had another brother?”

⁷But they said, “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸So Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will arise and go, so that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.

⁹I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then you can let me take the blame forever.

¹⁰For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”

¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a gift, a little balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

¹²And take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.

¹³Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man;

¹⁴and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!”

¹⁵So the men took this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they set out and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.”

¹⁷So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house.

¹⁸Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, so that he may attack us and overpower us, and take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

¹⁹So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house,

²⁰and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,

²¹and it happened when we came to the campsite, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the opening of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand.

²²We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³But he said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your money was in my possession.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.

²⁵So they prepared the gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.

²⁶When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift which was in their hand, and they bowed down to the ground before him.

²⁷Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” Then they bowed down again in homage.

²⁹And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

³⁰Joseph then hurried out, for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there.

³¹Then he washed his face and came out; and he controlled himself and said, “Serve the meal.”

³²Then they served him by himself, and Joseph’s brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

³³Now they were seated before him, from the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.

³⁴Then he took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank freely with him.

¹Now even the first covenant had regulations for divine worship and the earthly sanctuary.

²For a tabernacle was equipped, the outer sanctuary, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the sacred bread; this is called the Holy Place.

³Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Most Holy Place,

⁴having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, Aaron’s staff which budded, and the tablets of the covenant;

⁵and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the atoning cover; but about these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship,

⁷but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.

⁸The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,

⁹which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,

¹⁰since they relate only to food, drink, and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things having come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation;

¹²and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption.

¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,

¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

¹⁵For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the violations that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

¹⁶For where there is a covenant, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.

¹⁷For a covenant is valid only when people are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

¹⁸Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.

¹⁹For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

²⁰saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.”

²¹And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.

²²And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these things, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

²⁴For Christ did not enter a holy place made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

²⁵nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year by year with blood that is not his own.

²⁶Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

²⁷And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment,

²⁸so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

¹Beloved, this is now the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of a reminder,

²to remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

³Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.”

⁵For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

⁶through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water.

⁷But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.

⁸But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

⁹The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered.

¹¹Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

¹²looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

¹³But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace,

¹⁵and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

¹⁶as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unscrupulous people and lose your own firm commitment,

¹⁸but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

¹I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

²I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

³I explored with my mind how to refresh my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize foolishness, until I could see what good there is for the sons of mankind to do under heaven for the few years of their lives.

⁴I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself;

⁵I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

⁶I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

⁷I bought male and female slaves, and I had slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

⁸I also amassed for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

⁹Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

¹⁰All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.

¹¹So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold, all was futility and striving after wind, and there was no benefit under the sun.

¹²So I turned to consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?

¹³Then I saw that wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness.

¹⁴The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one and the same fate happens to both of them.

¹⁵Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is futility.”

¹⁶For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will soon be forgotten. And how the wise and the fool alike die!

¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

¹⁸So I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is futility.

²⁰Therefore I completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil.

²²For what does a person get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

²³Because all his days his activity is painful and irritating; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is futility.

²⁴There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

²⁶For to a person who is good in His sight, He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is futility and striving after wind.

¹Listen, Shepherd of Israel, Who leads Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

²Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, awaken Your power, And come to save us!

³God, restore us And make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

⁴LORD God of armies, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them drink tears in large measure.

⁶You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷God of armies, restore us And make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

⁸You removed a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it.

⁹You cleared the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land.

¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shadow, And the cedars of God with its branches.

¹¹It was sending out its branches to the sea And its shoots to the Euphrates River.

¹²Why have You broken down its hedges, So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?

¹³A boar from the forest eats it away, And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

¹⁴God of armies, do turn back; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,

¹⁵The shoot which Your right hand has planted, And of the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.

¹⁶It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish from the rebuke of Your face.

¹⁷Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.

¹⁸Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

¹⁹LORD God of armies, restore us; Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

¹A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

³One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the lazy one craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made prosperous.

⁵A righteous person hates a false statement, But a wicked person acts disgustingly and shamefully.

⁶Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness brings the sinner to ruin.

⁷There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained from nothing dwindles, But one who gathers by labor increases it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³One who despises the word will do badly, But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is their own disaster.

¹⁶Every prudent person acts with knowledge, But a fool displays foolishness.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into adversity, But a faithful messenger brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects discipline, But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

²⁰One who walks with wise people will be wise, But a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

¹Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews.

²And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?”

³Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox were to jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

⁴Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity.

⁵Do not forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

⁶So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

⁷Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry.

⁸So all of them conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

⁹But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰And so in Judah it was said: “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubble; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall.”

¹¹And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.”

¹²When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”

¹³then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows.

¹⁴When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

¹⁶And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.

¹⁷Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon.

¹⁸As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.

¹⁹And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.

²⁰At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.

²²At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.”

²³So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.

¹Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The oppressive city!

²She obeyed no voice, She accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the LORD, She did not approach her God.

³Her leaders within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.

⁴Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.

⁵The LORD is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the criminal knows no shame.

⁶“I have eliminated nations; Their corner towers are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, With no one passing by; Their cities have been laid waste, Without a person, without an inhabitant.

⁷I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me, You will accept discipline.’ So her dwelling will not be eliminated In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her. Instead, they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

⁹For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, So that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.

¹¹On that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, arrogant ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.

¹²But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.

¹³The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to frighten them.”

¹⁴Shout for joy, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, Israel! Rejoice and triumph with all your heart, Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will no longer fear disaster.

¹⁶On that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

¹⁸I will gather those who are worried about the appointed feasts— They came from you, Zion; The disgrace of exile is a burden on them.

¹⁹Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors; I will save those who limp And gather the scattered, And I will turn their shame into praise and fame In all the earth.

²⁰At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will make you famous and praiseworthy Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.

¹Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

²So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.

³Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

⁴But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

⁶And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

⁷The word of God kept spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.

¹⁰But they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

¹²And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council.

¹³They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking against this holy place and the Law;

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵And all who were sitting in the Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.