Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples,

²“You know that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,

⁴and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.

⁵“Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”

⁶While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,

⁷a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked.

⁹“This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”

¹⁰Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me.

¹¹You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.

¹²By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial.

¹³Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁴Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.

¹⁶And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸“Go into the city to a certain man,” he said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place with my disciples.’”

¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

²⁰When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve.

²¹While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

²²Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

²³He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl — he will betray me.

²⁴The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”

²⁵Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” “You have said it,” he told him.

²⁶As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”

²⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you.

²⁸For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

²⁹But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

³²But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

³³Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.”

³⁴“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

³⁵“Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.

³⁶Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

³⁷Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.

³⁸He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”

³⁹Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

⁴⁰Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour?

⁴¹Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

⁴³And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.

⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? See, the time is near. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴⁶Get up; let’s go. See, my betrayer is near.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob with swords and clubs was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.”

⁴⁹So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰“Friend,” Jesus asked him, “why have you come?” Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him.

⁵¹At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.

⁵²Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.

⁵³Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?

⁵⁴How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me.

⁵⁶But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had convened.

⁵⁸Peter was following him at a distance right to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and was sitting with the servants to see the outcome.

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,

⁶⁰but they could not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two who came forward

⁶¹stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶²The high priest stood up and said to him, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?”

⁶³But Jesus kept silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴“You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? See, now you’ve heard the blasphemy.

⁶⁶What is your decision?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and beat him; others slapped him

⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?”

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl approached him and said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”

⁷⁰But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

⁷¹When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!”

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

⁷³After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You really are one of them, since even your accent gives you away.”

⁷⁴Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed,

⁷⁵and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD and died.

²The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the curtain in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

³“Aaron is to enter the most holy place in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

⁴He is to wear a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments are to be on his body. He is to tie a linen sash around him and wrap his head with a linen turban. These are holy garments; he must bathe his body with water before he wears them.

⁵He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

⁶“Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.

⁷Next he will take the two goats and place them before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁸After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other for an uninhabitable place,

⁹he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering.

¹⁰But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement with it by sending it into the wilderness for an uninhabitable place.

¹¹“When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he will slaughter the bull for his sin offering.

¹²Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the curtain.

¹³He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, so that the cloud of incense covers the mercy seat that is over the testimony, or else he will die.

¹⁴He is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger against the east side of the mercy seat; then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger before the mercy seat seven times.

¹⁵“When he slaughters the male goat for the people’s sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.

¹⁶He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites’ impurities and rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities.

¹⁷No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.

¹⁸Then he will go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar.

¹⁹He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites’ impurities.

²⁰“When he has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat.

²¹Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites’ iniquities and rebellious acts — all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the man appointed for the task.

²²The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land, and the man will release it there.

²³“Then Aaron is to enter the tent of meeting, take off the linen garments he wore when he entered the most holy place, and leave them there.

²⁴He will bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering; he will make atonement for himself and for the people.

²⁵He is to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

²⁶The man who released the goat for an uninhabitable place is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

²⁷The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement, must be brought outside the camp and their hide, flesh, and waste burned.

²⁸The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

²⁹“This is to be a permanent statute for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you are to practice self-denial and do no work, both the native and the alien who resides among you.

³⁰Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

³¹It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial; it is a permanent statute.

³²The priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as high priest in place of his father will make atonement. He will put on the linen garments, the holy garments,

³³and make atonement for the most holy place. He will make atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar and will make atonement for the priests and all the people of the assembly.

³⁴This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a year because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

²make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.

⁴Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

⁵Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

⁶who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.

⁷Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man,

⁸he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross.

⁹For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow  — in heaven and on earth and under the earth  —

¹¹and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

¹³For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

¹⁴Do everything without grumbling and arguing,

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,

¹⁶by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.

¹⁷But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

¹⁸In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁹Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you.

²⁰For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests;

²¹all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

²²But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father.

²³Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.

²⁴I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.

²⁵But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus  — my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need  —

²⁶since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick.

²⁷Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious.

²⁹Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor,

³⁰because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.

¹Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

²May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

³His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

⁴By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,

⁶knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness,

⁷godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.

¹¹For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

¹²Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.

