Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

²And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

³Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature.

⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way.

⁵And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

⁶And he hurried and came down, and received Him joyfully.

⁷When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!”

⁸But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.”

⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

¹¹Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

¹²So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return.

¹³And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them tenminas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this moneyuntil I come back.’

¹⁴But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

¹⁵When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done.

¹⁶The first slave appeared, saying, ‘Master, yourmina has made ten minas more.’

¹⁷And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’

¹⁸The second one came, saying, ‘Yourmina,master, has made five minas.’

¹⁹And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

²⁰And then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief;

²¹for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’

²²He *said to him, ‘From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?

²³And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?’

²⁴And then he said to the other slaves who were present, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’

²⁵And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’

²⁶‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

²⁷But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’ ”

²⁸After Jesus said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mountain that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples,

³⁰saying, “Go into the villageahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

³¹And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”

³²So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them.

³³And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴They said, “The Lord has need of it.”

³⁵And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

³⁶Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road.

³⁷And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen,

³⁸shouting: “BLESSED IS the King, THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹And yet some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”

⁴⁰Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!”

⁴¹When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,

⁴²saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

⁴³For the days will come upon youwhen your enemies will put up abarricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,

⁴⁴and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone uponanother, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

⁴⁵And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling,

⁴⁶saying to them, “It is written: ‘AND MY HOUSE WILL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,’ but you have made it a DEN OF ROBBERS.”

⁴⁷And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to put Him to death,

⁴⁸and yet they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.

¹Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ”

²The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.”

³Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it.

⁴But the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his hand—

⁵“so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶The LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow.

⁷Then He said, “Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again.” So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.

⁸“So if they will not believe you nor pay attention to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the last sign.

⁹But if they will not believe even these two signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

¹¹But the LORD said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

¹²Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.”

¹³But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.”

¹⁴Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be overjoyed.

¹⁵So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do.

¹⁶He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.

¹⁷And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

¹⁸Then Moses departed and returned to his father-in-law Jethro, and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

¹⁹Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”

²⁰So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

²¹And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

²²Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.

²³So I said to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”

²⁴But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the LORD met Moses, and sought to put him to death.

²⁵So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!”

²⁶So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”—because of the circumcision.

²⁷Now the LORD said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.

²⁸Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do.

²⁹Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel;

³⁰and Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the sight of the people.

³¹So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed low and worshiped.

¹Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?

²For the married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.

³So then, if while her husband is alive she gives herself to another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she gives herself to another man.

⁴Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in regard to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

⁵For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were brought to light by the Law, were at work in the parts of our body to bear fruit for death.

⁶But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

⁷What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Far from it! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

⁸But sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

⁹I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died;

¹⁰and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;

¹¹for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it, killed me.

¹²So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

¹⁴For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin.

¹⁵For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate.

¹⁶However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good.

¹⁷But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.

¹⁸For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

¹⁹For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

²⁰But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.

²¹I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

²²For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person,

²³but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my body’s parts.

²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

¹“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead.

²Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

³So rememberwhat you have received and heard; andkeep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

⁴But you have a fewpeople in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

⁵The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

⁶The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

⁸‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have followed My word, and have not denied My name.

⁹Behold, Iwill make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

¹⁰Because you have kept Myword of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of thetesting, that hour which is about to come upon the wholeworld, totest those who live on the earth.

¹¹I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

¹²The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

¹³The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:

¹⁵‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

¹⁶So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

¹⁷Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,

¹⁸I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁹Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

²¹The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.

²²The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

¹The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

²“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is sweeter than wine.

³Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the young women love you.

⁴Draw me after you and let’s run together! The king has brought me into his chambers.” “We will rejoice in you and be joyful; We will praise your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.”

⁵“I am black and beautiful, You daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.

⁶Do not stare at me because I am dark, For the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me caretaker of the vineyards, But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

⁷Tell me, you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock, Where do you have it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself Beside the flocks of your companions?”

⁸“If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go out on the trail of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds.

⁹“To me, my darling, you are like My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

¹⁰Your cheeks are delightful with jewelry, Your neck with strings of beads.”

¹¹“We will make for you jewelry of gold With beads of silver.”

¹²“While the king was at his table, My perfume gave forth its fragrance.

¹³My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts.

¹⁴My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi.”

¹⁵“How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves.”

¹⁶“How handsome you are, my beloved, And so delightful! Indeed, our bed is luxuriant!

¹⁷The beams of our house are cedars, Our rafters, junipers.

¹One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.

²I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

³For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper And from the deadly plague.

⁴He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall.

