Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that is beyond the Jordan;

²and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

³And Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"

⁴He replied, "Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

⁵and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined inseparably to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?

⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate."

⁷The Pharisees said to Him, "Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

⁸He said to them, "Because your hearts were hard and stubborn Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

⁹I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."

¹⁰The disciples said to Jesus, "If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry."

¹¹But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given.

¹²For there are eunuchs who have been born that way from their mother's womb [making them incapable of consummating a marriage]; and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men [for royal service]; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

¹³Then children were brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them [for a blessing] and pray; but the disciples reprimanded them.

¹⁴But He said, "Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

¹⁵After placing His hands on them [for a blessing], He went on from there.

¹⁶And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what [essentially] good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah's kingdom]?"

¹⁷Jesus answered, "Why are you asking Me about what is [essentially] good? There is only One who is [essentially] good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments."

¹⁸He said to Jesus, "Which commandments?" And Jesus answered, "You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony;

¹⁹Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself" [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].

²⁰The young man said to Him, "I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?"

²¹Jesus answered him, "If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk]."

²²But when the young man heard this, he left grieving and distressed, for he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].

²³Jesus said to His disciples, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is difficult for a rich man [who clings to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth and status] to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished and bewildered, saying, "Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?"

²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said, "With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

²⁷Then Peter answered Him, saying, "Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord]; what then will there be for us?"

²⁸Jesus said to them, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, in the renewal [that is, the Messianic restoration and regeneration of all things] when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you [who have followed Me, becoming My disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who are first [in this world] will be last [in the world to come]; and the last, first.

¹And it happened on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel;

²and he said to Aaron, "Take a bull calf as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, [each] without blemish, and offer both before the LORD.

³Then say to the Israelites, 'Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering,

⁴and a bull and a ram as peace offerings to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with [olive] oil, for today the LORD will appear to you.'"

⁵So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and all the congregation approached and stood before the LORD.

⁶Moses said, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."

⁷Moses said to Aaron, "Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, just as the LORD has commanded."

⁸So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf as the sin offering, which was designated for himself.

⁹The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in the blood and put some of it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the altar's base;

¹⁰but the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹¹And Aaron burned the meat and the hide in the fire outside the camp.

¹²Then he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar.

¹³They brought the burnt offering to him piece by piece, with the head, and Aaron offered them up in smoke on the altar.

¹⁴He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵Then Aaron presented the people's offering. He took the goat for the sin offering of the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, as he did the first.

¹⁶He also presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the ordinance.

¹⁷Next Aaron presented the grain offering and took a handful of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.

¹⁸He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar,

¹⁹As for the portions of fat from the bull and from the ram—the fat tail, and the fat covering the internal organs, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver—

²⁰they now put the portions of fat on the breasts; and Aaron offered the fat up in smoke on the altar.

²¹But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the LORD, just as Moses had commanded.

²²Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down [from the altar of burnt offering] after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.

²³Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory and brilliance of the LORD [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised].

²⁴Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].

¹Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed), by the will of God [that is, by His purpose and choice], To the saints (God's people) who are at Ephesus and are faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus:

²Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed and worthy of praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ,

⁴just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is, consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight. In love

⁵He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will—

⁶to the praise of His glorious grace and favor, which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved [His Son, Jesus Christ].

⁷In Him we have redemption [that is, our deliverance and salvation] through His blood, [which paid the penalty for our sin and resulted in] the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin, in accordance with the riches of His grace

⁸which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding [with practical insight]

⁹He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ,

¹⁰with regard to the fulfillment of the times [that is, the end of history, the climax of the ages]—to bring all things together in Christ, [both] things in the heavens and things on the earth.

¹¹In Him also we have received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will,

¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him as our Lord and Savior] would exist to the praise of His glory.

¹³In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God].

¹⁴The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God's own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people,

¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers;

¹⁷[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son].

¹⁸And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God's people),

¹⁹and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength

²⁰which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come.

²²And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under Christ's feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all things in the church,

²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills and completes all things in all [believers].

¹What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]?

²You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God].

³You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.

⁴You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

⁵Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy?

⁶But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, "God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness]."

⁷So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

⁸Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people].

⁹Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom.

¹⁰Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].

¹¹Believers, do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.

¹²There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?

¹³Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit."

¹⁴Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].

¹⁵Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that."

¹⁶But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretension and arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.

¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

²"Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom] By words without knowledge?

³"Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

⁴"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.

⁵"Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know? Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?

⁶"On what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?

⁸"Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it burst forth and went out of the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,

¹⁰And marked for it My [appointed] boundary And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines],

¹¹And said, 'This far you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop'?

¹²"Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth And shake the wickedness out of it?

¹⁴"The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.

¹⁵"Their light is withheld from the wicked, And the uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶"Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

¹⁸"Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹"Where is the way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory And that you may know the paths to its house?

²¹"You [must] know, since you were born then, And because you are so extremely old!

²²"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?

²⁴"Where is the way that the light is distributed, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵"Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain and for the flood, Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To bring rain on the uninhabited land, And on the desert where no man lives,

²⁷To satisfy the barren and desolate ground And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

²⁸"Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹"Out of whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

³⁰"Water becomes like stone [and hides itself], And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.

³¹"Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?

³²"Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons?

³³"Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?

³⁴"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

³⁵"Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'?

³⁶"Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds] Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?

³⁷"Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom, Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,

³⁸When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

³⁹"Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair?

⁴¹"Who provides prey for the raven When its young cry to God And wander about without food?

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

²Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness endures forever.

³Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness endures forever.

