Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)

³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

⁶So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,

⁷and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.

¹⁰It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹²His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”

¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

¹⁸Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,

¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.

²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

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

²⁴Martha answered, “I know 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 will live, even though they die;

²⁶and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

²⁸After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”

²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.

³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.

³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

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

³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

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

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.

³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

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

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.

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

⁴⁹Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all!

⁵⁰You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

⁵¹He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,

⁵²and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

⁵³So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

⁵⁵When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.

⁵⁶They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?”

⁵⁷But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

¹And God spoke all these words:

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

³“You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

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

⁷“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

¹³“You shall not murder.

¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵“You shall not steal.

¹⁶“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

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

¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance

¹⁹and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

²¹The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:

²³Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

²⁴“ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.

²⁵If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

²⁶And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’

¹Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

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

³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.

⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.

⁵Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

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

⁷I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

⁸Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.

⁹But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.

¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

¹³And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.

¹⁴For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.

¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

¹⁷Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.

¹⁸Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.

¹⁹Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.

²⁰Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

²¹Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.

²²For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.

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

²⁴Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

²⁵Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.

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

²⁷Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife.

²⁸But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

²⁹What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not;

³⁰those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep;

³¹those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

³²I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord.

³³But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—

³⁴and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.

³⁵I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

³⁶If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.

³⁷But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing.

³⁸So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.

³⁹A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.

⁴⁰In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

¹After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

²for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

⁴The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”

⁵Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!”

⁶Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

⁷Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

⁸Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

⁹Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰At this 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 with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

¹²His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

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

¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

¹⁵Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

¹⁷And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

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

²⁰But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

²¹The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

¹Then Job replied:

²“Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?

³Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.

⁴His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?

⁵He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger.

⁶He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble.

⁷He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars.

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

⁹He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

¹⁰He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

¹¹When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

¹²If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

¹³God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

¹⁴“How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him?

¹⁵Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.

¹⁶Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

¹⁷He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.

¹⁸He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?

²⁰Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.

²¹“Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.

²²It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

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

²⁴When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?

²⁵“My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

²⁶They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.

²⁷If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,’

²⁸I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.

²⁹Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain?

³⁰Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder,

³¹you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me.

³²“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court.

³³If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together,

³⁴someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.

³⁵Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

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

²Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

³those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

⁷He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.

⁸Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

⁹for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains,

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

¹²So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

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

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

¹⁶for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁷Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

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

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

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

²¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

²²Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.

²⁴They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep.

²⁵For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.

²⁶They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away.

²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.

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; the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

³¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

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

³³He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,

³⁴and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

³⁵He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;

³⁶there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.

³⁷They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;

³⁸he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

⁴⁰he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste.

⁴¹But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks.

⁴²The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD.

¹Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.

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

³She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city,

⁴“Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says,

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

⁶Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”

⁷Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

⁸Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.

⁹Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

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

¹¹For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

¹²If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.

¹³Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing.

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

¹⁵calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way,

¹⁶“Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says,

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”

¹⁸But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

¹Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.

²You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”

³So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night

⁴with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert.

⁵I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them.

⁶They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them,

⁷you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand.

⁸When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”

⁹Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.

¹⁰Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai.

¹¹The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city.

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

¹³So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

¹⁴When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city.

¹⁵Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.

¹⁶All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city.

¹⁷Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

¹⁸Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand.

¹⁹As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.

²⁰The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers.

²¹For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.

²²Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives.

²³But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it.

²⁵Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai.

²⁶For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai.

²⁷But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the LORD had instructed Joshua.

²⁸So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day.

²⁹He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

³⁰Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel,

³¹as Moses the servant of the LORD 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 had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.

³²There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.

³³All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

³⁴Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.

³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

¹When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

²Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

⁴Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

⁵Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,

⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”

⁷Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘It will not take place, it will not happen,

⁸for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’ ”

¹⁰Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz,

¹¹“Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹²But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”

¹³Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?

¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

¹⁵He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,

¹⁶for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

¹⁷The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

¹⁸In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.

¹⁹They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.

²⁰In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.

²¹In that day, a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.

²²And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

²³In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns.

²⁴Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.

²⁵As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

¹Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.

²With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

⁴Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

⁵When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

⁶Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

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

⁸Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

⁹Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

¹⁰At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

¹²The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.

¹⁴Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

¹⁵As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

¹⁶Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

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

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

²¹At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.

²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,

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

²⁴On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

²⁵Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”

²⁶At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

²⁷The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.

³¹God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their 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 furious and wanted to put them to death.

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

³⁵Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.

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

³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁴⁰His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

⁴²Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.