¹³I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder,

¹⁴since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.

¹⁵And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

¹⁷For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!”

¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

²⁰Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation,

²¹because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

¹There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:

²a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot;

³a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build;

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

⁵a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

⁶a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away;

⁷a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;

⁸a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What does the worker gain from his struggles?

¹⁰I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied.

¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

¹³It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him.

¹⁵Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.

¹⁶I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

¹⁷I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

¹⁸I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

¹⁹For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile.

²⁰All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

²¹Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?

²²I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

¹A psalm of David. [1] LORD, hear my prayer. In your faithfulness listen to my plea, and in your righteousness answer me.

²Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous in your sight.

³For the enemy has pursued me, crushing me to the ground, making me live in darkness like those long dead.

⁴My spirit is weak within me; my heart is overcome with dismay.

⁵I remember the days of old; I meditate on all you have done; I reflect on the work of your hands.

⁶I spread out my hands to you; I am like parched land before you. Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, LORD; my spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, or I will be like those going down to the Pit.

⁸Let me experience your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in you. Reveal to me the way I should go because I appeal to you.

⁹Rescue me from my enemies, LORD; I come to you for protection.

¹⁰Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.

¹¹For your name’s sake, LORD, let me live. In your righteousness deliver me from trouble,

¹²and in your faithful love destroy my enemies. Wipe out all those who attack me, for I am your servant.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

²Whoever lives with integrity fears the LORD, but the one who is devious in his ways despises him.

³The proud speech of a fool brings a rod of discipline, but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of an ox.

⁵An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness utters lies.

⁶A mocker seeks wisdom and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to the perceptive.

⁷Stay away from a foolish person; you will gain no knowledge from his speech.

⁸The sensible person’s wisdom is to consider his way, but the stupidity of fools deceives them.

⁹Fools mock at making reparation, but there is goodwill among the upright.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, and no outsider shares in its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.

¹³Even in laughter a heart may be sad, and joy may end in grief.

¹⁴The disloyal one will get what his conduct deserves, and a good one, what his deeds deserve.

¹⁵The inexperienced one believes anything, but the sensible one watches his steps.

¹⁶A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool is easily angered and is careless.

¹⁷A quick-tempered person acts foolishly, and one who schemes is hated.

¹⁸The inexperienced inherit foolishness, but the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow before those who are good, and the wicked, at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰A poor person is hated even by his neighbor, but there are many who love the rich.

²¹The one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever shows kindness to the poor will be happy.

²²Don’t those who plan evil go astray? But those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

²³There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the foolishness of fools produces foolishness.

²⁵A truthful witness rescues lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

²⁸A large population is a king’s splendor, but a shortage of people is a ruler’s devastation.

²⁹A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.

³⁰A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.

³¹The one who oppresses the poor person insults his Maker, but one who is kind to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous one has a refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom resides in the heart of the discerning; she is known even among fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵A king favors a prudent servant, but his anger falls on a disgraceful one.

¹All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the LORD at Mizpah.

²The leaders of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: four hundred thousand armed foot soldiers.

³The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this evil act happen?”

⁴The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I went to Gibeah in Benjamin with my concubine to spend the night.

⁵Citizens of Gibeah came to attack me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, but they raped my concubine, and she died.

⁶Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel’s territory, because they have committed a wicked outrage in Israel.

⁷Look, all of you are Israelites. Give your judgment and verdict here and now.”

⁸Then all the people stood united and said, “None of us will go to his tent or return to his house.

⁹Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will attack it. By lot

¹⁰we will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred out of every thousand, and one thousand out of every ten thousand to get provisions for the troops when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for all the outrage they committed in Israel.”

¹¹So all the men of Israel gathered united against the city.

¹²Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil act that has happened among you?

¹³Hand over the wicked men in Gibeah so we can put them to death and eradicate evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.

¹⁴Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.

¹⁵On that day the Benjaminites mobilized twenty-six thousand armed men from their cities, besides seven hundred fit young men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah.

¹⁶There were seven hundred fit young men who were left-handed among all these troops; all could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized four hundred thousand armed men, every one an experienced warrior.

