Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples,

²“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”

³At that time the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the courtyard of the high priest named Caiaphas;

⁴and they plotted together to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.

⁵But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

⁶Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the Leper,

⁷a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume, and she poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table.

⁸But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste?

⁹For this perfume could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me.

¹¹For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.

¹²For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial.

¹³Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

¹⁶And from then on he looked for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.

¹⁷Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

¹⁹The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve.

²¹And as they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.”

²²Being deeply grieved, they began saying to Him, each one: “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

²³And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.

²⁴The Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been goodfor that man if he had not been born.”

²⁵And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself.”

²⁶Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

²⁷And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;

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

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

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

³¹Then Jesus *said to them, “You will allfall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK WILL BE SCATTERED.’

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

³³But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away!”

³⁴Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

³⁵Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” All the disciples said the same thing as well.

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

³⁷And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed.

³⁸Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

³⁹And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

⁴⁰And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?

⁴¹Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit iswilling, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴²He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.”

⁴³Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

⁴⁴And He left them again, and went away 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? Behold, the houris at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴⁶Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

⁴⁷And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

⁴⁸Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.”

⁴⁹And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.

⁵¹And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁵²Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.

⁵³Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelvelegions of angels?

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

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me.

⁵⁶But all this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.

⁵⁸But Peter was following Him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and he came inside and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the entire Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.

⁶⁰They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward,

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

⁶²The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You offer no answer for what these men are testifying against You?”

⁶³But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I place You under oath by the living God, to tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting 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! What further need do we have of witnesses? See, you have now heard the blasphemy;

⁶⁶what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

⁶⁷Then they spit in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him,

⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a slave woman came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

⁷⁰But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

⁷¹When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and *said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁷²And again he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.”

⁷³A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them as well, since even the way you talk gives you away.”

⁷⁴Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

⁷⁵And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had made: “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died.

²The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the atoning cover.

³Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering.

⁴He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.

⁵And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

⁶Then Aaron shall offer the bull as the sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household.

⁷He shall then take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁸Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat.

⁹Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering.

¹⁰But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

¹¹“Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

¹²He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil.

¹³He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, so that the cloud of incense may cover the atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die.

¹⁴Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover.

¹⁶He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities.

¹⁷When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

¹⁸Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.

¹⁹With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

²⁰“When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat.

²¹Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready.

²²Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

²³“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.

²⁴And he shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

²⁵Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

²⁶The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.

²⁷But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.

²⁸Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

²⁹“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you;

³⁰for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

³¹It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

³²So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments,

³³and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

³⁴Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.

¹Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

²make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

³Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;

⁴do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

⁵Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.

⁹For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

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

¹²So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

¹³for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without complaining or arguments;

¹⁵so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

¹⁶holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

¹⁸You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

¹⁹But I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

²⁰For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

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

²²But you know of his proven character, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.

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

²⁴and I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly.

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need,

²⁶because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

²⁹Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold people like him in high regard,

³⁰because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to compensate for your absence in your service to me.

¹Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

³for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

⁴Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.

⁵Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

⁷and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

¹¹for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

¹²Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you.

¹³I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

¹⁴knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

¹⁵And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

¹⁷For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”—

¹⁸and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

²⁰But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation,

²¹for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

¹There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—

²A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

³A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

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 shun embracing.

⁶A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

⁷A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; 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 benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

¹⁰I have seen the task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to occupy themselves.

¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;

¹³moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will fear Him.

¹⁵That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

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

¹⁸I said to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as animals, they to themselves.”

¹⁹For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility.

²⁰All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

²¹Who knows that the spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth?

²²I have seen that nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

¹Hear my prayer, LORD, Listen to my pleadings! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!

²And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For no person living is righteous in Your sight.

³For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.

⁴Therefore my spirit feels weak within me; My heart is appalled within me.

⁵I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your accomplishments; I reflect on the work of Your hands.

⁶I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, LORD, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will be the same as those who go down to the pit.

⁸Let me hear Your faithfulness in the morning, For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.

⁹Save me, LORD, from my enemies; I take refuge in You.

¹⁰Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

¹¹For the sake of Your name, LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

¹²And in Your faithfulness, destroy my enemies, And eliminate all those who attack my soul, For I am Your servant.

¹The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

²One who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But one who is devious in his ways despises Him.

³In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back, But the lips of the wise will protect them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean; But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

⁵A trustworthy witness will not lie, But a false witness declares lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But knowledge is easy for one who has understanding.

⁷Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is goodwill.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.

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

¹²There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, And the end of joy may be grief.

