Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper

³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God,

⁴got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.

⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”

⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”

¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?

¹³You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are right, for that is what I am.

¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.

¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

¹⁸I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’

¹⁹I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.

²⁰Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

²¹After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

²²The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.

²³One of his disciples — the one whom Jesus loved — was reclining next to him;

²⁴Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.

²⁵So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.

²⁷After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.”

²⁸Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.

²⁹Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor.

³⁰So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

³¹When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.

³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.

³³Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

³⁶Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.”

³⁷Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

¹When someone steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the thief shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. The thief shall make restitution, but if unable to do so, shall be sold for the theft.

²When the animal, whether ox or donkey or sheep, is found alive in the thief’s possession, the thief shall pay double. If a thief is found breaking in, and is beaten to death, no bloodguilt is incurred;

³but if it happens after sunrise, bloodguilt is incurred.

⁴

⁵When someone causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets livestock loose to graze in someone else’s field, restitution shall be made from the best in the owner’s field or vineyard.

⁶When fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, the one who started the fire shall make full restitution.

⁷When someone delivers to a neighbor money or goods for safekeeping, and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, then the thief, if caught, shall pay double.

⁸If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house shall be brought before God, to determine whether or not the owner had laid hands on the neighbor’s goods.

⁹In any case of disputed ownership involving ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or any other loss, of which one party says, “This is mine,” the case of both parties shall come before God; the one whom God condemns shall pay double to the other.

¹⁰When someone delivers to another a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is carried off, without anyone seeing it,

¹¹an oath before the LORD shall decide between the two of them that the one has not laid hands on the property of the other; the owner shall accept the oath, and no restitution shall be made.

¹²But if it was stolen, restitution shall be made to its owner.

¹³If it was mangled by beasts, let it be brought as evidence; restitution shall not be made for the mangled remains.

¹⁴When someone borrows an animal from another and it is injured or dies, the owner not being present, full restitution shall be made.

¹⁵If the owner was present, there shall be no restitution; if it was hired, only the hiring fee is due.

¹⁶When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.

¹⁷But if her father refuses to give her to him, he shall pay an amount equal to the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸You shall not permit a female sorcerer to live.

¹⁹Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

²⁰Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

²¹You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

²²You shall not abuse any widow or orphan.

²³If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry;

²⁴my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.

²⁵If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.

²⁶If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down;

²⁷for it may be your neighbor’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.

²⁸You shall not revile God, or curse a leader of your people.

²⁹You shall not delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.

³⁰You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

³¹You shall be people consecrated to me; therefore you shall not eat any meat that is mangled by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

¹Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

²If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³This is my defense to those who would examine me.

⁴Do we not have the right to our food and drink?

⁵Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

⁶Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

⁷Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?

⁸Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same?

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?

¹⁰Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop.

¹¹If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits?

¹²If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

¹³Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar?

¹⁴In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

¹⁵But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that — no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting!

¹⁶If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!

¹⁷For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission.

¹⁸What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them.

²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law.

²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law.

²²To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.

²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

²⁴Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.

²⁵Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.

²⁶So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air;

²⁷but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;

⁴he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

⁵And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

⁷Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

⁸But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

⁹Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

¹⁰And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

¹¹It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.

¹²It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites;

¹³on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

¹⁴And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.

¹⁶The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.

¹⁷He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using.

¹⁸The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass.

¹⁹The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,

²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

²¹And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.

²²I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

²⁵Its gates will never be shut by day — and there will be no night there.

²⁶People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

²⁷But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

²“Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and should one full of talk be vindicated?

³Should your babble put others to silence, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

⁴For you say, ‘My conduct is pure, and I am clean in God’s sight.’

⁵But O that God would speak, and open his lips to you,

⁶and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For wisdom is many-sided. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

⁷“Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

⁸It is higher than heaven — what can you do? Deeper than Sheol — what can you know?

⁹Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

¹⁰If he passes through, and imprisons, and assembles for judgment, who can hinder him?

¹¹For he knows those who are worthless; when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

¹²But a stupid person will get understanding, when a wild ass is born human.

¹³“If you direct your heart rightly, you will stretch out your hands toward him.

¹⁴If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and do not let wickedness reside in your tents.

¹⁵Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure, and will not fear.

¹⁶You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

¹⁷And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.

¹⁸And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.”

¹Do not be silent, O God of my praise.

²For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.

³They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.

⁴In return for my love they accuse me, even while I make prayer for them.

⁵So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

⁶They say, “Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand on his right.

⁷When he is tried, let him be found guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin.

⁸May his days be few; may another seize his position.

⁹May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.

¹⁰May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.

¹¹May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.

¹²May there be no one to do him a kindness, nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.

¹³May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation.

¹⁴May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the LORD, and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

¹⁵Let them be before the LORD continually, and may his memory be cut off from the earth.

¹⁶For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death.

¹⁷He loved to curse; let curses come on him. He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.

¹⁸He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones.

