Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Looking up, He saw the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury.

²And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.

³He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in [proportionally] more than all of them;

⁴for they all put in gifts from their abundance; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

⁵As some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and consecrated offerings [of magnificent gifts of gold which were displayed on the walls and hung in the porticoes], He said,

⁶"As for all these things which you see, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another that will not be torn down."

⁷They asked Him, "Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to happen?"

⁸He said, "Be careful and see to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name [appropriating for themselves the name Messiah which belongs to Me alone], saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near!' Do not follow them.

⁹When you hear of wars and disturbances [civil unrest, revolts, uprisings], do not panic; for these things must take place first, but the end will not come immediately."

¹⁰Then Jesus told them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹There will be violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and [deadly and devastating] pestilences (plagues, epidemics); and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.

¹²"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, and bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.

¹³This will be a time and an opportunity for you to testify [about Me].

¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;

¹⁵for I will give you [skillful] words and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

¹⁶But you will be betrayed and handed over even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,

¹⁷and you will be continually hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name.

¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish.

¹⁹By your [patient] endurance [empowered by the Holy Spirit] you will gain your souls.

²⁰"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by [hostile] armies, then understand [with confident assurance] that her complete destruction is near.

²¹At that time, those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside the city (Jerusalem) must get out, and those who are [out] in the country must not enter the city;

²²for these are days of vengeance [of rendering full justice or satisfaction], so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

²³Woe to those women who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For great trouble and anguish will be on the land, and wrath and retribution on this people [Israel].

²⁴And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (completed).

²⁵"There will be signs (attesting miracles) in the sun and moon and stars; and on the earth [there will be] distress and anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea and the waves,

²⁶people fainting from fear and expectation of the [dreadful] things coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken.

²⁷Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with [transcendent, overwhelming] power [subduing the nations] and with great glory.

²⁸Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near."

²⁹Then He told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees;

³⁰as soon as they put out leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is near.

³¹So you too, when you see these things happening, know [without any doubt] that the kingdom of God is near.

³²I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [those living at that definite period of time preceding the second coming] will not pass away until everything takes place.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁴"But be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down and depressed with the giddiness of debauchery and the nausea of self-indulgence and the worldly worries of life, and then that day [when the Messiah returns] will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

³⁵for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth.

³⁶But keep alert at all times [be attentive and ready], praying that you may have the strength and ability [to be found worthy and] to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man [at His coming]."

³⁷Now in the daytime Jesus was teaching in [the porches and courts of] the temple, but at night He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet.

³⁸And early in the morning all the people would come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will [not only] let them go, but under compulsion he will drive them out of his land."

²Then God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD.

³I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Israel) as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles].

⁴I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers (temporary residents, foreigners).

⁵And I have also heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have [faithfully] remembered My covenant [with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob].

⁶Therefore, say to the children of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will redeem and rescue you with an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment [against Egypt].

⁷Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

⁸I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel); and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD [you have the promise of My changeless omnipotence and faithfulness].'"

⁹Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their impatience and despondency, and because of their forced labor.

¹⁰The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹¹"Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land."

¹²But Moses said to the LORD, "Look, [my own people] the Israelites have not listened to me; so how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled and inept in speech?"

¹³Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command concerning the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁴These are the heads of their fathers' households. The sons of Reuben, Israel's (Jacob's) firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.

¹⁵The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

¹⁶These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and Levi lived a hundred and thirty-seven years.

¹⁷The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their families.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath: Amram (Moses' father), Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and Kohath lived a hundred and thirty-three years.

¹⁹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

²⁰Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to Aaron and Moses; and Amram lived a hundred and thirty-seven years.

²¹The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

²²The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²⁴The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the [extended] families of the Korahites.

²⁵Eleazar, Aaron's son, married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites by their families.

²⁶These are [the same] Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies."

²⁷They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt; these are [the same] Moses and Aaron.

²⁸Now it happened on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

²⁹that He said, "I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I say to you."

³⁰But Moses said before the LORD, "Look, I am unskilled and inept in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me and pay attention to what I say?"

¹I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit,

²that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

³For [if it were possible] I would wish that I myself were accursed, [separated, banished] from Christ for the sake [of the salvation] of my brothers, my natural kinsmen,

⁴who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, the glory ( Shekinah), the [special] covenants [with Abraham, Moses, and David], the giving of the Law, the [system of temple] worship, and the [original] promises.

