Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.

²But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”

³And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

⁴But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?

⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

⁶But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.

⁷For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.

⁸She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.

⁹Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.

¹¹And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

¹²Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

¹³And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.

¹⁴Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’

¹⁵Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”

¹⁶So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷In the evening He came with the twelve.

¹⁸Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”

¹⁹And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”

²⁰He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.

²¹The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

²²And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

²³Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

²⁵Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

²⁹Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

³⁰Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

³¹But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.

³²Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

³³And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.

³⁴Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”

³⁵He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.

³⁶And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?

³⁸Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.

⁴⁰And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

⁴¹Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

⁴³And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

⁴⁴Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.”

⁴⁵As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.

⁴⁷And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?

⁴⁹I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰Then they all forsook Him and fled.

⁵¹Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him,

⁵²and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

⁵³And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.

⁵⁴But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.

⁵⁶For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

⁵⁷Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying,

⁵⁸“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ”

⁵⁹But not even then did their testimony agree.

⁶⁰And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”

⁶¹But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶²Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

⁶⁵Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

⁶⁶Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.

⁶⁷And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.”

⁷⁰But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”

⁷¹Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

⁷²A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.

³You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.”

⁴And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁶“Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty,

⁷then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged.

⁸But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him.

⁹Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.

¹⁰And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’ ”

¹¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹²“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,

¹³and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught—

¹⁴if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself—

¹⁵then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.

¹⁶‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD.

¹⁷The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

¹⁸Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.

¹⁹And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

²⁰But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”—

²¹then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman— “the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell;

²²and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” ‘ Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

²³‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water.

²⁴And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter.

²⁵Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar;

²⁶and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.

²⁷When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

²⁸But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.

²⁹‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself,

³⁰or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her.

³¹Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’ ”

¹For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.

²For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

³But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.

⁴For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

⁵Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.

⁶In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.

⁷Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”

⁸Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law),

⁹then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

¹⁰By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

¹²But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

¹³from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

¹⁴For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

¹⁶“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

¹⁷then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

¹⁸Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

¹⁹Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

²¹and having a High Priest over the house of God,

²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

²⁴And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

²⁵not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

²⁶For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

²⁷but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

²⁸Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁹Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”

³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings:

³³partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated;

³⁴for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

³⁵Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

³⁶For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

³⁷“For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

³⁸Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

³⁹But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

¹Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

²And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

³When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”

⁴Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

⁵When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.

⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

⁷When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”

⁸So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

⁹When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

¹¹Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

¹²I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

¹³And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

¹⁴Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

¹⁵And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,

¹⁶and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

¹⁷For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

¹How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skillful workman.

²Your navel is a rounded goblet; It lacks no blended beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat Set about with lilies.

³Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle.

⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower, Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looks toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, And the hair of your head is like purple; A king is held captive by your tresses.

⁶How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!

⁷This stature of yours is like a palm tree, And your breasts like its clusters.

⁸I said, “I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.” Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹And the roof of your mouth like the best wine. The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved, Moving gently the lips of sleepers.

¹⁰I am my beloved’s, And his desire is toward me.

¹¹Come, my beloved, Let us go forth to the field; Let us lodge in the villages.

¹²Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see if the vine has budded, Whether the grape blossoms are open, And the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes give off a fragrance, And at our gates are pleasant fruits, All manner, new and old, Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

¹To the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David. [1] I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

²I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

³When my enemies turn back, They shall fall and perish at Your presence.

⁴For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.

⁵You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶O enemy, destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities; Even their memory has perished.

⁷But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.

⁸He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

⁹The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁰And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.

¹²When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.

¹³Have mercy on me, O LORD! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death,

¹⁴That I may tell of all Your praise In the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation.

¹⁵The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made; In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

¹⁶The LORD is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah

¹⁷The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸For the needy shall not always be forgotten; The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

¹⁹Arise, O LORD, Do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged in Your sight.

²⁰Put them in fear, O LORD, That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:

²Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man.

³I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?

⁵Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

⁷Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):

⁸Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;

⁹Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother.

¹²There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters— Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, Four never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶The grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wickedness.”

²¹For three things the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up:

²²For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food,

²³A hateful woman when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

²⁴There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;

²⁸The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk:

³⁰A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any;

³¹A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king whose troops are with him.

³²If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth.

³³For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.

¹Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

²And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.”

³Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.”

⁴So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

⁵Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the people, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.

⁶Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused.

⁷So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

⁸When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.

¹⁰Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us whatever seems good to you.”

¹¹So it was, on the next day, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹²Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”

¹³But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel.”

¹⁴Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.”

¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

¹Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.

²But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

³For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.

⁴No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.

⁵They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

⁶Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.

⁷Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.

⁸The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

⁹Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!

¹⁰We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.

¹¹We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.

¹²For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:

¹³In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

¹⁴Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.

¹⁵So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.

¹⁶He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.

¹⁷For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

¹⁸According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.

¹⁹So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

²⁰“The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD.

²¹“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”

¹The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

²until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

³to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

⁴And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

⁵for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

¹¹who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

¹³And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,

¹⁶“Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;

¹⁷for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.

¹⁹And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’

²¹“Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

²³And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen

²⁵to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”

²⁶And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.