Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,

²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”

³He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?

⁴For God said: Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.

⁵But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,”

⁶he does not have to honor his father.’ In this way, you have nullified the word of God because of your tradition.

⁷Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

⁸ This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

⁹ They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands.”

¹⁰Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand:

¹¹It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth — this defiles a person.”

¹²Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”

¹³He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.

¹⁴Leave them alone! They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Then Peter said, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁶“Do you still lack understanding?” he asked.

¹⁷“Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?

¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.

¹⁹For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander.

²⁰These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

²¹When Jesus left there, he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.

²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”

²³Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”

²⁴He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.

²⁹Moving on from there, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat there,

³⁰and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them.

³¹So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

³²Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

³³The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to feed such a crowd?”

³⁴“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them. “Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”

³⁵After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground,

³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

³⁷They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces — seven large baskets full.

³⁸Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children.

³⁹After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

¹“When someone sins in any of these ways: If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he will bear his iniquity.

²Or if someone touches anything unclean  — a carcass of an unclean wild animal, or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature  — without being aware of it, he is unclean and incurs guilt.

³Or if he touches human uncleanness  — any uncleanness by which one can become defiled  — without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.

⁴Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil — concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath — without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

⁵If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess he has committed that sin.

⁶He must bring his penalty for guilt for the sin he has committed to the LORD: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

⁷“But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the LORD two turtledoves or two young pigeons as penalty for guilt for his sin — one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

⁸He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it.

⁹Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.

¹⁰He will prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹¹“But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

¹²He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion and burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the LORD; it is a sin offering.

¹³In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”

¹⁴Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

¹⁵“If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his penalty for guilt to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel ) as a guilt offering.

¹⁶He is to make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁷“If someone sins and without knowing it violates any of the LORD’s commands concerning anything prohibited, he is guilty, and he will bear his iniquity.

¹⁸He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a guilt offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁹It is a guilt offering; he is indeed guilty before the LORD.”

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

²I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard?

³Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?

⁴Did you experience so much for nothing — if in fact it was for nothing?

⁵So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard —

⁶just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?

⁷You know, then, that those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons.

⁸Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you.

⁹Consequently those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.

¹⁰For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

¹¹Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.

¹²But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them.

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

¹⁴The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.

¹⁵Brothers and sisters, I’m using a human illustration. No one sets aside or makes additions to a validated human will.

¹⁶Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ.

¹⁷My point is this: The law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and thus cancel the promise.

¹⁸For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise; but God has graciously given it to Abraham through the promise.

¹⁹Why then was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.

²⁰Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one.

²¹Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law.

²²But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe.

²³Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.

²⁴The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.

²⁵But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

²⁶for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

²⁷For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

²⁸There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother: To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your home.

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

⁴I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,

⁵because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.

⁶I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.

⁷For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right,

⁹I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus,

¹⁰appeal to you for my son, Onesimus. I became his father while I was in chains.

¹¹Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.

¹²I am sending him back to you — I am sending my very own heart.

¹³I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place.

¹⁴But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will.

¹⁵For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently,

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave — as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me.

¹⁸And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it — not to mention to you that you owe me even your very self.

²⁰Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹Since I am confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

²²Meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, since I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, and so do

²⁴Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹Then Elihu continued, saying:

²Hear my words, you wise ones, and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.

³Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food?

⁴Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good.

⁵For Job has declared, “I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.

⁶Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.”

⁷What man is like Job? He drinks derision like water.

⁸He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.

⁹For he has said, “A man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”

¹⁰Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God to do wrong, and for the Almighty to act unjustly.

¹¹For he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves.

¹²Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him authority over the earth? Who put him in charge of the entire world?

¹⁴If he put his mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave,

¹⁵every living thing would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.

¹⁶If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I have to say.

¹⁷Could one who hates justice govern the world? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,

¹⁸who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?

¹⁹God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.

²⁰They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.

²¹For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps.

²²There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide.

²³God does not need to examine a person further, that one should approach him in court.

²⁴He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place.

²⁵Therefore, he recognizes their deeds and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.

²⁶In full view of the public, he strikes them for their wickedness,

²⁷because they turned aside from following him and did not understand any of his ways

²⁸but caused the poor to cry out to him, and he heard the outcry of the needy.

²⁹But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations,

³⁰so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.

³¹Suppose someone says to God, “I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly.

³²Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”

³³Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? You must choose, not I! So declare what you know.

³⁴Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise men who hear me,

³⁵“Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.”

³⁶If only Job were tested to the limit, because his answers are like those of wicked men.

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin; he scornfully claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.

¹A song of ascents. [1] LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured,

²and how he swore an oath to the LORD, making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

³“I will not enter my house or get into my bed,

⁴I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber

⁵until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶We heard of the ark in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.

⁷Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool.

⁸Rise up, LORD, come to your resting place, you and your powerful ark.

⁹May your priests be clothed with righteousness, and may your faithful people shout for joy.

¹⁰For the sake of your servant David, do not reject your anointed one.

¹¹The LORD swore an oath to David, a promise he will not abandon: “I will set one of your offspring on your throne.

¹²If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I will teach them, their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

¹³For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his home:

¹⁴“This is my resting place forever; I will make my home here because I have desired it.

¹⁵I will abundantly bless its food; I will satisfy its needy with bread.

¹⁶I will clothe its priests with salvation, and its faithful people will shout for joy.

¹⁷There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown he wears will be glorious.”

¹My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands;

²for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being.

³Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;

⁶in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

⁷Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest;

¹⁰then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹Do not despise the LORD’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline;

¹²for the LORD disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding,

¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver, and her revenue is better than gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; in her left, riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths, peaceful.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are happy.

