Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,

²and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

⁴And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:

⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

⁹Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

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

¹²Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

¹³But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

¹⁴Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

¹⁶“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

¹⁹Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring 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 it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.

²³But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.

²⁴And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.

²⁵But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

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

²⁷And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.

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

²⁹For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

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

³¹And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

³²Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.

³³Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

³⁵Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

³⁶They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.

³⁷Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

³⁸Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.

⁴¹And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,

⁴²for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.

⁴³Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,

⁴⁴came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”

⁵¹When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.

⁵²Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.”

⁵³And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.”

⁵⁵Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.

⁵⁶And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

¹Now the famine was severe in the land.

²And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

³But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘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 will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”

⁶And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”

⁷But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.

⁹I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

¹⁰For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

¹¹And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

¹²Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.

¹³Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.

¹⁴And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

¹⁵So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.”

¹⁷Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

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

¹⁹When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house,

²⁰and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;

²¹but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand.

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

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

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

²⁵Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.

²⁶And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth.

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

²⁸And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

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

³⁰Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.

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

³²So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

³³And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.

³⁴Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.

¹Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.

²For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;

³and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,

⁴which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;

⁵and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

⁷But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

⁸the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

⁹It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

¹⁰concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

¹¹But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

¹²Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

¹³For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

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

¹⁵And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

¹⁶For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

¹⁷For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

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

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

²⁰saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”

²¹Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

²²And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

²³Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

²⁴For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

²⁵not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—

²⁶He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

²⁷And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

²⁸so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

¹Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),

²that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,

³knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,

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

⁵For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

⁶by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

⁷But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁸But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

⁹The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

¹¹Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons 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 dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

¹³Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

¹⁵and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

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

¹⁷You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;

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

¹I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity.

²I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?”

³I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards.

⁵I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

⁶I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove.

⁷I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

⁸I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.

⁹So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

¹⁰Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.

¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.

¹²Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already done.

¹³Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.

¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all.

¹⁵So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.”

¹⁶For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!

¹⁷Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled 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 rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.

²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

²²For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?

²³For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

²⁴Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?

²⁶For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm. [1] Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

²Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us!

³Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

⁴O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure.

⁶You have made us a strife to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷Restore us, O God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

⁸You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

⁹You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land.

¹⁰The hills were covered with its shadow, And the mighty cedars with its boughs.

¹¹She sent out her boughs to the Sea, And her branches to the River.

¹²Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

¹³The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.

¹⁴Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine

¹⁵And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

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

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.

¹⁹Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

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

²A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

³He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

⁴The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

⁵A righteous man hates lying, But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.

⁶Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

⁷There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

⁸The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.

¹¹Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase.

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

¹³He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.

¹⁶Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble, But a faithful ambassador brings health.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

²⁰He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

²¹Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste.

²⁴He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

²⁵The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

¹But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

²And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”

³Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

⁴Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!

⁵Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.

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

⁷Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry,

⁸and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.

⁹Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

¹⁰Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”

¹¹And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”

¹²So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

¹³Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

¹⁴And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

¹⁶So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.

¹⁷Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.

¹⁸Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

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

²⁰Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.

²²At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.”

²³So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.

¹Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, To the oppressing city!

²She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the LORD, She has not drawn near to her God.

³Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning.

⁴Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.

⁵The LORD is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.

⁶“I have cut off nations, Their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, With none passing by. Their cities are destroyed; There is no one, no inhabitant.

⁷I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, You will receive instruction’— So that her dwelling would not be cut off, Despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore wait for Me,” says the LORD, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.

⁹“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one accord.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, The daughter of My dispersed ones, Shall bring My offering.

¹¹In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.

¹²I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD.

¹³The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid.”

¹⁴Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.

¹⁶In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.

¹⁷The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

¹⁸“I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden.

¹⁹Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame.

²⁰At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I return your captives before your eyes,” Says the LORD.

¹Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

²Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

³Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;

⁴but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

⁶whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

⁷Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen.

¹⁰And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

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 upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.

¹³They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

¹⁵And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.