Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber.

²But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [the protector and provider].

³The doorkeeper opens [the gate] for this man, and the sheep hear his voice and pay attention to it. And [knowing that they listen] he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [to pasture].

⁴When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call.

⁵They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about.

⁷So Jesus said again, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep [leading to life].

⁸All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them.

⁹I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security).

¹⁰The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

¹¹ I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His [own] life for the sheep.

¹²But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.

¹³The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep.

¹⁴I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]—

¹⁵even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep.

¹⁶I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.

¹⁷For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back.

¹⁸No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father."

¹⁹A division [of opinion] occurred again among the Jews because of these words [of His].

²⁰Many of them said, "He has a demon and He is mad [insane—He raves and rambles]. Why listen to Him?"

²¹Others were saying, "These are not the words and thoughts of one possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

²²At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem.

²³It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple [area] in Solomon's portico.

²⁴So the Jews surrounded Him and began saying to Him, "How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are [really] the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), tell us so plainly and openly."

²⁵Jesus answered them, "I have told you so, yet you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name testify concerning Me [they are My credentials and the evidence declaring who I am].

²⁶But you do not believe Me [so you do not trust and follow Me] because you are not My sheep.

²⁷The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.

²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

³⁰I and the Father are One [in essence and nature]."

³¹Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.

³²Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works [and many acts of mercy] from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

³³The Jews answered Him, "We are not going to stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere man, make Yourself out to be God."

³⁴Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]'?

³⁵If He called them gods, men to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be undone or annulled or broken),

³⁶[if that is true] then do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

³⁷If I do not do the works of My Father [that is, the miracles that only God could perform], then do not believe Me.

³⁸But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works [that I do—admit that they are the works of God], so that you may know and keep on knowing [clearly—without any doubt] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [that is, I am One with Him]."

³⁹So they tried again to seize Him, but He eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰He went back again across the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.

⁴¹Many came to Him, and they were saying, "John did not perform a single sign (attesting miracle), but everything John said about this Man was true and accurate."

⁴²And many there believed and confidently trusted in Him [accepting Him as Savior, and following His teaching].

¹In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai.

²When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai].

³Moses went up to God [on the mountain], and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:

⁴'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself.

⁵Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine;

⁶and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].' These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites."

⁷So Moses called for the elders of the people, and told them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

⁸All the people answered together and said, "We will do everything that the LORD has spoken." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

⁹The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may believe and trust in you forever." Then Moses repeated the words of the people to the LORD.

¹⁰The LORD also said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow [that is, prepare them for My sacred purpose], and have them wash their clothes

¹¹and be ready by the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people.

¹²You shall set barriers for the people all around [the mountain], saying, 'Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch its border; whoever touches the mountain must be put to death.

¹³No hand shall touch him [that is, no one shall try to save the guilty party], but the offender must be stoned or shot through [with arrows]; whether man or animal [that touches the mountain], he shall not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified them [for God's sacred purpose], and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵He said to the people, "Be prepared for the third day; do not be intimate with a woman."

¹⁶So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and flashes of lightning, and a thick cloud was on the mountain, and a very loud blast was sounded on a ram's horn, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood and presented themselves at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

¹⁹And it happened, as the blast of the ram's horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with [a voice of] thunder.

²⁰The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up.

²¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through [the barriers around the mountain] to the LORD to see [Me], and many of them perish [as a result].

²²Also have the priests who approach the LORD consecrate (sanctify, set apart) themselves [for My sacred purpose], or else the LORD will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them]."

²³Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, because You warned us, saying, 'Set barriers around the mountain and consecrate it.'"

²⁴Then the LORD said to him, "Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through [the barriers] to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them]."

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them [again about God's warning].

¹Does any one of you, when he has a complaint (civil dispute) with another [believer], dare to go to law before unrighteous men (non-believers) instead of [placing the issue] before the saints (God's people)?

²Do you not know that the saints (God's people) will [one day] judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to try trivial (insignificant, petty) cases?

³Do you not know that we [believers] will judge angels? How much more then [as to] matters of this life?

⁴So if you have lawsuits dealing with matters of this life, are you appointing those as judges [to hear disputes] who are of no account in the church?

⁵I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is not one wise man among you who [is governed by integrity and] will be able and competent to decide [private disputes] between his fellow believers,

⁶but instead, brother goes to law against brother, and that before [judges who are] unbelievers?

