Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

²So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

³Give us day by day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

⁵And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;

⁶for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

⁷and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?

⁸I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

⁹“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

¹¹If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

¹³If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

¹⁴And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.

¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

²⁰But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.

²²But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

²³He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

²⁵And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.

²⁶Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

²⁷And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

²⁹And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

³⁰For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

³¹The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

³³“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.

³⁴The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

³⁵Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.

³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

³⁷And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.

³⁸When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

⁴²“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

⁴⁵Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

⁴⁶And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

⁴⁸In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’

⁵⁰that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

⁵²“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

⁵³And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,

⁵⁴lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

¹So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

²Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”

³So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

⁴I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

⁵Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

⁶So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him.

⁷His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

⁸Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn.

⁹The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁰The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹²The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

¹³The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron.

¹⁴The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.

¹⁶The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

¹⁹The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁰And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.

²¹The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

²²These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.

²³The son of Dan was Hushim.

²⁴The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.

²⁶All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all.

²⁷And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

²⁸Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.

²⁹So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

³⁰And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

³¹Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

³²And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’

³³So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’

³⁴that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

¹Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

²looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

⁴You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

⁶For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

⁸But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

⁹Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

¹⁰For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

¹¹Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

¹⁴Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

¹⁵looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

¹⁶lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

¹⁷For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

¹⁸For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,

¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

²⁰(For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.”

²¹And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

²³to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

²⁴to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

²⁵See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

²⁶whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”

²⁷Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

²⁹For our God is a consuming fire.

¹Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

²Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

⁴Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

⁵And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

⁶Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

⁸He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

⁹Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

¹²not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

¹⁵Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

¹⁷But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

¹⁹And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

²⁰For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

²²And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

²⁴Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

¹Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

²Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.

³For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—

⁵Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.

⁸If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

⁹Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

¹⁰He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.

¹¹When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?

¹²The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

¹³There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

¹⁴But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.

¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand.

¹⁶And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?

¹⁷All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.

¹⁹As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

²⁰For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

¹A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. [1] Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!

²For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head.

³They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.

⁴They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

⁵For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You:

⁶The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;

⁷Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

⁸Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah

⁹Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,

¹⁰Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.

¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

¹²Who said, “Let us take for ourselves The pastures of God for a possession.”

¹³O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind!

¹⁴As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,

¹⁵So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm.

¹⁶Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD.

¹⁷Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,

¹⁸That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.

¹The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.

³Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.

⁴The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

⁵Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.

⁶In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.

⁷When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without justice.

⁹A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

¹⁰Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment.

¹¹Honest weights and scales are the LORD’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.

¹⁴As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, But a wise man will appease it.

¹⁵In the light of the king’s face is life, And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.

¹⁶How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

²⁰He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.

²¹The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips increases learning.

²²Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly.

²³The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

²⁶The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives him on.

²⁷An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire.

²⁸A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.

²⁹A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and brings about evil.

³¹The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.

³²He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.

¹Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,

²that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

³And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.”

⁴Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.

⁵Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:

⁶These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city.

⁷Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

⁸the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;

⁹the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;

¹⁰the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;

¹¹the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;

¹²the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

¹³the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;

¹⁴the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;

¹⁵the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;

¹⁶the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;

¹⁷the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;

¹⁸the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;

¹⁹the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;

²⁰the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;

²¹the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;

²²the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;

²³the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;

²⁴the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve;

²⁵the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five;

²⁶the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;

²⁷the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;

²⁸the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty-two;

²⁹the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;

³⁰the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;

³¹the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;

³²the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;

³³the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;

³⁴the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

³⁵the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty;

³⁶the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;

³⁷the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;

³⁸the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

³⁹The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;

⁴⁰the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;

⁴¹the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;

⁴²the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

⁴³The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four.

⁴⁴The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.

⁴⁵The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.

⁴⁶The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁷the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,

⁴⁸the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai,

⁴⁹the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,

⁵⁰the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,

⁵¹the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,

⁵²the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim,

⁵³the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

⁵⁴the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

⁵⁵the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,

⁵⁶the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁷The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,

⁵⁸the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

⁵⁹the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Amon.

⁶⁰All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁶¹And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father’s house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel:

⁶²the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;

⁶³and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

⁶⁴These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

⁶⁵And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁶Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

⁶⁷besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.

⁶⁸Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,

⁶⁹their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁷⁰And some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments.

⁷¹Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas.

⁷²And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.

⁷³So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

¹In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

²“The LORD has been very angry with your fathers.

³Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.

⁴“Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the LORD.

⁵“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

⁶Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? “So they returned and said: ‘Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet:

⁸I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white.

⁹Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”

¹⁰And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”

¹¹So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.”

¹²Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?”

¹³And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words.

¹⁴So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal.

¹⁵I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.”

¹⁶‘Therefore thus says the LORD: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’

¹⁷“Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”

¹⁸Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns.

¹⁹And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

²⁰Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

²¹And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

¹Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

²and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

⁴Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

⁵And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

⁶So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.

⁸Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.

¹²And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

¹³Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.

¹⁴And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

¹⁶For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

¹⁷And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

¹⁹So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

²⁰Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

²¹Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

²²But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

²³Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him.

²⁴But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him.

²⁵Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.

²⁶And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

²⁸So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.

²⁹And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.

³⁰When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.

³¹Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

³²Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.

³³There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.

³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately.

³⁵So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.

³⁷But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

³⁸And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.

³⁹Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

⁴¹Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

⁴²And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.

⁴³So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.