¹⁹The LORD founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.

²⁰By his knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew.

²¹Maintain sound wisdom and discretion. My son, don’t lose sight of them.

²²They will be life for you and adornment for your neck.

²³Then you will go safely on your way; your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.

²⁵Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes,

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.

²⁷When it is in your power, don’t withhold good from the one to whom it belongs.

²⁸Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later. I’ll give it tomorrow” — when it is there with you.

²⁹Don’t plan any harm against your neighbor, for he trusts you and lives near you.

³⁰Don’t accuse anyone without cause, when he has done you no harm.

³¹Don’t envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;

³²for the devious are detestable to the LORD, but he is a friend to the upright.

³³The LORD’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous;

³⁴He mocks those who mock, but gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor, but he holds up fools to dishonor.

¹Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem and spoke to his uncles and to his mother’s whole clan, saying,

²“Please speak in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you? ’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”

³His mother’s relatives spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

⁴So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith. Abimelech used it to hire worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.

⁵He went to his father’s house in Ophrah and killed his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on top of a large stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid.

⁶Then all the citizens of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

⁷When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and called to them: Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, and may God listen to you:

⁸The trees decided to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, “Reign over us.”

⁹But the olive tree said to them, “Should I stop giving my oil that people use to honor both God and men, and rule over the trees?”

¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree, “Come and reign over us.”

¹¹But the fig tree said to them, “Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, and rule over trees?”

¹²Later, the trees said to the grapevine, “Come and reign over us.”

¹³But the grapevine said to them, “Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, and rule over trees?”

¹⁴Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, “Come and reign over us.”

¹⁵The bramble said to the trees, “If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”

¹⁶“Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did —

¹⁷for my father fought for you, risked his life, and rescued you from Midian,

¹⁸and now you have attacked my father’s family today, killed his seventy sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the citizens of Shechem ‘because he is your brother’ —

¹⁹so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.

²⁰But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”

²¹Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.

²²When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years,

²³God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully,

²⁴so that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers.

²⁵The citizens of Shechem rebelled against him by putting men in ambush on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the citizens of Shechem trusted him.

²⁷So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

²⁸Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn’t Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

²⁹If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech.” So he said to Abimelech, “Gather your army and come out.”

³⁰When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was angry.

³¹So he secretly sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Beware! Gaal son of Ebed, with his brothers, have come to Shechem and are turning the city against you.

³²Now tonight, you and the troops with you, come and wait in ambush in the countryside.

³³Then get up early, and at sunrise attack the city. When he and the troops who are with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”

³⁴So Abimelech and all the troops with him got up at night and waited in ambush for Shechem in four units.

³⁵Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. Then Abimelech and the troops who were with him got up from their ambush.

³⁶When Gaal saw the troops, he said to Zebul, “Look, troops are coming down from the mountaintops!” But Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”

³⁷Then Gaal spoke again, “Look, troops are coming down from the central part of the land, and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

³⁸Zebul replied, “What do you have to say now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? ’ Aren’t these the troops you despised? Now go and fight them!”

³⁹So Gaal went out leading the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,

⁴⁰but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Numerous bodies were strewn as far as the entrance of the city gate.

⁴¹Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers from Shechem.

⁴²The next day when the people of Shechem went into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelech.

⁴³He took the troops, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down.

⁴⁴Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down.

⁴⁵So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶When all the citizens of the Tower of Shechem heard, they entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.

⁴⁷Then it was reported to Abimelech that all the citizens of the Tower of Shechem had gathered.

⁴⁸So Abimelech and all the troops who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the troops who were with him, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”

⁴⁹Each of the troops also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire; about a thousand men and women died, including all the men of the Tower of Shechem.

⁵⁰Abimelech went to Thebez, camped against it, and captured it.

⁵¹There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and citizens of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.

⁵²When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.

⁵³But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull.

⁵⁴He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his armor-bearer ran him through, and he died.

⁵⁵When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

⁵⁶In this way, God brought back Abimelech’s evil—the evil that Abimelech had done to his father when he killed his seventy brothers.

⁵⁷God also brought back to the men of Shechem all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

¹Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly.

²Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the rain, like flowing streams in a dry land and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.

³Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.

⁴The reckless mind will gain knowledge, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.

⁵A fool will no longer be called a noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important.

⁶For a fool speaks foolishness and his mind plots iniquity. He lives in a godless way and speaks falsely about the LORD. He leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

⁷The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies, even when the poor person says what is right.

⁸But a noble person plans noble things; he stands up for noble causes.

⁹Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Pay attention to what I say, you overconfident daughters.

¹⁰In a little more than a year you overconfident ones will shudder, for the grapes will fail and the harvest will not come.

¹¹Shudder, you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.

¹²Beat your breasts in mourning for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,

¹³for the ground of my people growing thorns and briers, indeed, for every joyous house in the jubilant city.

¹⁴For the palace will be deserted, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become barren places forever, the joy of wild donkeys, and a pasture for flocks,

¹⁵until the Spirit from on high is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.

¹⁶Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.

¹⁷The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

¹⁸Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings.

¹⁹But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink into the depths.

²⁰You will be happy as you sow seed beside abundant water, and as you let oxen and donkeys range freely.

¹When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.

²Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.

³They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.

⁴Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven.

⁶When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

⁷They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?

⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),

¹¹Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”

¹²They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

¹⁴Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.

¹⁶On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.

¹⁹I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

²²“Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know.

²³Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.

²⁴God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.

²⁵For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,

²⁷because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay.

²⁸You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence.

²⁹“Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne.

³¹Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.

³²“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this.

³³Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.

³⁴For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.’

³⁶“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

⁴¹So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

⁴⁴Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.

⁴⁵They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.