Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

²“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

⁵They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

⁶‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR FROM YOU WILL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ ”

⁷Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.

⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

⁹After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

¹¹And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

¹³Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

¹⁴So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.

¹⁵He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

¹⁶Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.

¹⁷Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁸“A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

¹⁹But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,

²⁰“Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”

²¹So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,

²³and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

¹Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.”

²Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

³So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

⁴Then he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a cast metal calf; and they said, “This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

⁵Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”

⁶So the next day they got up early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior.

⁷Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have behaved corruptly.

⁸They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ ”

⁹Then the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.

¹⁰So now leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

¹¹Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

¹²Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people.

¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”

¹⁴So the LORD relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

¹⁵Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.

¹⁶The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

¹⁸But he said, “It is not the sound of the cry of victory, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But I hear the sound of singing.”

¹⁹And it came about, as soon as Moses approached the camp, that he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.

²⁰Then he took the calf which they had made and completely burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

²¹Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?”

²²And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil.

²³For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’

²⁴So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

²⁵Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among their enemies—

²⁶Moses then stood at the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

²⁷And he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Every man of you put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ”

²⁸So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

²⁹Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

³⁰And on the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

³¹Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves!

³²But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your book which You have written!”

³³However, the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will wipe him out of My book.

³⁴But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless on the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵Then the LORD struck the people with a plague, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

¹Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

²You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people,

³revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

⁴Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ.

⁵Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,

⁶who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,

⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?

⁹For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory.

¹⁰For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it.

¹¹For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

¹²Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,

¹³and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was fading away.

¹⁴But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

¹⁵But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts;

¹⁶but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

¹⁸But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

²To Timothy, my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³Just as I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, to remain on at Ephesus so that you would instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrines,

⁴nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation rather than advance the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now.

⁵But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith.

⁶Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

⁷wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

⁸But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

⁹realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

¹⁰for the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

¹¹according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,

¹³even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;

¹⁴and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.

¹⁶Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,

¹⁹keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

²⁰Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

¹Then Job responded,

²“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.

³Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

⁴As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?

⁸Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.

¹²They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

¹⁶Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God saves up a person’s wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is at an end?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?

²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

²⁴His sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,

²⁵While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.

²⁶Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their evidence?

³⁰For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.

³¹Who confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?

³²When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.

³³The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will follow after him, While countless others go before him.

³⁴So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”

¹Blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the Law of the LORD.

²Blessed are those who comply with His testimonies, And seek Him with all their heart.

³They also do no injustice; They walk in His ways.

⁴You have ordained Your precepts, That we are to keep them diligently.

⁵Oh that my ways may be established To keep Your statutes!

⁶Then I will not be ashamed When I look at all Your commandments.

⁷I will give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments.

⁸I will keep Your statutes; Do not utterly abandon me!

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.

¹⁰With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

¹¹I have treasured Your word in my heart, So that I may not sin against You.

¹²Blessed are You, LORD; Teach me Your statutes.

¹³With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.

¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.

¹⁵I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.

¹⁶I shall delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

¹⁷Deal generously with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word.

¹⁸Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your Law.

¹⁹I am a stranger on the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.

²⁰My soul is crushed with longing For Your ordinances at all times.

²¹You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, Who wander from Your commandments.

²²Take disgrace and contempt away from me, For I comply with Your testimonies.

²³Even though rulers sit and speak against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes.

²⁴Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my advisers.

²⁵My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.

²⁶I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes.

²⁷Make me understand the way of Your precepts, And I will meditate on Your wonders.

²⁸My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word.

²⁹Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your Law.

³⁰I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your judgments before me.

³¹I cling to Your testimonies; LORD, do not put me to shame!

³²I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.

³³Teach me, the way of Your statutes, LORD, And I shall comply with it to the end.

³⁴Give me understanding, so that I may comply with Your Law And keep it with all my heart.

³⁵Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it.

³⁶Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to dishonest gain.

³⁷Turn my eyes away from looking at what is worthless, And revive me in Your ways.

³⁸Establish Your word to Your servant As that which produces reverence for You.

³⁹Take away my disgrace which I dread, For Your judgments are good.

⁴⁰Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me through Your righteousness.

⁴¹May Your favor also come to me, LORD, Your salvation according to Your word;

⁴²So that I will have an answer for one who taunts me, For I trust in Your word.

⁴³And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your judgments.

⁴⁴So I will keep Your Law continually, Forever and ever.

⁴⁵And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.

⁴⁶I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings And shall not be ashamed.

⁴⁷I will delight in Your commandments, Which I love.

⁴⁸And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes.

⁴⁹Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope.

⁵⁰This is my comfort in my misery, That Your word has revived me.

⁵¹The arrogant utterly deride me, Yet I do not turn aside from Your Law.

