Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

²And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

³Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,

⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.”

⁵And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.

⁶But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.”

⁷So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers.

⁸Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

⁹Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel,

¹⁰and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”

¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.

¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”

¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.

¹⁶And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

¹⁷So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

¹⁸For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

¹⁹Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”

²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

²²Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”

²³And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.”

²⁵And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

²⁶Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

²⁸And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

²⁹and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

³⁰And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

³¹And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

³²As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),

³⁴they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

³⁵And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

³⁶Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

³⁷And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

³⁹And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads

⁴⁰and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,

⁴²“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

⁴³He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

⁴⁴And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

⁴⁷And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

⁵²The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,

⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him,

⁵⁶among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.

⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud

⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.

⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate

⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’

⁶⁴Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”

⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded.

³If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp,

⁴and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people.

⁵This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.

⁶And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

⁷So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.

⁸“And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice

⁹and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.

¹⁰“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.

¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

¹²Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

¹³“Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

¹⁴For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.

¹⁵And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.

¹⁶But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.”

¹Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

²Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

³For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh —

⁴though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

⁷But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith —

¹⁰that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

¹¹that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

¹⁶Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

¹⁷Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

¹⁸For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

²¹who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

²And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

³And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

⁵if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

⁶if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

⁷and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked

⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

⁹then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

¹⁰and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

¹¹whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.

¹²But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,

¹³suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.

¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!

¹⁵Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

¹⁶but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.

¹⁸For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.

¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

²¹For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

²²What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

¹Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

²And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive.

³But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

⁴Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

⁵The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.

⁶Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

⁷Again, I saw vanity under the sun:

⁸one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.

¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

¹¹Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?

¹²And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

¹³Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.

¹⁴For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor.

¹⁵I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king's place.

¹⁶There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

¹Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

²he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

³O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?

⁴Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

⁵Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke!

⁶Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them!

⁷Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners,

⁸whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

¹⁰who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

¹¹Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

¹²May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace;

¹³may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;

¹⁴may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets!

¹⁵Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!

¹A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!

¹²A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.

¹³A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

¹⁴The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

¹⁸A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

¹⁹The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

²²Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

²³To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.

²⁵The LORD tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow's boundaries.

²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.

²⁷Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.

³¹The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

³²Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

³³The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.”

²And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

³And they said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?”

⁴And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵And the people of Israel said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

⁶And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day.

⁷What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?”

⁸And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.

⁹For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.

¹⁰So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest men there and commanded them, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones.

¹¹This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.”

¹²And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³Then the whole congregation sent word to the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them.

¹⁴And Benjamin returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, but they were not enough for them.

¹⁵And the people had compassion on Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”

¹⁷And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.

¹⁸Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people of Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

¹⁹So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

²⁰And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards

²¹and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’”

²³And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.

²⁴And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

¹“But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!

²Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.

⁵This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”

⁶Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

⁷Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

⁸Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

⁹All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.

¹⁰Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?

¹¹Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

¹²The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.

¹³The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.

¹⁵Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.

¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!”

¹⁷And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

¹⁹No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”

²⁰He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

²¹Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

²²I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

²³Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.

²⁴Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

²⁵who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,

²⁶who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’;

²⁷who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’;

²⁸who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

¹Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

⁵When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,

⁶they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country,

⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

⁹He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,

¹⁰said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

¹¹And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

¹³And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,

¹⁵“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

¹⁶In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

²⁰But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

²³And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia,

²⁶and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

²⁷And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they remained no little time with the disciples.