Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

²“There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.

³A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

⁴The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,

⁵but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

⁶Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.

⁷Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

⁸I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

⁹Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:

¹⁰“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.

¹¹The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer : ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people — cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!

¹²I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

¹³“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

¹⁴I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹⁵One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁶Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

¹⁷I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

¹⁸Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good.

²⁰But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

²¹The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

²²When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²³But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.

²⁴When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!

²⁵In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁶Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”

²⁷He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

²⁸Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.”

²⁹“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God,

³⁰will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”

³¹Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true.

³²He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon.

³³They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.

³⁵As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.

³⁶When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening.

³⁷They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by.

³⁸So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹“Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him,

⁴¹“What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

⁴²And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.”

⁴³Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

¹One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.

²There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.

³“This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

⁴When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied.

⁵“Do not come any closer,” the LORD warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

⁶I am the God of your father — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.

⁸So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

⁹Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.

¹⁰Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹²God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

¹³But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

¹⁴God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”

¹⁵God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.

¹⁶“Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — has appeared to me. He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you.

¹⁷I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey — the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’

¹⁸“The elders of Israel will accept your message. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD, our God.’

¹⁹“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.

²⁰So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go.

²¹And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed.

²²Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”

¹Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?

²Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

³Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?

⁴For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

⁵Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.

⁶We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

⁷For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

⁸And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

⁹We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.

¹⁰When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.

¹¹So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

¹²Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

¹³Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

¹⁴Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

¹⁵Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

¹⁶Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

¹⁷Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.

¹⁸Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

¹⁹Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.

²¹And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.

²²But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

²“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.

³You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

⁴“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

⁵Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

⁶But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

⁷“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

⁸“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

⁹“I know about your suffering and your poverty — but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.

¹⁰Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

¹²“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

¹³“I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

¹⁴“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.

¹⁵In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.

¹⁶Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

¹⁸“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

¹⁹“I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

²⁰“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman — that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet — to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.

²¹I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

²²“Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.

²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

²⁴“But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them — depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you

²⁵except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.

²⁶To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.

²⁷They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.

²⁸They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

²⁹“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

¹Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”

²Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.

³Remember him before your legs — the guards of your house — start to tremble; and before your shoulders — the strong men — stoop. Remember him before your teeth — your few remaining servants — stop grinding; and before your eyes — the women looking through the windows — see dimly.

⁴Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.

⁵Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

⁶Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.

⁷For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

⁸“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

⁹Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.

¹⁰The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

¹¹The words of the wise are like cattle prods — painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

¹²But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

¹³That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

¹⁴God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

¹Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!

²Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.

³You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!”

⁴For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.

⁵You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

⁶In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.

⁷We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.

⁸You spread out our sins before you — our secret sins — and you see them all.

⁹We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan.

¹⁰Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.

¹¹Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

¹²Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

¹³O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!

¹⁴Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

¹⁵Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.

¹⁶Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory.

¹⁷And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

¹While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you.

²If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat;

³don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.

⁴Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.

⁵In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.

⁶Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies.

⁷They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.

⁸You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted.

⁹Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice.

¹⁰Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you.

¹²Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.

¹³Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them.

¹⁴Physical discipline may well save them from death.

¹⁵My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice!

¹⁶Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.

¹⁷Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD.

¹⁸You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.

¹⁹My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course.

²⁰Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,

²¹for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags.

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

²³Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

²⁴The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

²⁵So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy.

²⁶O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

²⁷A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.

²⁸She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful.

²⁹Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks.

³¹Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.

³²For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper.

³³You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things.

³⁴You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.

³⁵And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?”

¹These events happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.

²At that time Xerxes ruled his empire from his royal throne at the fortress of Susa.

³In the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. He invited all the military officers of Persia and Media as well as the princes and nobles of the provinces.

⁴The celebration lasted 180 days — a tremendous display of the opulent wealth of his empire and the pomp and splendor of his majesty.

⁵When it was all over, the king gave a banquet for all the people, from the greatest to the least, who were in the fortress of Susa. It lasted for seven days and was held in the courtyard of the palace garden.

⁶The courtyard was beautifully decorated with white cotton curtains and blue hangings, which were fastened with white linen cords and purple ribbons to silver rings embedded in marble pillars. Gold and silver couches stood on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.

⁷Drinks were served in gold goblets of many designs, and there was an abundance of royal wine, reflecting the king’s generosity.

⁸By edict of the king, no limits were placed on the drinking, for the king had instructed all his palace officials to serve each man as much as he wanted.

⁹At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

¹⁰On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him — Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas —

¹¹to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman.

¹²But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.

¹³He immediately consulted with his wise advisers, who knew all the Persian laws and customs, for he always asked their advice.

¹⁴The names of these men were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan — seven nobles of Persia and Media. They met with the king regularly and held the highest positions in the empire.

¹⁵“What must be done to Queen Vashti?” the king demanded. “What penalty does the law provide for a queen who refuses to obey the king’s orders, properly sent through his eunuchs?”

¹⁶Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire.

¹⁷Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king.

¹⁸Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger.

¹⁹“So if it please the king, we suggest that you issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and Medes that cannot be revoked. It should order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king should choose another queen more worthy than she.

²⁰When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives!”

²¹The king and his nobles thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel.

²²He sent letters to all parts of the empire, to each province in its own script and language, proclaiming that every man should be the ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleases.

¹Then another message came to me from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies:

²“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!

³“And now the LORD says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.

⁴“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares.

⁵And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.

⁶“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

⁷“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west.

⁸I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.

⁹“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since the laying of the foundation of the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you have heard what the prophets have been saying about completing the building.

¹⁰Before the work on the Temple began, there were no jobs and no money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone against each other.

¹¹“But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹²For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings.

¹³Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!

¹⁴“For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁵But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid.

¹⁶But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.

¹⁷Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the LORD.”

¹⁸Here is another message that came to me from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁹“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.

²⁰“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem.

²¹The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the LORD to bless us. Let’s worship the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’

²²Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.

²³“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

¹Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.

²Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium,

³so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day.

⁶Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.

⁷Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there.

⁸So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.

⁹That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

¹⁰So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

¹¹We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis.

¹²From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.

¹⁴One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

¹⁵She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

¹⁶One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes.

¹⁷She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”

¹⁸This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.

¹⁹Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace.

²⁰“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials.

²¹“They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”

²²A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.

²³They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.

²⁴So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

²⁵Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

²⁶Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

²⁷The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself.

²⁸But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

³²And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.

³³Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.

³⁴He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

³⁵The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!”

³⁶So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison — and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”

³⁸When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

³⁹So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city.

⁴⁰When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.