Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

²And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.

⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

⁵Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.

⁶But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

⁸But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

⁹He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

¹⁰And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

¹²For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

¹⁴And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;

¹⁵For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;

¹⁷for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

¹⁸“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

²⁰But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

²²Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

²³But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

²⁴Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

²⁵but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

²⁶But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

²⁷So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

²⁹But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

³¹Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,

³²which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

³³Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,

³⁵that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

³⁸The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

⁴⁰Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

⁴²and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

⁴⁴“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,

⁴⁶who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,

⁴⁸which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.

⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,

⁵⁰and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

⁵¹Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

⁵²Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

⁵³Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.

⁵⁴When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

⁵⁵Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”

⁵⁷So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”

⁵⁸Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

¹‘When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.

²And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.

³Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the LORD. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

⁴the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove;

⁵and Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

⁶‘If his offering as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD is of the flock, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish.

⁷If he offers a lamb as his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD.

⁸And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.

⁹‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the LORD, its fat and the whole fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

¹⁰the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove;

¹¹and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

¹²‘And if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.

¹³He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.

¹⁴Then he shall offer from it his offering, as an offering made by fire to the LORD. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

¹⁵the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove;

¹⁶and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the LORD’s.

¹⁷‘This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’ ”

¹Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),

²and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

⁵to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,

⁷which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

⁹As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

¹⁰For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

¹¹But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

¹²For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

¹⁴And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

¹⁶to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,

¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

¹⁸Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.

¹⁹But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰(Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)

²¹Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

²²And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.

²³But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴And they glorified God in me.

¹But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:

²that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;

³the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—

⁴that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

⁶Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,

⁷in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,

⁸sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

⁹Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back,

¹⁰not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

¹²teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

¹³looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

¹⁴who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

¹⁵Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

¹So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.

³Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

⁴Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.

⁵When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.

⁶So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you.

⁷I said, ‘Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’

⁸But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

⁹Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.

¹⁰“Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.’

¹¹Indeed I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.

¹²I paid close attention to you; And surely not one of you convinced Job, Or answered his words—

¹³Lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom’; God will vanquish him, not man.

¹⁴Now he has not directed his words against me; So I will not answer him with your words.

¹⁵“They are dismayed and answer no more; Words escape them.

¹⁶And I have waited, because they did not speak, Because they stood still and answered no more.

¹⁷I also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion.

¹⁸For I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me.

¹⁹Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; It is ready to burst like new wineskins.

²⁰I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.

²¹Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone; Nor let me flatter any man.

²²For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon take me away.

¹A Song of Ascents. [1] Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;

²Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.

³If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

⁴But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

⁵I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.

⁶My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.

⁸And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding,

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—

⁵A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

⁹For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

¹³We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse”—

¹⁵My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.

²¹She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:

²²“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.

²³Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

²⁵Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,

²⁷When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD,

³⁰They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke.

³¹Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

³²For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

¹Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

²And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

³Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

⁴But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”

⁵So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.”

⁶And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.

⁷Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”

⁸So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

⁹It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.

¹⁰But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant,

¹¹and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.

¹²Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

¹³And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”

¹⁴Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”

¹⁵And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”

¹⁶Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.

¹⁷And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do:

¹⁸When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’ ”

¹⁹So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

²⁰Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”

²¹And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.

²²When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

²³And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

²⁴Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.

²⁵And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

¹“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;

²Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

³Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation.

⁴For his princes were at Zoan, And his ambassadors came to Hanes.

⁵They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach.”

⁶The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, From which came the lioness and lion, The viper and fiery flying serpent, They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people who shall not profit;

⁷For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her Rahab-Hem-Shebeth.

⁸Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever:

⁹That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD;

¹⁰Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.

¹¹Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.”

¹²Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them,

¹³Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.

¹⁴And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments A shard to take fire from the hearth, Or to take water from the cistern.”

¹⁵For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not,

¹⁶And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”— Therefore you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses”— Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!

¹⁷One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill.

¹⁸Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

¹⁹For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.

²⁰And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers.

²¹Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

²²You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!”

²³Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.

²⁴Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.

²⁵There will be on every high mountain And on every high hill Rivers and streams of waters, In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall.

²⁶Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound.

²⁷Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire.

²⁸His breath is like an overflowing stream, Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err.

²⁹You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the LORD, To the Mighty One of Israel.

³⁰The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones.

³¹For through the voice of the LORD Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod.

³²And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the LORD lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.

³³For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it.

¹Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

²And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

⁴So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”

⁵But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

¹⁰They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

¹¹After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

¹²And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.

¹³From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli,

¹⁴where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.

¹⁵And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,

¹⁸who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death.

¹⁹But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation.

²⁰For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

²¹Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you.

²²But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

²⁴And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

²⁵So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

²⁶saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;

²⁷For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ’

²⁸“Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”

²⁹And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.

³⁰Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,

³¹preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.