¹⁴One with a wayward heart will have his fill of his own ways, But a good person will be satisfied with his.

¹⁵The naive believes everything, But the sensible person considers his steps.

¹⁶A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless.

¹⁷A quick-tempered person acts foolishly, And a person of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The naive inherit foolishness, But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil will bow down before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many.

²¹One who despises his neighbor sins, But one who is gracious to the poor is blessed.

²²Will they who devise evil not go astray? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

²³In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is simply foolishness.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, But one who declares lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, By which one may avoid the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s glory, But in the scarcity of people is a prince’s ruin.

²⁹One who is slow to anger has great understanding; But one who is quick-tempered exalts foolishness.

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

³¹One who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But one who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

³²The wicked is thrust down by his own wrongdoing, But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, But among fools it is made known.

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

³⁵The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.

¹Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one person to the LORD at Mizpah.

²And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.

³(Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?”

⁴So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.

⁵But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they raped my concubine so that she died.

⁶And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel.

⁷Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your response and advice here.”

⁸Then all the people rose up as one person, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us go home.

⁹But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot.

¹⁰And we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to supply provisions for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the vile sin that they have committed in Israel.”

¹¹So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.

¹²Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you?

¹³Now then, turn over the men, the worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

¹⁴Instead, the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel.

¹⁵From the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were counted, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were counted, seven hundred choice men.

¹⁶Out of all these people seven hundred choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were counted, four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

¹⁸Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.”

¹⁹So the sons of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah.

²⁰The men of Israel went to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle against them at Gibeah.

²¹Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel.

²²But the people, the men of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined themselves up on the first day.

²³And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall we again advance for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.”

²⁴So the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin on the second day.

²⁵And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword.

²⁶Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

²⁷And the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

²⁸and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”

²⁹So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah.

³⁰And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and lined up against Gibeah as at other times.

³¹When the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, they were lured away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the roads (one of which goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah), and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

³²And the sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, like the first time.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let’s flee, so that we may draw them away from the city to the roads.”

³³Then all the men of Israel rose from their place and lined up at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush charged from their place, from Maareh-geba.

³⁴When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.

³⁵And the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who drew the sword.

³⁶So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah,

³⁷the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

³⁸Now the agreed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.

³⁹Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, “Undoubtedly they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”

⁴⁰But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the entire city was going up in smoke to heaven.

⁴¹Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that disaster was close to them.

⁴²Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel to flee in the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who attacked from the cities were annihilating them in the midst of them.

⁴³They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trampled them down opposite Gibeah toward the east.

⁴⁴So eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all of these were valiant men.

⁴⁵The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but they caught five thousand of them on the roads and overtook them at Gidom, and killed two thousand of them.

⁴⁶So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men.

⁴⁷But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months.

⁴⁸The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

¹But now, this is what the LORD says, He who is your Creator, Jacob, And He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

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

⁴Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.

⁵Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring 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 afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

⁷Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

⁸Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.

⁹All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses so that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

¹⁰“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.

¹¹I, only I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.

¹²It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God.

¹³Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act, and who can reverse it?”

¹⁴This is what the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships over which they rejoice.

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

¹⁶This is what the LORD says, He who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷Who brings out the chariot and the horse, The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):

¹⁸“Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past.

¹⁹Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.

²⁰The animals of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people.

²¹The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

²²“Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob; But you have become weary of Me, Israel.

²³You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, Nor wearied you with incense.

²⁴You have not bought Me sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your wrongdoings.

²⁵“I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

²⁶Meet Me in court, let’s argue our case together; State your cause, so that you may be proved right.

²⁷Your first forefather sinned, And your spokesmen have rebelled against Me.

²⁸So I will profane the officials of the sanctuary, And I will turn Jacob over to destruction and Israel to abuse.

¹Now there were prophets and teachers at Antioch, in the church that was there: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

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

³Then, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

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

⁵When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.

⁶When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him,

¹⁰and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

¹¹Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”

¹⁶Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.

¹⁸For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.

¹⁹When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years.

²⁰After these things 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 He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’

²³From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,

²⁴after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶“Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.

²⁹When they had carried out everything that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead;

³¹and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

³²And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,

³³that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU.’

³⁴As for the fact that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and faithful mercies of DAVID.’

³⁵Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.’

³⁶For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, and was buried among his fathers and underwent decay;

³⁷but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

³⁹and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

⁴⁰Therefore, see that the thing spoken of in the Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴¹‘LOOK, YOU SCOFFERS, AND BE ASTONISHED, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’ ”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these things spoken to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The next Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE APPOINTED YOU AS A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’ ”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

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