Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.

²So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

³“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.

⁴Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

⁵“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’

⁶The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. ’

⁷“‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels. ’

⁸“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.

⁹Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

¹⁰“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.

¹¹And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?

¹²And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

¹³“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

¹⁴The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him.

¹⁵Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶“Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.

¹⁷But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

¹⁸“For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

¹⁹Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.

²⁰At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.

²¹As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

²²“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried,

²³and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

²⁴“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

²⁵“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.

²⁶And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

²⁷“Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.

²⁸For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹“But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

³⁰“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

³¹“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

¹These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family:

²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,

³Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,

⁴Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

⁵In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there.

⁶In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation.

⁷But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

⁸Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

⁹He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.

¹⁰We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country. ”

¹¹So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

¹²But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

¹³So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.

¹⁴They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

¹⁵Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:

¹⁶“When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”

¹⁷But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

¹⁸So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”

¹⁹“The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

²⁰So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful.

²¹And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²²Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

¹Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God?

²If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.

³For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

⁴When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.

⁵But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

⁶David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:

⁷“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.

⁸Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.”

⁹Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith.

¹⁰But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!

¹¹Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous — even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith.

¹²And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹³Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.

¹⁴If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.

¹⁵For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)

¹⁶So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.

¹⁷That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

¹⁸Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping — believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”

¹⁹And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead — and so was Sarah’s womb.

²⁰Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.

²¹He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

²²And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.

²³And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded

²⁴for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

²⁵He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

¹This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.

²May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

³Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

⁴I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.

⁶And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.

⁷And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.

⁸In the same way, these people — who claim authority from their dreams — live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.

⁹But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.)

¹⁰But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.

¹¹What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.

¹²When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.

¹³They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.

¹⁴Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones

¹⁵to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

¹⁶These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.

¹⁷But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.

¹⁸They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires.

¹⁹These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

²⁰But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,

²¹and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

²²And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.

²³Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

²⁴Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.

²⁵All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

¹As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

²A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.

³You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!

⁴If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

⁵There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake

⁶when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.

⁷I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes — and princes walking like servants!

⁸When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.

⁹When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax.

¹⁰Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.

¹¹If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer?

¹²Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.

¹³Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness;

¹⁴they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future.

¹⁵Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home.

¹⁶What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning.

¹⁷Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.

¹⁸Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.

¹⁹A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!

²⁰Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.

¹O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night.

²Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry.

³For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near.

⁴I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left.

⁵They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care.

⁶You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths.

⁷Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude

⁸You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape.

⁹My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O LORD; I lift my hands to you for mercy.

¹⁰Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude

¹¹Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

¹²Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?

¹³O LORD, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day.

¹⁴O LORD, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me?

¹⁵I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.

¹⁶Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have paralyzed me.

¹⁷They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have engulfed me completely.

¹⁸You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.

¹The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases.

²People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart.

³The LORD is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices.

⁴Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.

⁵Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

⁶Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.

⁷The violence of the wicked sweeps them away, because they refuse to do what is just.

⁸The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road.

⁹It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.

¹⁰Evil people desire evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them.

¹¹If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded become wise; if you instruct the wise, they will be all the wiser.

¹²The Righteous One knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked; he will bring disaster on them.

¹³Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.

¹⁴A secret gift calms anger; a bribe under the table pacifies fury.

¹⁵Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.

¹⁶The person who strays from common sense will end up in the company of the dead.

¹⁷Those who love pleasure become poor; those who love wine and luxury will never be rich.

¹⁸The wicked are punished in place of the godly, and traitors in place of the honest.

¹⁹It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.

²⁰The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.

²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

²²The wise conquer the city of the strong and level the fortress in which they trust.

²³Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.

²⁴Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance.

²⁵Despite their desires, the lazy will come to ruin, for their hands refuse to work.

²⁶Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!

²⁷The sacrifice of an evil person is detestable, especially when it is offered with wrong motives.

²⁸A false witness will be cut off, but a credible witness will be allowed to speak.

²⁹The wicked bluff their way through, but the virtuous think before they act.

³⁰No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Here is the list of the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the high priest: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

³Shecaniah, Harim, Meremoth,

⁴Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

⁵Miniamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,

⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.

⁸The Levites who returned with them were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his associates was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.

⁹Their associates, Bakbukiah and Unni, stood opposite them during the service.

¹⁰Jeshua the high priest was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada.

¹¹Joiada was the father of Johanan. Johanan was the father of Jaddua.

¹²Now when Joiakim was high priest, the family leaders of the priests were as follows: Meraiah was leader of the family of Seraiah. Hananiah was leader of the family of Jeremiah.

¹³Meshullam was leader of the family of Ezra. Jehohanan was leader of the family of Amariah.

