Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

²Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.

³So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.

⁶So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.

⁷Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.”

⁸“Rabbi,” the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you’re going there again?”

⁹“Aren’t there twelve hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

¹⁰But if anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him.”

¹¹He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up.”

¹²Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

¹³Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep.

¹⁴So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died.

¹⁵I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas (called “Twin” ) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

¹⁸Bethany was near Jerusalem (less than two miles away).

¹⁹Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

²¹Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.

²²Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

²³“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.

²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.

²⁶Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

²⁸Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

²⁹As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.

³⁰Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

³¹The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there.

³²As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”

³³When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.

³⁴“Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

³⁹“Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me.

⁴²I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.”

⁴³After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

⁴⁵Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him.

⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and were saying, “What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs?

⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all!

⁵⁰You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”

⁵¹He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,

⁵²and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children of God.

⁵³So from that day on they plotted to kill him.

⁵⁴Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and he stayed there with the disciples.

⁵⁵Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country to purify themselves before the Passover.

⁵⁶They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple: “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival, will he?”

⁵⁷The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it so that they could arrest him.

¹Then God spoke all these words:

²I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

³Do not have other gods besides me.

⁴Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

⁵Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ iniquity, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

⁶but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

⁷Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.

⁸Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:

⁹You are to labor six days and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates.

¹¹For the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

¹²Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

¹³Do not murder.

¹⁴Do not commit adultery.

¹⁵Do not steal.

¹⁶Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

¹⁸All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance.

¹⁹“You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”

²⁰Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin.”

²¹And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.

²²Then the LORD told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

²³Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves.

²⁴“Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered.

²⁵If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.

²⁶Do not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

¹Now in response to the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to use a woman for sex.”

²But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.

³A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband.

⁴A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.

⁵Do not deprive one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command.

⁷I wish that all people were as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one person has this gift, another has that.

⁸I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am.

⁹But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, since it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

¹⁰To the married I give this command  — not I, but the Lord — a wife is not to leave her husband.

¹¹But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband — and a husband is not to divorce his wife.

¹²But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

¹³Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce her husband.

¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is made holy by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.

¹⁶Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.

¹⁷Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.

¹⁸Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

¹⁹Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter. Keeping God’s commands is what matters.

²⁰Let each of you remain in the situation in which he was called.

²¹Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.

²²For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave.

²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of people.

²⁴Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.

²⁵Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is faithful.

²⁶Because of the present distress, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

²⁸However, if you do get married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

²⁹This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none,

³⁰those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn’t own anything,

³¹and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.

³²I want you to be without concerns. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord — how he may please the Lord.

³³But the married man is concerned about the things of the world — how he may please his wife —

³⁴and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world — how she may please her husband.

³⁵I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

³⁶If any man thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage, and he feels he should marry — he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married.

³⁷But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own will ) and has decided in his heart to keep her as his fiancée, will do well.

³⁸So then he who marries his fiancée does well, but he who does not marry will do better.

³⁹A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants — only in the Lord.

⁴⁰But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

¹After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,

²because his judgments are true and righteous, because he has judged the notorious prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality; and he has avenged the blood of his servants that was on her hands.

³A second time they said, Hallelujah! Her smoke ascends forever and ever!

⁴Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who is seated on the throne, saying, Amen! Hallelujah!

⁵A voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all his servants, and the ones who fear him, both small and great!

⁶Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!

⁷Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself.

⁸She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”

¹⁰Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war with justice.

¹²His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself.

¹³He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

¹⁴The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen.

¹⁵A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty.

¹⁶And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”

¹⁹Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against his army.

²⁰But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

²¹The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

¹Then Job answered:

²Yes, I know what you’ve said is true, but how can a person be justified before God?

³If one wanted to take him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand times.

⁴God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed?

⁵He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his anger.

⁶He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble.

⁷He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars.

⁸He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

⁹He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky.

¹⁰He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.

¹¹If he passed by me, I wouldn’t see him; if he went by, I wouldn’t recognize him.

¹²If he snatches something, who can stop him? Who can ask him, “What are you doing?”

¹³God does not hold back his anger; Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath him!

¹⁴How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him?

¹⁵Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

¹⁶If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said.

¹⁷He batters me with a whirlwind and multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸He doesn’t let me catch my breath but fills me with bitter experiences.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?

²⁰Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.

²¹Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life.

²²It is all the same. Therefore I say, “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”

²³When catastrophe brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is handed over to the wicked; he blindfolds its judges. If it isn’t he, then who is it?

²⁵My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good.

²⁶They sweep by like boats made of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

²⁷If I said, “I will forget my complaint, change my expression, and smile,”

²⁸I would still live in terror of all my pains. I know you will not acquit me.

²⁹Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?

³⁰If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,

³¹then you dip me in a pit of mud, and my own clothes despise me!

³²For he is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we can take each other to court.

³³There is no mediator between us, to lay his hand on both of us.

³⁴Let him take his rod away from me so his terror will no longer frighten me.

³⁵Then I would speak and not fear him. But that is not the case; I am on my own.

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD proclaim that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe

³and has gathered them from the lands — from the east and the west, from the north and the south.

⁴Some wandered in the desolate wilderness, finding no way to a city where they could live.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty; their spirits failed within them.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; he rescued them from their distress.

⁷He led them by the right path to go to a city where they could live.

⁸Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.

⁹For he has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Others sat in darkness and gloom  — prisoners in cruel chains  —

¹¹because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the counsel of the Most High.