⁴To Him who alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁵To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁶To Him who stretched out the earth upon the waters, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁷To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁸The sun to rule over the day, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

⁹The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁰To Him who struck the firstborn of Egypt, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹¹And brought Israel out from among them, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹²With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹³To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁴And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁵But tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁶To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁷To Him who struck down great kings, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁸And killed mighty kings, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁰And Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²¹And gave their land as a heritage, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²²Even a heritage to Israel His servant, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²³Who [faithfully] remembered us in our lowly condition, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁴And has rescued us from our enemies, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁵Who gives food to all flesh, For His lovingkindness endures forever;

²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

¹My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you].

²Keep my commandments and live, And keep my teaching and law as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them [securely] on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, "You are my sister," And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the foreigner [who does not observe God's laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice.

⁷And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible], I saw among the youths A young man lacking [good] sense,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

⁹In the twilight, in the evening; In the black and dark night.

¹⁰And there a woman met him, Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.

¹¹She was boisterous and rebellious; She would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places, Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him And with a brazen and impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵"So I came out to meet you [that you might share with me the feast of my offering], Diligently I sought your face and I have found you.

¹⁶"I have spread my couch with coverings and cushions of tapestry, With colored fine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷"I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸"Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us console and delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹"For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey;

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him, And he will come home on the appointed day."

²¹With her many persuasions she caused him to yield; With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome], Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

²³Until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound]; Like a bird fluttering straight into the net, He did not know that it would cost him his life.

²⁴Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her [evil, immoral] paths.

²⁶For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded; Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

¹Now Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

²And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was infertile and had no children.

³And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are infertile and have no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

⁴Therefore, be careful not to drink wine or [any other] intoxicating drink, and do not eat anything [ceremonially] unclean.

⁵For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite [dedicated] to God from birth; and he shall begin to rescue Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

⁶Then the woman went and told her husband, saying, "A Man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the Angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask Him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

⁷But He said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or [any other] intoxicating drink, nor eat anything [ceremonially] unclean, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.'"

⁸Then Manoah pleaded with the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born."

⁹And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.

¹⁰So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the Man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."

¹¹Then Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the Man and said to him, "Are you the Man who spoke to this woman?" He said, "I am."

¹²And Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what shall be the boy's manner of life, and his vocation?"

¹³The Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "The woman must pay attention to everything that I said to her.

¹⁴She may not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or [any other] intoxicating drink, nor eat anything [ceremonially] unclean. She shall observe everything that I commanded her."

¹⁵Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain you and let us prepare a young goat for you [to eat]."

¹⁶The Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." For Manoah did not know that he was the Angel of the LORD.

¹⁷Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that when your words come true, we may honor you?"

¹⁸But the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful (miraculous)?"

¹⁹So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed miracles while Manoah and his wife looked on.

²⁰For when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the Angel of the LORD ascended in the altar flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this they fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹The Angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah or his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the Angel of the LORD.

²²So Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die, because we have seen God."

²³But his [sensible] wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have announced such things as these at this time."

²⁴So the woman [in due time] gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the boy grew and the LORD blessed him.

²⁵And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at times in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them.

²And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh [his military commander] from Lachish [the Judean fortress commanding the road from Egypt] to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a large army. And he stood by the canal of the Upper Pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field.

³Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recording historian, came out to [meet] him.

⁴Then the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah, 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says, "What is [the reason for] this confidence that you have?

⁵I say, 'Your plan and strength for the war are only empty words.' Now in whom do you trust and on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

⁶Listen carefully, you rely on the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

⁷But if you say to me, 'We trust in and rely on the LORD our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar'?

⁸So now, exchange pledges with my master the king of Assyria and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them.

⁹How then can you repulse [the attack of] a single commander of the least of my master's servants, and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

¹⁰Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have now come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.'"'"

¹¹Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please, speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it; and do not speak to us in Judean (Hebrew) in the hearing of the people who are [stationed] on the wall."

¹²But the Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"

¹³Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Judean (Hebrew): "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

¹⁴This is what the king says, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you;

¹⁵nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, "The LORD will most certainly rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."

¹⁶Do not listen to Hezekiah,' for this is what the king of Assyria says, 'Make peace with me and come out to me, and each one of you will eat from his own vine and each from his own fig tree and each [one of you] drink from the water of his own cistern,

¹⁷until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, "The LORD will rescue us." Has any one of the gods of the nations [ever] rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [in Aram]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they rescued Samaria from my hand?

²⁰Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their land from my hand, that [you should think that] the LORD would rescue Jerusalem from my hand?'"

²¹But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for King Hezekiah's command was, "Do not answer him."

²²Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recording historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn [in grief], and told him the words of the Rabshakeh [the Assyrian commander].

¹Now about this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, a complaint was made by the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) against the [ native] Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

²So the Twelve called the disciples together and said, "It is not appropriate for us to neglect [teaching] the word of God in order to serve tables and manage the distribution of food.

³Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

⁴But we will [continue to] devote ourselves [steadfastly] to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

⁵The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch.

⁶They brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them [to dedicate and commission them for this service].

⁷And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].

⁸Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people.

⁹However, some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and [the province of] Asia, rose up and questioned and argued with Stephen.

¹⁰But they were not able to successfully withstand and cope with the wisdom and the intelligence [and the power and inspiration] of the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹Then [to attack him another way] they secretly instructed men to say, "We have heard this man [Stephen] speak blasphemous (slanderous, sacrilegious, abusive) words against Moses and against God."

¹²And they provoked and incited the people, as well as the elders and the scribes, and they came up to Stephen and seized him and brought him before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court).

¹³They presented false witnesses who said, "This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law [of Moses];

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will tear down this place and will change the traditions and customs which Moses handed down to us."

¹⁵Then all those who were sitting in the Council, stared [intently] at him, and they saw that Stephen's face was like the face of an angel.