¹⁴Jonathan was leader of the family of Malluch. Joseph was leader of the family of Shecaniah.

¹⁵Adna was leader of the family of Harim. Helkai was leader of the family of Meremoth.

¹⁶Zechariah was leader of the family of Iddo. Meshullam was leader of the family of Ginnethon.

¹⁷Zicri was leader of the family of Abijah. There was also a leader of the family of Miniamin. Piltai was leader of the family of Moadiah.

¹⁸Shammua was leader of the family of Bilgah. Jehonathan was leader of the family of Shemaiah.

¹⁹Mattenai was leader of the family of Joiarib. Uzzi was leader of the family of Jedaiah.

²⁰Kallai was leader of the family of Sallu. Eber was leader of the family of Amok.

²¹Hashabiah was leader of the family of Hilkiah. Nethanel was leader of the family of Jedaiah.

²²A record of the Levite families was kept during the years when Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua served as high priest. Another record of the priests was kept during the reign of Darius the Persian.

²³A record of the heads of the Levite families was kept in The Book of History down to the days of Johanan, the grandson of Eliashib.

²⁴These were the family leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, and other associates, who stood opposite them during the ceremonies of praise and thanksgiving, one section responding to the other, as commanded by David, the man of God.

²⁵This included Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were the gatekeepers in charge of the storerooms at the gates.

²⁶These all served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jehozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

²⁷For the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem, the Levites throughout the land were asked to come to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies. They were to take part in the joyous occasion with their songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres.

²⁸The singers were brought together from the region around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites.

²⁹They also came from Beth-gilgal and the rural areas near Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built their own settlements around Jerusalem.

³⁰The priests and Levites first purified themselves; then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

³¹I led the leaders of Judah to the top of the wall and organized two large choirs to give thanks. One of the choirs proceeded southward along the top of the wall to the Dung Gate.

³²Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them,

³³along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah.

³⁵Then came some priests who played trumpets, including Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.

³⁶And Zechariah’s colleagues were Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They used the musical instruments prescribed by David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe led this procession.

³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went straight up the steps on the ascent of the city wall toward the City of David. They passed the house of David and then proceeded to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸The second choir giving thanks went northward around the other way to meet them. I followed them, together with the other half of the people, along the top of the wall past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

³⁹then past the Ephraim Gate to the Old City Gate, past the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel, and on to the Tower of the Hundred. Then we continued on to the Sheep Gate and stopped at the Guard Gate.

⁴⁰The two choirs that were giving thanks then proceeded to the Temple of God, where they took their places. So did I, together with the group of leaders who were with me.

⁴¹We went together with the trumpet-playing priests — Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah —

⁴²and the singers — Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. They played and sang loudly under the direction of Jezrahiah the choir director.

⁴³Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away.

⁴⁴On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the offerings, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect from the fields outside the towns the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites. For all the people of Judah took joy in the priests and Levites and their work.

⁴⁵They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as commanded by David and his son Solomon, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers.

⁴⁶The custom of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God began long ago in the days of David and Asaph.

⁴⁷So now, in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel brought a daily supply of food for the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Levites. The Levites, in turn, gave a portion of what they received to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

¹Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains.

²The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses,

³the third by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses.

⁴“And what are these, my lord?” I asked the angel who was talking with me.

⁵The angel replied, “These are the four spirits of heaven who stand before the Lord of all the earth. They are going out to do his work.

⁶The chariot with black horses is going north, the chariot with white horses is going west, and the chariot with dappled-gray horses is going south.”

⁷The powerful horses were eager to set out to patrol the earth. And the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth!” So they left at once on their patrol.

⁸Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Look, those who went north have vented the anger of my Spirit there in the land of the north.”

⁹Then I received another message from the LORD:

¹⁰“Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring gifts of silver and gold from the Jews exiled in Babylon. As soon as they arrive, meet them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah.

¹¹Accept their gifts, and make a crown from the silver and gold. Then put the crown on the head of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

¹²Tell him, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the LORD.

¹³Yes, he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’

¹⁴“The crown will be a memorial in the Temple of the LORD to honor those who gave it — Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah son of Zephaniah.”

¹⁵People will come from distant lands to rebuild the Temple of the LORD. And when this happens, you will know that my messages have been from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. All this will happen if you carefully obey what the LORD your God says.

¹The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

²Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.

³But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

⁴But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

⁵Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them.

⁶When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia — to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area.

⁷And there they preached the Good News.

⁸While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting

⁹and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed.

¹⁰So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”

¹²They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.

¹³Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting,

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings — just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

¹⁶In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways,

¹⁷but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”

¹⁸But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead.

²⁰But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia,

²²where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

²³Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

²⁴Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia.

²⁵They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia.

²⁶Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed.

²⁷Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too.

²⁸And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.