¹²He broke their spirits with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; he saved them from their distress.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke their chains apart.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.

¹⁶For he has broken down the bronze gates and cut through the iron bars.

¹⁷Fools suffered affliction because of their rebellious ways and their iniquities.

¹⁸They loathed all food and came near the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; he saved them from their distress.

²⁰He sent his word and healed them; he rescued them from the Pit.

²¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.

²²Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and announce his works with shouts of joy.

²³Others went to sea in ships, conducting trade on the vast water.

²⁴They saw the LORD’s works, his wondrous works in the deep.

²⁵He spoke and raised a stormy wind that stirred up the waves of the sea.

²⁶Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths, their courage melting away in anguish,

²⁷they reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and all their skill was useless.

²⁸Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

²⁹He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet. Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for.

³¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.

³²Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into desert, springs into thirsty ground,

³⁴and fruitful land into salty wasteland, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.

³⁵He turns a desert into a pool, dry land into springs.

³⁶He causes the hungry to settle there, and they establish a city where they can live.

³⁷They sow fields and plant vineyards that yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; he does not let their livestock decrease.

³⁹When they are diminished and are humbled by cruel oppression and sorrow,

⁴⁰he pours contempt on nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

⁴¹But he lifts the needy out of their suffering and makes their families multiply like flocks.

⁴²The upright see it and rejoice, and all injustice shuts its mouth.

⁴³Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things and consider the LORD’s acts of faithful love.

¹Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars.

²She has prepared her meat; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.

³She has sent out her female servants; she calls out from the highest points of the city:

⁴“Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!” To the one who lacks sense, she says,

⁵“Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine I have mixed.

⁶Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding.

⁷The one who corrects a mocker will bring abuse on himself; the one who rebukes the wicked will get hurt.

⁸Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke the wise, and he will love you.

⁹Instruct the wise, and he will be wiser still; teach the righteous, and he will learn more.

¹⁰“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹For by me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit; if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences.”

¹³Folly is a rowdy woman; she is gullible and knows nothing.

¹⁴She sits by the doorway of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city,

¹⁵calling to those who pass by, who go straight ahead on their paths:

¹⁶“Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!” To the one who lacks sense, she says,

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten secretly is tasty!”

¹⁸But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

¹The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all the troops with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land.

²Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king, except that you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”

³So Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night.

⁴He commanded them: “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready.

⁵Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them.

⁶They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we are fleeing from them,

⁷you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city. The LORD your God will hand it over to you.

⁸After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the LORD’s command — see that you do as I have ordered you.”

⁹So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.

¹⁰Joshua started early the next morning and mobilized them. Then he and the elders of Israel led the troops up to Ai.

¹¹All those who were with him went up and approached the city, arriving opposite Ai, and camped to the north of it, with a valley between them and the city.

¹²Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.

¹³The troops were stationed in this way: the main camp to the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.

¹⁴When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, the men of the city hurried and went out early in the morning so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle at a suitable place facing the Arabah. But he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city.

¹⁵Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness.

¹⁶Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.

¹⁷Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel.

¹⁸Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you.” So Joshua held out his javelin toward it.

¹⁹When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.

²⁰The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.

²¹When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.

²²Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained,

²³but they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.

²⁵The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand — all the people of Ai.

²⁶Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed.

²⁷Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the LORD’s command that he had given Joshua.

²⁸Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today.

²⁹He hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which still remains today.

³⁰At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel,

³¹just as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used. Then they offered burnt offerings to the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it.

³²There on the stones, Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites.

³³All Israel — resident alien and citizen alike — with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the LORD’s covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel.

³⁴Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law — the blessings as well as the curses — according to all that is written in the book of the law.

³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the dependents, and the resident aliens who lived among them.

¹This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it.

²When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.

³The LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field.

⁴Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.

⁵For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say,

⁶‘Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’”

⁷This is what the Lord GOD says: It will not happen; it will not occur.

⁸The chief city of Aram is Damascus, the chief of Damascus is Rezin (within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people),

⁹the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria, and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.

¹⁰Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz:

¹¹“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God — it can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”

¹²But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the LORD.”

¹³Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?

¹⁴Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

¹⁵By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will be eating curds and honey.

¹⁶For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.

¹⁷The LORD will bring on you, your people, and your father’s house such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah: He will bring the king of Assyria.”

¹⁸On that day the LORD will whistle to flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to bees in the land of Assyria.

¹⁹All of them will come and settle in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes, and in all the water holes.

²⁰On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River — the king of Assyria  — to shave the hair on your heads, the hair on your legs, and even your beards.

²¹On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,

²²and from the abundant milk they give he will eat curds, for every survivor in the land will eat curds and honey.

²³And on that day every place where there were a thousand vines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, will become thorns and briers.

²⁴A man will go there with bow and arrows because the whole land will be thorns and briers.

²⁵You will not go to all the hills that were once tilled with a hoe, for fear of the thorns and briers. Those hills will be places for oxen to graze and for sheep to trample.

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

²However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

⁴Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

⁵When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

⁶The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸“Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

¹⁰Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

¹²Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them.

¹⁴Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers — multitudes of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶In addition, a multitude came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.”

²¹Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full council of the Israelites — and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

²²But when the servants got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported,

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

²⁵Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

²⁶Then the commander went with the servants and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them.

²⁷After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked,

²⁸“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

³¹God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

³⁵He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men.

³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail;

³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

⁴⁰After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

⁴¹Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.

⁴²Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.