Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.”

³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’

⁵But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father.

⁶So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.

⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:

⁸‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

¹⁰Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:

¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

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

¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”

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

¹⁶Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding?

¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?

¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.

²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”

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

²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

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

²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

²⁹After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down.

³⁰Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them,

³¹so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

³³The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?”

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

³⁵Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground,

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

³⁷And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

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

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

¹When any of you sin in that you have heard a public adjuration to testify and — though able to testify as one who has seen or learned of the matter — do not speak up, you are subject to punishment.

²Or when any of you touch any unclean thing — whether the carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing — and are unaware of it, you have become unclean, and are guilty.

³Or when you touch human uncleanness — any uncleanness by which one can become unclean — and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall be guilty.

⁴Or when any of you utter aloud a rash oath for a bad or a good purpose, whatever people utter in an oath, and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall in any of these be guilty.

⁵When you realize your guilt in any of these, you shall confess the sin that you have committed.

⁶And you shall bring to the LORD, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, a female from the flock, a sheep or a goat, as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for your sin.

⁷But if you cannot afford a sheep, you shall bring to the LORD, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

⁸You shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering, wringing its head at the nape without severing it.

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

¹⁰And the second he shall offer for a burnt offering according to the regulation. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.

¹¹But if you cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, you shall bring as your offering for the sin that you have committed one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a sin offering; you shall not put oil on it or lay frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

¹²You shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall scoop up a handful of it as its memorial portion, and turn this into smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the LORD; it is a sin offering.

¹³Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for whichever of these sins you have committed, and you shall be forgiven. Like the grain offering, the rest shall be for the priest.

¹⁴The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

¹⁵When any of you commit a trespass and sin unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, you shall bring, as your guilt offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into silver by the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.

¹⁶And you shall make restitution for the holy thing in which you were remiss, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. The priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and you shall be forgiven.

¹⁷If any of you sin without knowing it, doing any of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, you have incurred guilt, and are subject to punishment.

¹⁸You shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, or the equivalent, as a guilt offering; and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the error that you committed unintentionally, and you shall be forgiven.

¹⁹It is a guilt offering; you have incurred guilt before the LORD.

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!

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

³Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?

⁴Did you experience so much for nothing? — if it really was for nothing.

⁵Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

⁶Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”

⁷so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.

⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.”

⁹For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

¹⁰For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.”

¹¹Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

¹²But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.”

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” —

¹⁴in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

¹⁵Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.

¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.

¹⁷My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

¹⁸For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

¹⁹Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator.

²⁰Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

²¹Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law.

²²But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.

²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,

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

²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

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

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

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker,

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

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

⁴When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God

⁵because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus.

⁶I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ.

⁷I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

⁸For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty,

⁹yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love — and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

¹⁰I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.

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

¹²I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.

¹³I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel;

¹⁴but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.

¹⁵Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever,

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

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

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

¹⁹I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self.

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ.

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

²²One thing more — prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,

²⁴and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

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

¹Then Elihu continued and said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know;

³for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

⁴Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job has said, ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right;

⁶in spite of being right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

⁷Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,

⁸who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked?

⁹For he has said, ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’

¹⁰“Therefore, hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹¹For according to their deeds he will repay them, and according to their ways he will make it befall them.

¹²Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him charge over the earth and who laid on him the whole world?

¹⁴If he should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to himself his breath,

¹⁵all flesh would perish together, and all mortals return to dust.

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

¹⁷Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty,

¹⁸who says to a king, ‘You scoundrel!’ and to princes, ‘You wicked men!’;

¹⁹who shows no partiality to nobles, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

²⁰In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

²¹“For his eyes are upon the ways of mortals, and he sees all their steps.

²²There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

²³For he has not appointed a time for anyone to go before God in judgment.

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

²⁵Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶He strikes them for their wickedness while others look on,

²⁷because they turned aside from following him, and had no regard for any of his ways,

²⁸so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted —

²⁹When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or an individual? —

³⁰so that the godless should not reign, or those who ensnare the people.

³¹“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have endured punishment; I will not offend any more;

³²teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

³³Will he then pay back to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.

³⁴Those who have sense will say to me, and the wise who hear me will say,

³⁵‘Job speaks without knowledge, his words are without insight.’

³⁶Would that Job were tried to the limit, because his answers are those of the wicked.

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God.”

¹O LORD, remember in David’s favor all the hardships he endured;

²how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

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

⁴I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,

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

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

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

⁸Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.

⁹Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy.

¹⁰For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.

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

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

¹⁴“This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it.

¹⁵I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread.

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

¹⁷There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

¹⁸His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”

¹My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;

²for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.

³Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people.

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

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.

⁹Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹My child, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,

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

¹³Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding,

¹⁴for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

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

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.

¹⁹The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;

²⁰by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My child, do not let these escape from your sight: keep sound wisdom and prudence,

²²and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.