⁵²I have remembered Your judgments from of old, LORD, And comfort myself.

⁵³Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, Who abandon Your Law.

⁵⁴Your statutes are my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.

⁵⁵LORD, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your Law.

⁵⁶This has become mine, That I comply with Your precepts.

⁵⁷The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.

⁵⁸I sought Your favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word.

⁵⁹I considered my ways And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

⁶⁰I hurried and did not delay To keep Your commandments.

⁶¹The snares of the wicked have surrounded me, But I have not forgotten Your Law.

⁶²At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous judgments.

⁶³I am a companion to all those who fear You, And to those who keep Your precepts.

⁶⁴The earth is full of Your goodness, LORD; Teach me Your statutes.

⁶⁵You have treated Your servant well, LORD, according to Your word.

⁶⁶Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your commandments.

⁶⁷Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

⁶⁸You are good and You do good; Teach me Your statutes.

⁶⁹The arrogant have forged a lie against me; With all my heart I will comply with Your precepts.

⁷⁰Their heart is insensitive, like fat, But I delight in Your Law.

⁷¹It is good for me that I was afflicted, So that I may learn Your statutes.

⁷²The Law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

⁷³Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, so that I may learn Your commandments.

⁷⁴May those who fear You see me and be glad, Because I wait for Your word.

⁷⁵I know, LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that You have afflicted me in faithfulness.

⁷⁶May Your favor comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant.

⁷⁷May Your compassion come to me so that I may live, For Your Law is my delight.

⁷⁸May the arrogant be put to shame, because they lead me astray with a lie; But I shall meditate on Your precepts.

⁷⁹May those who fear You turn to me, And those who know Your testimonies.

⁸⁰May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, So that I will not be ashamed.

⁸¹My soul languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.

⁸²My eyes fail with longing for Your word, While I say, “When will You comfort me?”

⁸³Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.

⁸⁴How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?

⁸⁵The arrogant have dug pits for me, People who are not in accord with Your Law.

⁸⁶All Your commandments are faithful; They have persecuted me with a lie; help me!

⁸⁷They almost destroyed me on earth, But as for me, I did not abandon Your precepts.

⁸⁸Revive me according to Your faithfulness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

⁸⁹Forever, LORD, Your word stands in heaven.

⁹⁰Your faithfulness continues throughout generations; You established the earth, and it stands.

⁹¹They stand this day by Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants.

⁹²If Your Law had not been my delight, Then I would have perished in my misery.

⁹³I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me.

⁹⁴I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your precepts.

⁹⁵The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I will diligently consider Your testimonies.

⁹⁶I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

⁹⁷How I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day.

⁹⁸Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine.

⁹⁹I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

¹⁰⁰I understand more than those who are old, Because I have complied with Your precepts.

¹⁰¹I have restrained my feet from every evil way, So that I may keep Your word.

¹⁰²I have not turned aside from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me.

¹⁰³How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁰⁴From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

¹⁰⁶I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

¹⁰⁷I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, LORD, according to Your word.

¹⁰⁸Be pleased to accept the voluntary offerings of my mouth, LORD, And teach me Your judgments.

¹⁰⁹My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your Law.

¹¹⁰The wicked have set a trap for me, Yet I have not wandered from Your precepts.

¹¹¹I have inherited Your testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹²I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end.

¹¹³I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your Law.

¹¹⁴You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.

¹¹⁵Leave me, you evildoers, So that I may comply with the commandments of my God.

¹¹⁶Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.

¹¹⁷Sustain me so that I may be safe, That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.

¹¹⁸You have rejected all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceitfulness is useless.

¹¹⁹You have removed all the wicked of the earth like impurities; Therefore I love Your testimonies.

¹²⁰My flesh trembles from the fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

¹²¹I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors.

¹²²Be a guarantor for Your servant for good; Do not let the arrogant oppress me.

¹²³My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation, And for Your righteous word.

¹²⁴Deal with Your servant according to Your graciousness, And teach me Your statutes.

¹²⁵I am Your servant; give me understanding, So that I may know Your testimonies.

¹²⁶It is time for the LORD to act, For they have broken Your Law.

¹²⁷Therefore I love Your commandments Above gold, yes, above pure gold.

¹²⁸Therefore I carefully follow all Your precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way.

¹²⁹Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul complies with them.

¹³⁰The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

¹³¹I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Your commandments.

¹³²Turn to me and be gracious to me, As is right for those who love Your name.

¹³³Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any wrongdoing have power over me.

¹³⁴Redeem me from oppression by man, So that I may keep Your precepts.

¹³⁵Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes.

¹³⁶My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your Law.

¹³⁷You are righteous, LORD, And Your judgments are right.

¹³⁸You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness And great faithfulness.