⁵To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exalted and supreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

⁶However, it is not as though God's word has failed [coming to nothing]. For not all who are descended from Israel (Jacob) are [the true] Israel;

⁷and they are not all the children of Abraham because they are his descendants [by blood], but [the promise was]: "Your descendants will be named through Isaac" [though Abraham had other sons].

⁸That is, it is not the children of the body [Abraham's natural descendants] who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as [Abraham's true] descendants.

⁹For this is what the promise said: "About this time [next year] I will come, and Sarah shall have a son."

¹⁰And not only that, but this too: Rebekah conceived twin sons by one man [under the same circumstances], by our father Isaac;

¹¹and though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad, so that God's purpose [His choice, His election] would stand, not because of works [done by either child], but because of [the plan of] Him who calls them,

¹²it was said to her, "Theolder (Esau) will serve theyounger (Jacob)."

¹³As it is written and forever remains written, "Jacob I loved (chose, protected, blessed), butEsau I hated (held in disregard compared to Jacob)."

¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not!

¹⁵For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion."

¹⁶So then God's choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human effort [the totality of human striving], but on God who shows mercy [to whomever He chooses—it is His sovereign gift].

¹⁷For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "I raised you up for this very purpose, to display My power in [dealing with] you, and so that My name would be proclaimed in all the earth."

¹⁸So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses), and He hardens [the heart of] whom He wills.

¹⁹You will say to me then, "Why does He still blame me [for sinning]? For who [including myself] has [ever] resisted His will and purpose?"

²⁰On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to God and dares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?"

²¹Does the potter not have the right over the clay, to make from the same lump [of clay] one object for honorable use [something beautiful or distinctive] and another for common use [something ordinary or menial]?

²²What if God, although willing to show His [terrible] wrath and to make His power known, has tolerated with great patience the objects of His wrath [which are] prepared for destruction?

²³And what if He has done so to make known the riches of His glory to the objects of His mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory,

²⁴including us, whom He also called, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles?

²⁵Just as He says in [the writings of the prophet] Hosea: "I will call those who were not My people, 'My people,' And [I will call] her who was not beloved, 'beloved.'"

²⁶"And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'you are not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God."

²⁷And Isaiah calls out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is only the remnant [a small believing minority] that will be saved [from God's judgment];

²⁸For the Lord will execute His word upon the earth [He will conclude His dealings with mankind] completely and without delay."

²⁹It is as Isaiah foretold, "If the Lord of Hosts had not left us seed [future generations from which a believing remnant of Israelites came], We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah [totally rejected and destroyed]!"

³⁰What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness [who did not seek salvation and a right relationship with God, nevertheless] obtained righteousness, that is, the righteousness which is produced by faith;

³¹whereas Israel, [though always] pursuing the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling the law.

³²And why not? Because it was not by faith [that they pursued it], but as though it were by works [relying on the merit of their works instead of their faith]. They stumbled over the stumbling Stone [Jesus Christ].

³³As it is written and forever remains written, "Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense; And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations]."

¹I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals.

²And I saw a strong angel announcing with a loud voice, "Who is worthy [having the authority and virtue] to open the scroll and to break its seals?"

³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in Hades, the realm of the dead] was able to open the scroll or look into it.

⁴And I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it.

⁵Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals."

⁶And there between the throne (with the four living creatures) and among the elders I saw a Lamb (Christ) standing, [bearing scars and wounds] as though it had been slain, with seven horns (complete power) and with seven eyes (complete knowledge), which are the seven Spirits of God who have been sent [on duty] into all the earth.

⁷And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

⁸And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb (Christ), each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of fragrant incense, which are the prayers of the saints (God's people).

⁹And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying, "Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

¹⁰"You have made them to be a kingdom [of royal subjects] and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth."

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and [the voice] of the living creatures and the elders; and they numbered myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (innumerable),

¹²saying in a loud voice, "Worthy and deserving is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."

¹³And I heard every created thing that is in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in Hades, the realm of the dead] or on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying [together], "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Christ), be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."

¹⁴And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped [Him who lives forever and ever].

¹(The Shulammite Bride) "On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the one Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.

²"I said 'So I must arise now and go out into the city; Into the streets and into the squares [places I do not know] I must seek him whom my soul loves.' I sought him but I did not find him.

³"The watchmen who go around the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'

⁴"Scarcely had I passed them When I found him whom my soul loves. I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother's house, And into the chamber of her who conceived me."

⁵(The Bridegroom) "I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, That you do not rouse nor awaken my love Until she pleases."

⁶(The Shulammite Bride) "What is this coming up from the wilderness Like [stately] pillars of smoke Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?"