¹⁸They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, “Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?” And the LORD answered, “Judah will be first.”

¹⁹In the morning, the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah.

²⁰The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah.

²¹The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered twenty-two thousand men of Israel on the field that day.

²²But the Israelite troops rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day.

²³They went up, wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of him: “Should we again attack our brothers the Benjaminites?” And the LORD answered: “Fight against them.”

²⁴On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites.

²⁵That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional eighteen thousand Israelites on the field; all were armed.

²⁶The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.

²⁷Then the Israelites inquired of the LORD. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

²⁸and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving before it. The Israelites asked: “Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop?” The LORD answered: “Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow.”

²⁹So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.

³⁰On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before.

³¹Then the Benjaminites came out against the troops and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the troops as before, killing about thirty men of Israel on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah through the open country.

³²The Benjaminites said, “We are defeating them as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

³³So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of Geba.

³⁴Then ten thousand fit young men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them.

³⁵The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed.

³⁶Then the Benjaminites realized they had been defeated. The men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambush they had set against Gibeah.

³⁷The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.

³⁸The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,

³⁹the men of Israel would return to the battle. When Benjamin had begun to strike them down, killing about thirty men of Israel, they said, “They’re defeated before us, just as they were in the first battle.”

⁴⁰But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, Benjamin looked behind them, and the whole city was going up in smoke.

⁴¹Then the men of Israel returned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had struck them.

⁴²They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities slaughtered those between them.

⁴³They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east.

⁴⁴There were eighteen thousand men who died from Benjamin; all were warriors.

⁴⁵Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to Rimmon Rock, and Israel killed five thousand men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck two thousand more dead.

⁴⁶All the Benjaminites who died that day were twenty-five thousand armed men; all were warriors.

⁴⁷But six hundred men escaped into the wilderness to Rimmon Rock and stayed there four months.

⁴⁸The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords — the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned all the cities that remained.

¹Now this is what the LORD says — the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel  — “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.

²I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.

³For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior. I have given Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place.

⁴Because you are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you, I will give people in exchange for you and nations instead of your life.

⁵Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west.

⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth  —

⁷everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”

⁸Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes, and are deaf, yet have ears.

⁹All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled. Who among them can declare this, and tell us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate themselves, so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”

¹⁰“You are my witnesses”  — this is the LORD’s declaration — “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me.

¹¹I — I am the LORD. Besides me, there is no Savior.

¹²I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed — and not some foreign god among you. So you are my witnesses” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “and I am God.

¹³Also, from today on I am he alone, and none can rescue from my power. I act, and who can reverse it?”

¹⁴This is what the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: Because of you, I will send an army to Babylon and bring all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans in the ships in which they rejoice.

¹⁵I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

¹⁶This is what the LORD says — who makes a way in the sea, and a path through raging water,

¹⁷who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, put out like a wick ) —

¹⁸“Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old.

¹⁹Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

²⁰Wild animals — jackals and ostriches — will honor me, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people.

²¹The people I formed for myself will declare my praise.

²²“But, Jacob, you have not called on me, because, Israel, you have become weary of me.

²³You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings or wearied you with incense.

²⁴You have not bought me aromatic cane with silver, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

²⁵“I — I sweep away your transgressions for my own sake and remember your sins no more.

²⁶Remind me. Let’s argue the case together. Recount the facts, so that you may be vindicated.

²⁷Your first father sinned, and your mediators have rebelled against me.

²⁸So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary, and set Jacob apart for destruction and Israel for scorn.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul — also called Paul — filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas

¹⁰and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”

¹⁶Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm.

¹⁸And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness;

¹⁹and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

²⁰This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him:’ I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’

²³“From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.

²⁴Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵Now as John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But one is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him.

²⁸Though they found no grounds for the death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead,

³¹and he appeared for many days to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

³²And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.

³³God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father.

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure promises of David.

³⁵Therefore he also says in another passage, You will not let your Holy One see decay.

³⁶For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed,

³⁷but the one God raised up did not decay.

³⁸Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you.

³⁹Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

⁴⁰So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴¹Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”

⁴²As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath.

⁴³After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the end of the earth.”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.

⁵¹But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.