⁷Why, the very fact that you have lawsuits with one another is already a defeat. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

⁸On the contrary, it is you who wrong and defraud, and you do this even to your brothers and sisters.

⁹Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [by perversion], nor those who participate in homosexuality,

¹⁰nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

¹¹And such were some of you [before you believed]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer's new life and changed behavior].

¹²Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me].

¹³Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will do away with both of them. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body [to save, sanctify, and raise it again because of the sacrifice of the cross].

¹⁴And God has not only raised the Lord [to life], but will also raise us up by His power.

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Am I therefore to take the members of Christ and make them part of a prostitute? Certainly not!

¹⁶Do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, "The two shall be one flesh."

¹⁷But the one who is united and joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

¹⁸Run away from sexual immorality [in any form, whether thought or behavior, whether visual or written]. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the one who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?

²⁰You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.

¹After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his splendor and radiance.

²And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird.

³For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her [sexual] immorality, and the kings and political leaders of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth and economic power of her sensuous luxury."

⁴And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not be a partner in her sins and receive her plagues;

⁵for her sins (crimes, transgressions) have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and crimes [for judgment].

⁶Repay to her even as she has repaid others, and pay back [to her] double [her torment] in accordance with what she has done; in the cup [of sin and suffering] which she mixed, mix a double portion [of perfect justice] for her.

⁷To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled and gloated in her sensuality [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that same degree impose on her torment and anguish, and mourning and grief; for in her heart she boasts, 'I sit as a queen [on a throne] and I am not a widow, and will never, ever see mourning or experience grief.'

⁸For this reason in a single day her plagues (afflictions, calamities) will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire and completely consumed; for strong and powerful is the Lord God who judges her.

⁹" And the kings and political leaders of the earth, who committed immorality and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and beat their chests [in mourning] over her when they see the smoke of her burning,

¹⁰standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.'

¹¹"And merchants of the earth will weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their cargo (goods, merchandise) anymore—

¹²cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; all kinds of citron (scented) wood and every article of ivory and every article of very costly and lavish wood and bronze and iron and marble;

¹³and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and carriages; and of slaves and human lives.

¹⁴The ripe fruits and delicacies of your soul's desire have gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and extravagant are lost to you, never again to be found.

¹⁵The merchants who handled these articles, who grew wealthy from [their business with] her, will stand a long way off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

¹⁶saying, 'Woe, woe, for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, gilded and adorned with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls;

¹⁷because in one hour all the vast wealth has been laid waste.' And every ship captain or navigator, and every passenger and sailor, and all who make their living by the sea, stood a long way off,

¹⁸and exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What could be compared to the great city?'

¹⁹And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, for the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich from her great wealth, because in one hour she has been laid waste!'

²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints (God's people) and apostles and prophets [who were martyred], because God has executed vengeance for you [through righteous judgment] upon her."

²¹Then a single powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone and flung it into the sea, saying, "With such violence will Babylon the great city be hurled down [by the sudden, spectacular judgment of God], and will never again be found.

²²And the sound of harpists and musicians and flutists and trumpeters will never again be heard in you, and no skilled artisan of any craft will ever again be found in you, and the sound of the millstone [grinding grain] will never again be heard in you [for commerce will no longer flourish, and normal life will cease].

²³And never again will the light of a lamp shine in you, and never again will the voice of the bridegroom and bride be heard in you; for your merchants were the great and prominent men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived and misled by your sorcery [your magic spells and poisonous charm].

²⁴And in Babylon was found the blood of prophets and of saints (God's people) and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth."

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

²"How long will you say these things? And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

³"Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?

⁴"If your children have sinned against Him, Then He has handed them over to the power of their transgression and punished them.

⁵"If you would [diligently] seek God And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,

⁶Then, if you are pure and upright, Surely now He will awaken for you And restore your righteous place.

⁷"Though your beginning was insignificant, Yet your end will greatly increase.

⁸"Inquire, please, of past generations, And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.

⁹"For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are [like] a shadow [just a breath or a vapor].

¹⁰"Will they (the fathers) not teach you and tell you, And utter words from their hearts [the deepest part of their nature]?

¹¹"Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the rushes or reed grass grow without water?

¹²"While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down, Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].