⁷(The Chorus) "Behold, it is the couch ( palanquin) of Solomon; Sixty mighty men around it, Of the mighty men of Israel.

⁸"All of them handle the sword, All expert in war; Each man has his sword at his thigh, Guarding against the terrors of the night.

⁹"King Solomon has made for himself a palanquin From the [cedar] wood of Lebanon.

¹⁰"He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold, Its seat of purple cloth, The interior lovingly and intricately wrought By the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹"Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on King Solomon wearing the crown With which his mother [Bathsheba] has crowned him On the day of his wedding, On the day of his gladness of heart."

¹The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor; The LORD has clothed and encircled Himself with strength; the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.

²Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.

³The floods have lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their pounding waves.

⁴More than the sounds of many waters, More than the mighty breakers of the sea, The LORD on high is mighty.

⁵Your precepts are fully confirmed and completely reliable; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever.

¹Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a [shortsighted] fool.

²Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving].

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the backs of fools [who refuse to learn].

⁴Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly, Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.

⁵Answer [and correct the erroneous concepts of] a fool according to his folly, Otherwise he will be wise in his own eyes [if he thinks you agree with him].

⁶He who sends a message by the hand of a fool Cuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence [it brings on himself as a consequence].

⁷Like the legs which are useless to the lame, So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who cannot learn from its wisdom].

⁸Like one who [absurdly] binds a stone in a sling [making it impossible to throw], So is he who [absurdly] gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man, So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who remains unaffected by its wisdom].

¹⁰Like a [careless] archer who [shoots arrows wildly and] wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or those who [by chance just] pass by.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to his vomit Is a fool who repeats his foolishness.

¹²Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The lazy person [who is self-indulgent and relies on lame excuses] says, "There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square [and if I go outside to work I will be killed]!"

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, So does the lazy person on his bed [never getting out of it].

¹⁵The lazy person buries his hand in the dish [losing opportunity after opportunity]; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The lazy person is wiser in his own eyes Than seven [sensible] men who can give a discreet answer.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog by the ears [and is likely to be bitten] Is he who, passing by, stops to meddle with a dispute that is none of his business.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws Firebrands, arrows, and death,

¹⁹So is the man who deceives his neighbor (acquaintance, friend) And then says, "Was I not joking?"

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer [who gossips], contention quiets down.

²¹Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.

²²The words of a whisperer (gossip) are like dainty morsels [to be greedily eaten]; They go down into the innermost chambers of the body [to be remembered and mused upon].

²³Like a [common] clay vessel covered with the silver dross [making it appear silver when it has no real value] Are burning lips [murmuring manipulative words] and a wicked heart.

²⁴He who hates, disguises it with his lips, But he stores up deceit in his heart.

²⁵When he speaks graciously and kindly [to conceal his malice], do not trust him, For seven abominations are in his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred covers itself with guile and deceit, His malevolence will be revealed openly before the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit [for another man's feet] will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone [up a hill to do mischief], it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹Now when Mordecai learned of everything that had been done, he tore his clothes [in mourning], and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the center of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly.

²He went [only] as far as the king's gate, because no one was to enter the king's gate dressed in sackcloth.

³In each and every province that the decree and law of the king reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

⁴When Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her [what had happened], the queen was seized by great fear. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai so that he would remove his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.

⁵Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, whom the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to find out what this issue was and why it had come about.

⁶So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the [open] square of the city, which was in front of the king's gate.

⁷Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, and the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.

⁸Mordecai also gave him a copy of the text of the decree which had been issued in Susa for the Jews destruction, so that he might show Esther and explain it to her, and order her to go in to the king to seek his favor and plead with him for [the lives of] her people.

⁹Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said.

¹⁰Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai, saying:

¹¹"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court without being summoned, he has but one law, that he is to be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And as for me, I have not been summoned to come to the king for these [last] thirty days."

¹²So they told Mordecai what Esther had said.

¹³Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews.

¹⁴For if you remain silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father's house will perish [since you did not help when you had the chance]. And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this [and for this very purpose]?"

¹⁵Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,

¹⁶"Go, gather all the Jews that are present in Susa, and observe a fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids also will fast in the same way. Then I will go in to [see] the king [without being summoned], which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."

¹⁷So Mordecai went away and did exactly as Esther had commanded him.

¹Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars.

²Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the magnificent trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the inaccessible forest [on the steep mountainside] has come down.