¹⁹May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself, like a belt that he wears every day.”

²⁰May that be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life.

²¹But you, O LORD my Lord, act on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.

²²For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.

²³I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt.

²⁵I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.

²⁶Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love.

²⁷Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it.

²⁸Let them curse, but you will bless. Let my assailants be put to shame; may your servant be glad.

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.

³⁰With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

³¹For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble.

³The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless keeps their ways straight, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright saves them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their schemes.

⁷When the wicked die, their hope perishes, and the expectation of the godless comes to nothing.

⁸The righteous are delivered from trouble, and the wicked get into it instead.

⁹With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbors, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Whoever belittles another lacks sense, but an intelligent person remains silent.

¹³A gossip goes about telling secrets, but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.

¹⁴Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

¹⁵To guarantee loans for a stranger brings trouble, but there is safety in refusing to do so.

¹⁶A gracious woman gets honor, but she who hates virtue is covered with shame. The timid become destitute, but the aggressive gain riches.

¹⁷Those who are kind reward themselves, but the cruel do themselves harm.

¹⁸The wicked earn no real gain, but those who sow righteousness get a true reward.

¹⁹Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but whoever pursues evil will die.

²⁰Crooked minds are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.

²¹Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will escape.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without good sense.

²³The desire of the righteous ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked in wrath.

²⁴Some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want.

²⁵A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water.

²⁶The people curse those who hold back grain, but a blessing is on the head of those who sell it.

²⁷Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to the one who searches for it.

²⁸Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.

²⁹Those who trouble their households will inherit wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, but violence takes lives away.

³¹If the righteous are repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

¹When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

²he became greatly frightened, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors.

³So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent a message to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon, saying,

⁴“Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.”

⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites — the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon — gathered their forces, and went up with all their armies and camped against Gibeon, and made war against it.

⁶And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us.”

⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors.

⁸The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you.”

⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal.

¹⁰And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

¹²On the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD; and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”

¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.

¹⁴There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded a human voice; for the LORD fought for Israel.

¹⁵Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

¹⁶Meanwhile, these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

¹⁷And it was told Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”

¹⁸Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them;

¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies, and attack them from the rear. Do not let them enter their towns, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand.”

²⁰When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great slaughter on them, until they were wiped out, and when the survivors had entered into the fortified towns,

²¹all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah; no one dared to speak against any of the Israelites.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.”

²³They did so, and brought the five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

²⁴When they brought the kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.

²⁵And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the LORD will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.”

²⁶Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.

²⁷At sunset Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves; they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.

³⁰The LORD gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it.

³²The LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

³³Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors.

³⁴From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it;

³⁵and they took it that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it,

³⁷and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it.

³⁸Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it,

³⁹and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; just as he had done to Hebron, and, as he had done to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.

⁴¹And Joshua defeated them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon.

⁴²Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

⁴³Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

¹But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

²The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.

³You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.

⁴For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

⁵For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

⁶For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

⁸The Lord sent a word against Jacob, and it fell on Israel;

⁹and all the people knew it — Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria — but in pride and arrogance of heart they said:

¹⁰“The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”

¹¹So the LORD raised adversaries against them, and stirred up their enemies,

¹²the Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west, and they devoured Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.

¹³The people did not turn to him who struck them, or seek the LORD of hosts.

¹⁴So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day —

¹⁵elders and dignitaries are the head, and prophets who teach lies are the tail;

¹⁶for those who led this people led them astray, and those who were led by them were left in confusion.

¹⁷That is why the Lord did not have pity on their young people, or compassion on their orphans and widows; for everyone was godless and an evildoer, and every mouth spoke folly. For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸For wickedness burned like a fire, consuming briers and thorns; it kindled the thickets of the forest, and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.

¹⁹Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land was burned, and the people became like fuel for the fire; no one spared another.

²⁰They gorged on the right, but still were hungry, and they devoured on the left, but were not satisfied; they devoured the flesh of their own kindred;

²¹Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and together they were against Judah. For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.

¹Then the high priest asked him, “Are these things so?”

²And Stephen replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

³and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.’

⁴Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.

⁵He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.

⁶And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years.

⁷‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’

⁸Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹“The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him,

¹⁰and rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favor and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

¹¹Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit.

¹³On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all;

¹⁵so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors,

¹⁶and their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷“But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied

¹⁸until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt.

¹⁹He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die.

²⁰At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father’s house;

²¹and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

²²So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.

²³“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites.

²⁴When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

²⁵He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand.

²⁶The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?’

²⁷But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

²⁹When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.

³⁰“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord:

³²‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.

³³Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

³⁴I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵“It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.’

³⁸He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us.

³⁹Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

⁴¹At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³No; you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴“Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.

⁴⁵Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David,

⁴⁶who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

⁴⁸Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet says,

⁴⁹‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Did not my hand make all these things?’

⁵¹“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.

⁵³You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.”

⁵⁴When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.

⁵⁵But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.

⁵⁸Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.