¹³"So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the godless will perish,

¹⁴For his confidence is fragile and breaks, And his trust is [like] a spider's web.

¹⁵"He trusts in his house, but it does not stand; He holds tightly to it, but it does not endure.

¹⁶"He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun, And his branches spread out over his garden.

¹⁷"His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks, And he gazes at a house of stones.

¹⁸"If he is snatched from his place [in the garden], Then his place will forget him, saying, 'I have never seen you.'

¹⁹"Behold, this is the joy of His way; And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

²⁰"Behold, God will not reject a man of integrity, Nor will He strengthen or support evildoers.

²¹"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter And your lips with joyful shouting [if you are found blameless].

²²"Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tents of the wicked will be no longer."

¹Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever!

²Who can put into words the mighty deeds of the LORD? Or who can proclaim all His praise [that is due Him]?

³Blessed are those who observe justice [by honoring God's precepts], Who practice righteousness at all times.

⁴Remember me, O LORD, when You favor Your people. Visit me with Your salvation [when You rescue them],

⁵That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance.

⁶We have sinned like our fathers; We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

⁷Our fathers in Egypt did not understand nor appreciate Your miracles; They did not remember the abundance of Your mercies nor imprint Your lovingkindnesses on their hearts, But they were rebellious at the sea, at the Red Sea.

⁸Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, That He might make His [supreme] power known.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; And He led them through the depths as through a pasture.

¹⁰So He saved them from the hand of the one that hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the [Egyptian] enemy.

¹¹And the waters covered their adversaries; Not one of them was left.

¹²Then Israel believed in [the validity of] His words; They sang His praise.

¹³But they quickly forgot His works; They did not [patiently] wait for His counsel and purpose [to be revealed regarding them],

¹⁴But lusted intensely in the wilderness And tempted God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.

¹⁵So He gave them their request, But sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶They envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron [the high priest], the holy one of the LORD,

¹⁷Therefore the earth opened and swallowed Dathan, And engulfed the company of Abiram.

¹⁸And a fire broke out in their company; The flame consumed the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb (Sinai) And worshiped a cast image.

²⁰Thus they exchanged [the true God who was] their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God their Savior, Who had done such great things in Egypt,

²²Wonders in the land of Ham, Awesome things at the Red Sea.

²³Therefore He said He would destroy them, [And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the gap before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land [of Canaan]; They did not believe in His word nor rely on it,

²⁵But they sulked and complained in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

²⁶Therefore He lifted up His hand [swearing] to them, That He would cause them to fall in the wilderness,

²⁷And that He would cast out their descendants among the nations And scatter them in the lands [of the earth].

²⁸They joined themselves also to [the idol] Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

²⁹Thus they provoked Him to anger with their practices, And a plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas [the priest] stood up and interceded, And so the plague was halted.

³¹And that was credited to him for righteousness, To all generations forever.

³²They provoked Him to anger at the waters of Meribah, So that it went hard with Moses on their account;

³³Because they were rebellious against His Spirit, Moses spoke recklessly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the [pagan] peoples [in Canaan], As the LORD commanded them,

³⁵But they mingled with the [idolatrous] nations And learned their ways,

³⁶And served their idols, Which became a [dreadful] snare to them.

³⁷They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons

³⁸And shed innocent blood, Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with their blood.

³⁹In this way they became unclean in their practices; They played the prostitute in their own deeds [by giving their worship, which belongs to God alone, to other "gods"].

⁴⁰Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people And He detested His own inheritance.

⁴¹He gave them into the hands of the nations, And those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were subdued under the [powerful] hand of their enemies.

⁴³Many times He rescued them; But they were rebellious in their counsel, And sank down in their wickedness.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He looked [sympathetically] at their distress When He heard their cry;

⁴⁵And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented [rescinding their sentence] according to the greatness of His lovingkindness [when they cried out to Him],

⁴⁶He also made them objects of compassion Among those who had carried them away captive.

⁴⁷Save us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the nations, That we may give thanks to Your holy name And glory in praising You.

⁴⁸Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)

¹Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice?

²On the top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, wisdom takes her stand;

³Beside the gates, at the entrance to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

⁴"To you, O men, I call, And my voice is directed to the sons of men.

⁵"O you naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled], understand prudence and seek astute common sense; And, O you [closed-minded, self-confident] fools, understand wisdom [seek the insight and self-discipline that leads to godly living].