³There is a sound of the shepherds' wail, For their splendor (grazing land) is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions' roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

⁴Thus says the LORD my God, "Pasture the flock doomed for slaughter,

⁵whose buyers slay them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!' And their own shepherds have no pity on them nor protect them [from the wolves].

⁶For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD; "but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into the hand of another and into the hands of his [foreign] king. And the enemy will strike the land, and I will not rescue the people from their hand."

⁷So I [Zechariah] pastured the flock doomed for slaughter, truly [as the name implies] the most miserable of sheep. And I took two [shepherd's] staffs, the one I called Favor (Grace) and the other I called Union (Bonds); so I pastured the flock.

⁸Then I eliminated the three [incompetent, unfit] shepherds [the civil rulers, the priests, and the prophets] in one month, for I was impatient with them, and they also were tired of me and despised me.

⁹So I said, "I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let the survivors devour one another's flesh."

¹⁰I took my staff, Favor, and broke it in pieces, breaking the covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

¹¹So the covenant was broken on that day, and thus the most wretched of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the LORD.

¹²I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, do not." So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as my wages.

¹³Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter [as if to the dogs]—that magnificent sum at which I am valued by them!" So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

¹⁴Then I broke my second staff, Union, into pieces to break the brotherhood between Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and Israel (the Northern Kingdom).

¹⁵The LORD said to me, "Take again for yourself the equipment [of a shepherd, but this time] of a foolish shepherd.

¹⁶For behold, I am going to raise up a [false] shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or feed the healthy; but will eat the flesh of the fat ones and tear off their hoofs [to consume everything].

¹⁷"Woe (judgment is coming) to the worthless and foolish shepherd Who deserts the flock! The sword will strike his arm And his right eye! His arm shall be totally withered And his right eye completely blinded."

¹It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper [inland] districts and came down to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

²He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [in Jesus as the Christ]?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

³And he asked, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism."

⁴Paul said, "John performed a baptism of repentance, continually telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, [to confidently accept and joyfully believe] in Jesus [the Messiah and Savior]."

⁵After hearing this, they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in [unknown] tongues (languages) and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient [to the word of God], discrediting and speaking evil of the Way (Jesus, Christianity) before the congregation, Paul left them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus [instead of in the synagogue].

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor], Jews as well as Greeks, heard the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

¹¹God was doing extraordinary and unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that even handkerchiefs or face-towels or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out [of them].

¹³Then some of the traveling Jewish exorcists also attempted to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I implore you and solemnly command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches!"

¹⁴Seven sons of one [named] Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit retorted, "I know and recognize and acknowledge Jesus, and I know about Paul, but as for you, who are you?"

¹⁶Then the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they ran out of that house [in terror, stripped] naked and wounded.

¹⁷This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified and exalted.

¹⁸Many of those who had become believers were coming, confessing and disclosing their [former sinful] practices.

¹⁹And many of those who had practiced magical arts collected their books and [throwing book after book on the pile] began burning them in front of everyone. They calculated their value and found it to be50,000 pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] was growing greatly and prevailing.

²¹Now after these events, Paul determined in the Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of the Greek mainland), and go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome [and preach the good news of salvation]."

²²And after sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia [ahead of him], he stayed on in [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor] for a while.

²³About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way (Jesus, Christianity).

²⁴Now a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis (Diana), was bringing no small profit to the craftsmen.

²⁵These [craftsmen] he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you are well aware that we make a good living from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost all over [the province of] Asia, this Paul has persuaded [people to believe his teaching] and has misled a large number of people, claiming that gods made by [human] hands are not really gods at all.

²⁷Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will be discredited, but also that the [magnificent] temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned and lose her glorious magnificence."

²⁸When they heard this, they were filled with rage, and they began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

²⁹Then the city was filled with confusion; and people rushed together [as a group] into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions.

³⁰Paul wanted to go into the [pagan] assembly, but the disciples would not let him.

³¹Even some of the Asiarchs (officials) who were his friends sent word to him and repeatedly warned him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Now some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in confusion and most of the people did not know why they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd advised Alexander [to speak], since the Jews had pushed him forward; and Alexander motioned with his hand [for attention] and intended to make a defense to the people.

³⁴But when they realized that he was a Jew, a single outcry went up from the crowd as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

³⁵After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of that [ sacred stone image of her] which fell from the sky?

³⁶So, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another there.

³⁹But if you want anything beyond this, it will be settled in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For we are running the risk of being accused of rioting in regard to today's events, and since there is no reason for it, we will be unable to give an account and justify this disorderly gathering."

⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.