²³Then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble.

²⁴If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden panic, or of the storm that strikes the wicked;

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it” — when you have it with you.

²⁹Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you.

³⁰Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.

³¹Do not envy the violent and do not choose any of their ways;

³²for the perverse are an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.

³³The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous.

³⁴Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favor.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor, but stubborn fools, disgrace.

¹Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s kinsfolk and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,

²“Say in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”

³So his mother’s kinsfolk spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem; and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

⁴They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the temple of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.

⁵He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; but Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, for he hid himself.

⁶Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

⁷When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

⁸The trees once went out to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

⁹The olive tree answered them, ‘Shall I stop producing my rich oil by which gods and mortals are honored, and go to sway over the trees?’

¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’

¹¹But the fig tree answered them, ‘Shall I stop producing my sweetness and my delicious fruit, and go to sway over the trees?’

¹²Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’

¹³But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I stop producing my wine that cheers gods and mortals, and go to sway over the trees?’

¹⁴So all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’

¹⁵And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

¹⁶“Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and honor when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as his actions deserved —

¹⁷for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and rescued you from the hand of Midian;

¹⁸but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your kinsman —

¹⁹if, I say, you have acted in good faith and honor with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;

²⁰but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the lords of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.”

²¹Then Jotham ran away and fled, going to Beer, where he remained for fear of his brother Abimelech.

²²Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

²³But God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.

²⁴This happened so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be avenged and their blood be laid on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

²⁵So, out of hostility to him, the lords of Shechem set ambushes on the mountain tops. They robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶When Gaal son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his kinsfolk, the lords of Shechem put confidence in him.

²⁷They went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards, trod them, and celebrated. Then they went into the temple of their god, ate and drank, and ridiculed Abimelech.

²⁸Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Did not the son of Jerubbaal and Zebul his officer serve the men of Hamor father of Shechem? Why then should we serve him?

²⁹If only this people were under my command! Then I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

³⁰When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

³¹He sent messengers to Abimelech at Arumah, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his kinsfolk have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you.

³²Now therefore, go by night, you and the troops that are with you, and lie in wait in the fields.

³³Then early in the morning, as soon as the sun rises, get up and rush on the city; and when he and the troops that are with him come out against you, you may deal with them as best you can.”

³⁴So Abimelech and all the troops with him got up by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

³⁵When Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, Abimelech and the troops with him rose from the ambush.

³⁶And when Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountain tops!” And Zebul said to him, “The shadows on the mountains look like people to you.”

³⁷Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.”

³⁸Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your boast now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the troops you made light of? Go out now and fight with them.”

³⁹So Gaal went out at the head of the lords of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

⁴⁰Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. Many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.

⁴¹So Abimelech resided at Arumah; and Zebul drove out Gaal and his kinsfolk, so that they could not live on at Shechem.

⁴²On the following day the people went out into the fields. When Abimelech was told,

⁴³he took his troops and divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. When he looked and saw the people coming out of the city, he rose against them and killed them.

⁴⁴Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed on all who were in the fields and killed them.

⁴⁵Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city, and killed the people that were in it; and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶When all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the temple of El-berith.

⁴⁷Abimelech was told that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together.

⁴⁸So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the troops that were with him. Abimelech took an ax in his hand, cut down a bundle of brushwood, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the troops with him, “What you have seen me do, do quickly, as I have done.”

⁴⁹So every one of the troops cut down a bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

⁵¹But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the lords of the city fled to it and shut themselves in; and they went to the roof of the tower.

⁵²Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and came near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.

⁵³But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull.

⁵⁴Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armor and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man thrust him through, and he died.

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

⁵⁶Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers;

⁵⁷and God also made all the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall back on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.

¹See, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.

²Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.

³Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed, and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.

⁴The minds of the rash will have good judgment, and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.

⁵A fool will no longer be called noble, nor a villain said to be honorable.

⁶For fools speak folly, and their minds plot iniquity: to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the LORD, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.

⁷The villainies of villains are evil; they devise wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.

⁸But those who are noble plan noble things, and by noble things they stand.

⁹Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, listen to my speech.

¹⁰In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent ones; for the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not come.

¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and put sackcloth on your loins.

¹²Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

¹³for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers; yes, for all the joyous houses in the jubilant city.

¹⁴For the palace will be forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, the joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks;

¹⁵until a spirit from on high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

¹⁶Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.

¹⁷The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

¹⁸My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

¹⁹The forest will disappear completely, and the city will be utterly laid low.

²⁰Happy will you be who sow beside every stream, who let the ox and the donkey range freely.

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

²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.

⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.

⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

¹¹Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.

¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

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

²²“You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know —

²³this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.

²⁴But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

²⁵For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;

²⁶therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope.

²⁷For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption.

²⁸You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

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

³¹Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’

³²This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

³³Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.

³⁴For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

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

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

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

⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.