¹³⁹My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.

¹⁴⁰Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it.

¹⁴¹I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts.

¹⁴²Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your Law is truth.

¹⁴³Trouble and anguish have come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight.

¹⁴⁴Your testimonies are righteous forever; Give me understanding that I may live.

¹⁴⁵I cried out with all my heart; answer me, LORD! I will comply with Your statutes.

¹⁴⁶I cried to You; save me And I shall keep Your testimonies.

¹⁴⁷I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words.

¹⁴⁸My eyes anticipate the night watches, So that I may meditate on Your word.

¹⁴⁹Hear my voice according to Your faithfulness; Revive me, LORD, according to Your judgments.

¹⁵⁰Those who follow after wickedness approach; They are far from Your Law.

¹⁵¹You are near, LORD, And all Your commandments are truth.

¹⁵²From long ago I have known from Your testimonies That You have founded them forever.

¹⁵³Look at my affliction and rescue me, For I have not forgotten Your Law.

¹⁵⁴Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.

¹⁵⁵Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.

¹⁵⁶Great are Your mercies, LORD; Revive me according to Your judgments.

¹⁵⁷Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies.

¹⁵⁸I see the treacherous and loathe them, Because they do not keep Your word.

¹⁵⁹Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, LORD, according to Your faithfulness.

¹⁶⁰The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments is everlasting.

¹⁶¹Rulers persecute me without cause, But my heart stands in awe of Your words.

¹⁶²I rejoice at Your word, Like one who finds great plunder.

¹⁶³I hate and loathe falsehood, But I love Your Law.

¹⁶⁴Seven times a day I praise You Because of Your righteous judgments.

¹⁶⁵Those who love Your Law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.

¹⁶⁶I hope for Your salvation, LORD, And do Your commandments.

¹⁶⁷My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.

¹⁶⁸I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, For all my ways are before You.

¹⁶⁹Let my cry come before You, LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word.

¹⁷⁰Let my pleading come before You; Save me according to Your word.

¹⁷¹Let my lips pour out praise, For You teach me Your statutes.

¹⁷²Let my tongue sing about Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.

¹⁷³Let Your hand be ready to help me, For I have chosen Your precepts.

¹⁷⁴I long for Your salvation, LORD, And Your Law is my delight.

¹⁷⁵Let my soul live that it may praise You, And let Your ordinances help me.

¹⁷⁶I have wandered about like a lost sheep; search for Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.

¹The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases.

²Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD examines the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, But everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.

⁶The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Bringing the wicked to ruin.

¹³One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor Will also call out himself, and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.

¹⁵The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But terror to those who practice injustice.

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.

²¹One who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

²⁴“Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names, One who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy one puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

²⁶All day long he is craving, While the righteous gives and does not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish, But a person who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked person displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses,

³so that one who commits manslaughter by killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood.

⁴Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and state his case in the presence of the elders of that city; and they shall receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them.

⁵Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously.

⁶And he shall remain in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then he shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’ ”

⁷So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

⁸And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

⁹These were the designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever kills a person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

¹The pronouncement concerning Egypt: Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

²“So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, each against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom.

³Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead, And to mediums and spiritists.

⁴Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of armies.

⁵The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry.

⁶The canals will emit a stench, The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; The reeds and rushes will rot away.

⁷The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

⁸And the fishermen will grieve, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.

⁹Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected.

¹⁰And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

¹¹The officials of Zoan are mere fools; The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?

¹²Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the LORD of armies Has planned against Egypt.

¹³The officials of Zoan have turned out to be fools, The officials of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray.

¹⁴The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of distortion; They have led Egypt astray in all that it does, As a drunken person staggers in his vomit.

¹⁵There will be no work for Egypt Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.

¹⁶On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great fear because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of armies, which He is going to wave over them.

¹⁷The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the plan of the LORD of armies which He is making against them.

¹⁸On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of armies; one will be called the City of Destruction.

¹⁹On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the LORD beside its border.

²⁰And it will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will save them.

²¹So the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD on that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the LORD and perform it.

²²And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.

²³On that day there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

²⁵whom the LORD of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

¹Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²And according to Paul’s custom, he visited them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

⁴And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a significant number of the leading women.

⁵But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and they attacked the house of Jason and were seeking to bring them out to the people.

⁶When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;

⁷and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

⁸They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

⁹And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

¹²Therefore, many of them believed, along with a significant number of prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

¹⁴Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present.

¹⁸And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

²⁰For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”

²¹(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

²²So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.

²³For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;

²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

²⁶and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

²⁷that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

²⁸for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’

²⁹Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

³⁰So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent,

³¹because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

³²Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you again concerning this.”

³³So Paul went out from among them.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.