⁶"Listen, for I will speak excellent and noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

⁷"For my mouth will utter truth, And wickedness is repulsive and loathsome to my lips.

⁸"All the words of my mouth are in righteousness (upright, in right standing with God); There is nothing contrary to truth or perverted (crooked) in them.

⁹"They are all straightforward to him who understands [with an open and willing mind], And right to those who find knowledge and live by it.

¹⁰"Take my instruction rather than [seeking] silver, And take knowledge rather than choicest gold,

¹¹"For wisdom is better than rubies; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

¹²"I, [godly] wisdom, reside with prudence [good judgment, moral courage and astute common sense], And I find knowledge and discretion.

¹³"The [reverent] fear and worshipful awe of the LORD includes the hatred of evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.

¹⁴"Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power and strength are mine.

¹⁵"By me kings reign And rulers decide and decree justice.

¹⁶"By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge and govern rightly.

¹⁷"I love those who love me; And those who seek me early and diligently will find me.

¹⁸"Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness (right standing with God).

¹⁹"My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield is better than choicest silver.

²⁰"I, [Wisdom, continuously] walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,

²¹That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth and true riches, And that I may fill their treasuries.

²²"The LORD created and possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old [were accomplished].

²³"From everlasting I was established and ordained, From the beginning, before the earth existed, [I, godly wisdom, existed].

²⁴"When there were no ocean depths I was born, When there were no fountains and springs overflowing with water.

²⁵"Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was born;

²⁶While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Or the first of the dust of the earth.

²⁷"When He established the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there; When He drew a circle upon the face of the deep,

²⁸When He made firm the skies above, When the fountains and springs of the deep became fixed and strong,

²⁹When He set for the sea its boundary So that the waters would not transgress [the boundaries set by] His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth—

³⁰Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight; Rejoicing before Him always,

³¹Rejoicing in the world, His inhabited earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.

³²"Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed [happy, prosperous, to be admired] are they who keep my ways.

³³"Heed (pay attention to) instruction and be wise, And do not ignore or neglect it.

³⁴"Blessed [happy, prosperous, to be admired] is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.

³⁵"For whoever finds me (Wisdom) finds life And obtains favor and grace from the LORD.

³⁶"But he who fails to find me or sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love and court death."

¹But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully and violated their obligation in regard to the things [off limits] under the ban [those things belonging to the LORD], for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban [for personal gain]. Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.

²Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." So the men went up and spied out Ai.

³Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not make all the people go up [to fight]; have only about two thousand or three thousand men go up and attack Ai; do not make the entire army go up there, for they [of Ai] are few."

⁴So about three thousand men from the sons of Israel went up there, but they fled [in retreat] from the men of Ai.

⁵The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of Israel's men, and chased them from the gate as far as [the bluffs of] Shebarim and struck them down as they descended [the steep pass], so the hearts of the people melted [in despair and began to doubt God's promise] and became like water (disheartened).

⁶Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and [with great sorrow] they put dust on their heads.

⁷Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why have You brought this people across the Jordan at all, only to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to live beyond the Jordan!

⁸O Lord, what can I say now that [the army of] Israel has turned back [in retreat and fled] before their enemies?

⁹For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear about it, and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name [to keep it from dishonor]?"

¹⁰So the LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?

¹¹Israel has sinned; they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them [to keep]. They have even taken some of the things under the ban, and they have both stolen and denied [the theft]. Moreover, they have also put the stolen objects among their own things.

¹²That is why the soldiers of Israel could not stand [and defend themselves] before their enemies; they turned their backs [and ran] before them, because they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from among you.

¹³Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: "There are things under the ban among you, O Israel. You cannot stand [victorious] before your enemies until you remove the things under the ban from among you."

¹⁴In the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD chooses by lot shall come forward by families, and the family which the LORD chooses shall come forward by [separate] households, and the household which the LORD chooses shall come forward man by man.

¹⁵It shall be that the one who is chosen with the things under the ban shall be [killed and his body] burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful and disobedient thing in Israel.'"

¹⁶So Joshua got up early in the morning and had Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was chosen [by lot].

¹⁷He had the families of Judah come forward, and the family of the Zerahites was chosen; and he had the family of the Zerahites come forward man by man, and Zabdi was chosen.