⁵You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day;

⁶Of the plague that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that devastates at noon.

⁷A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.

⁸You will only look on with your eyes And see the retaliation against the wicked.

⁹For you have made the LORD, my refuge, The Most High, your dwelling place.

¹⁰No evil will happen to you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.

¹¹For He will give His angels orders concerning you, To protect you in all your ways.

¹²On their hands they will lift you up, So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³You will walk upon the lion and cobra, You will trample the young lion and the serpent.

¹⁴“Because he has loved Me, I will save him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

¹⁵He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

¹⁶I will satisfy him with a long life, And show him My salvation.”

¹Do not be envious of evil people, Nor desire to be with them;

²For their minds plot violence, And their lips talk of trouble.

³By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established;

⁴And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.

⁵A wise man is strong, And a person of knowledge increases power.

⁶For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in an abundance of counselors there is victory.

⁷Wisdom is too exalted for a fool, He does not open his mouth at the gate.

⁸One who plans to do evil, People will call a schemer.

⁹The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to humanity.

¹⁰If you show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress, Your strength is meager.

¹¹Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!

¹²If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He who weighs the hearts not consider it? And does He who watches over your soul not know it? And will He not repay a person according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good; Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

¹⁴Know that wisdom is the same for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in ambush, you wicked person, against the home of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place;

¹⁶For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of disaster.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁸Otherwise, the LORD will see and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

¹⁹Do not get upset because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked;

²⁰For there will be no future for the evil person; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank,

²²For their disaster will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?

²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴One who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Peoples will curse him, nations will scold him;

²⁵But for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶One who gives a right answer Kisses the lips.

²⁷Prepare your work outside, And make it ready for yourself in the field; Afterward, then, build your house.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor for no reason, And do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “I shall do the same to him as he has done to me; I will repay the person according to his work.”

³⁰I passed by the field of a lazy one, And by the vineyard of a person lacking sense,

³¹And behold, it was completely overgrown with weeds; Its surface was covered with weeds, And its stone wall was broken down.

³²When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.

³³“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,”

³⁴Then your poverty will come like a drifter, And your need like an armed man.

¹After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decided regarding her.

²Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

³And may the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and have them bring every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

⁴Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the suggestion pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

⁵There was a Jew at the citadel in Susa whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

⁶who had been taken from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been deported with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported.

⁷He was the guardian to Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young woman was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

⁸So it came about, when the command and decree of the king were heard and many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.

⁹Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice female attendants from the king’s palace, and transferred her and her attendants to the best place in the harem.

¹⁰Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, because Mordecai had instructed her that she was not to reveal them.

¹¹And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

¹²Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beauty treatment were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with balsam oil and the cosmetics for women—

¹³the young woman would go in to the king in this way: anything that she desired was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.

¹⁴In the evening she would enter and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

¹⁵Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther was finding favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

¹⁶So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal turban on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

¹⁸Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts in proportion to the king’s bounty.

¹⁹Now when the virgins were gathered together for the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.

²⁰Esther still had not revealed her relatives or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as she had when under his care.

²¹In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to attack King Ahasuerus.

²²But the plot became known to Mordecai and he informed Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in Mordecai’s name.

²³Then when the plot was investigated and found to be so, they were both hanged on a wooden gallows; and it was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the king’s presence.

¹The pronouncement of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD),

²And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.

³For Tyre built herself a fortress, And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mud of the streets.

⁴Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And throw her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire.

⁵Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

⁶And a people of mixed origins will live in Ashdod, And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.

⁷And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron will be like a Jebusite.

⁸But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.

⁹Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹⁰And I will eliminate the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be eliminated. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

¹¹As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

¹²Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.

¹³For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

¹⁴Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And march in the storm winds of the south.

¹⁵The LORD of armies will protect them. And they will devour and trample on the slingstones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.

¹⁶And the LORD their God will save them on that day As the flock of His people; For they are like the precious stones of a crown, Sparkling on His land.

¹⁷For how great will their loveliness and beauty be! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.

¹Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²And according to Paul’s custom, he visited them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

⁴And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a significant number of the leading women.

⁵But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and they attacked the house of Jason and were seeking to bring them out to the people.

⁶When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;

⁷and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

⁸They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

⁹And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

¹²Therefore, many of them believed, along with a significant number of prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

¹⁴Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present.

¹⁸And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

²⁰For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”

²¹(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

²²So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.

²³For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;

²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

²⁶and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

²⁷that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

²⁸for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’

²⁹Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

³⁰So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent,

³¹because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

³²Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you again concerning this.”

³³So Paul went out from among them.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.