¹⁸He brought his household forward man by man; and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.

¹⁹Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him [in recognition of His righteous judgments]; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me."

²⁰So Achan answered Joshua and said, "In truth, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done:

²¹when I saw among the spoils [in Jericho] a beautiful robe from Shinar (southern Babylon) and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

²²So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and they saw the stolen objects hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.

²³And they took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and spread them out before the LORD.

²⁴Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the [royal] robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor (Disaster).

²⁵Joshua said, "Why have you brought disaster on us? The LORD will bring you disaster this day." Then all Israel stoned them [to death] with stones; afterward they burned their bodies in the fire.

²⁶Then they piled up over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor (Disaster) to this day.

¹In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw [in a vision] the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, with the train of His royal robe filling the [most holy part of the] temple.

²Above Him seraphim (heavenly beings) stood; each one had six wings: with two wings he covered his face, with two wings he covered his feet, and with two wings he flew.

³And one called out to another, saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is filled with His glory."

⁴And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, and the temple was filling with smoke.

⁵Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am ruined, Because I am a man of [ceremonially] unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

⁷He touched my mouth with it and said, "Listen carefully, this has touched your lips; your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] is taken away and your sin atoned for and forgiven."

⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

⁹And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not understand; Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.'

¹⁰"Make the heart of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."

¹¹Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, And houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,

¹²The LORD has removed [His] people far away, And there are many deserted places in the midst of the land.

¹³"And though a tenth [of the people] remain in the land, It will again be subject to destruction [consumed and burned], Like a massive terebinth tree or like an oak Whose stump remains when it is chopped down. The holy seed [the elect remnant] is its stump [the substance of Israel]."

¹And while Peter and John were talking to the people, the priests and the captain [who was in charge of the temple area and] of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²being extremely disturbed and thoroughly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

³So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, because it was evening.

⁴But many of those who heard the message [of salvation] believed [in Jesus and accepted Him as the Christ]. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000.

⁵On the next day, their magistrates and elders and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all others who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, "By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?"

⁸Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court],

⁹if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health,

¹⁰let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became thechief Cornerstone.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]."

¹³Now when the men of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) saw the confidence and boldness of Peter and John, and grasped the fact that they were uneducated and untrained [ordinary] men, they were astounded, and began to recognize that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But after ordering them to step out of the Council [chamber], they began to confer among themselves,

¹⁶saying, "What are we to do with these men? For the fact that an extraordinary miracle has taken place through them is public knowledge and clearly evident to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But to keep it from spreading further among the people and the nation, let us [sternly] warn them not to speak again to anyone in this name."

¹⁸So they sent for them, and commanded them not to speak [as His representatives] or teach at all in the name of Jesus [using Him as their authority].

¹⁹But Peter and John replied to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must judge [for yourselves];

²⁰for we, on our part, cannot stop telling [people] about what we have seen and heard."

²¹When the rulers and Council members had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because [of their fear] of the people, for they were all praising and glorifying and honoring God for what had happened;

²²for the man to whom this sign (attesting miracle) of healing had happened was more than forty years old.

²³After Peter and John were released, they returned to their own [people] and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, "O Sovereign Lord [having complete power and authority], it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them,

²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said, 'Why did the nations (Gentiles) become arrogant and rage, And the peoples devise futile things [against the Lord]?

²⁶'The kings of the earth took their stand [to attack], And the rulers were assembled together Against the Lord and against His Anointed (the Christ, the Messiah).'

²⁷For in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined [before the creation of the world] to occur [and so without knowing it, they served Your own purpose].

²⁹And now, Lord, observe their threats [take them into account] and grant that Your bond-servants may declare Your message [of salvation] with great confidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders (attesting miracles) take place through the name [and the authority and power] of Your holy Servant and Son Jesus."

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were meeting together was shaken [a sign of God's presence]; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and courage.

³²Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one [of them] claimed that anything belonging to him was [exclusively] his own, but everything was common property and for the use of all.

³³And with great ability and power the apostles were continuously testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace [God's remarkable lovingkindness and favor and goodwill] rested richly upon them all.

³⁴There was not a needy person among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them, and bringing the proceeds of the sales

³⁵and placing the money down at the apostles' feet. Then it was distributed to each as anyone had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite and native of Cyprus, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷sold a field belonging to him and brought the money and set it at the apostles' feet.