Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.

²“But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

³Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

⁴Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked.

⁵“It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

⁶But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

⁷You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me.

⁸She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

⁹I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them.

¹¹They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

¹²On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

¹³So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him.

¹⁴At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’

¹⁵He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.”

¹⁶So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

¹⁷In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve.

¹⁸As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”

¹⁹Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

²⁰He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me.

²¹For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

²²As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”

²³And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.

²⁵I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

²⁹Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.”

³⁰Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter — this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

³¹“No!” Peter declared emphatically. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the others vowed the same.

³²They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.”

³³He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed.

³⁴He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁵He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by.

³⁶“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

³⁷Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?

³⁸Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

³⁹Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before.

⁴⁰When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.

⁴¹When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no — the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

⁴³And immediately, even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders.

⁴⁴The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard.”

⁴⁵As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. “Rabbi!” he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.

⁴⁶Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

⁴⁷But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁴⁸Jesus asked them, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me?

⁴⁹Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there among you teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me.”

⁵⁰Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away.

⁵¹One young man following behind was clothed only in a long linen shirt. When the mob tried to grab him,

⁵²he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked.

⁵³They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered.

⁵⁴Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

⁵⁵Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any.

⁵⁶Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other.

⁵⁷Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony:

⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’”

⁵⁹But even then they didn’t get their stories straight!

⁶⁰Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?”

⁶¹But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²Jesus said, “I AM. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven. ”

⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses?

⁶⁴You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”

⁶⁵Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away.

⁶⁶Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by

⁶⁷and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth. ”

⁶⁸But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!”

⁷⁰But Peter denied it again. A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.”

⁷¹Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying — I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”

⁷²And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.

¹The LORD gave these instructions to Moses:

²“Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person.

³This command applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them.”

⁴So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp.

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses,

⁶“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people — men or women — betray the LORD by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty.

⁷They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged.

⁸But if the person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, and they will be purified and made right with the LORD.

⁹All the sacred offerings that the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.

¹⁰Each priest may keep all the sacred donations that he receives.”

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses,

¹²“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband

¹³and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act.

¹⁴If her husband becomes jealous and is suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself,

¹⁵the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering — an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.

¹⁶“The priest will then present her to stand trial before the LORD.

¹⁷He must take some holy water in a clay jar and pour into it dust he has taken from the Tabernacle floor.

¹⁸When the priest has presented the woman before the LORD, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of proof — the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty.

¹⁹The priest will then put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse.

²⁰But if you have gone astray by being unfaithful to your husband, and have defiled yourself by having sex with another man — ’

²¹“At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, ‘May the people know that the LORD’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel and your abdomen to swell.

²²Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel. ’ And the woman will be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’

²³And the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water.

²⁴He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings on the curse. When the water enters her body, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty.

²⁵“The priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, lift it up before the LORD, and carry it to the altar.

²⁶He will take a handful of the flour as a token portion and burn it on the altar, and he will require the woman to drink the water.

²⁷If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people.

²⁸But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.

²⁹“This is the ritual law for dealing with suspicion. If a woman goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,

³⁰or if a man becomes jealous and is suspicious that his wife has been unfaithful, the husband must present his wife before the LORD, and the priest will apply this entire ritual law to her.

³¹The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.”

¹The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

²If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

³But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.

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

⁵That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.

⁶You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.

⁷Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God — as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

⁸First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses).

⁹Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.

¹⁰For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

¹¹Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.

¹²But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

¹³There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.

¹⁴For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,

¹⁶“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

¹⁸And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

¹⁹And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

²⁰By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

²¹And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,

²²let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

²³Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

²⁴Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

²⁵And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

²⁶Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.

²⁷There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.

²⁸For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁹Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

³⁰For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The LORD will judge his own people.”

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

³²Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.

³³Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things.

³⁴You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.

³⁵So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!

³⁶Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

³⁷“For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.

³⁸And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

³⁹But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

¹As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”

²I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.

³When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!”

⁴Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.

⁵When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.

⁶And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”

⁷When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!”

⁸I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.

⁹When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.

¹⁰They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”

¹¹Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters — their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred — had joined them.

¹²I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood.

¹³Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind.

¹⁴The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.

¹⁵Then everyone — the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person — all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

¹⁶And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

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

¹How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O queenly maiden. Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a skilled craftsman.

²Your navel is perfectly formed like a goblet filled with mixed wine. Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat bordered with lilies.

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

⁴Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.

⁵Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel, and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty. The king is held captive by its tresses.

⁶Oh, how beautiful you are! How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!

⁷You are slender like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like grape clusters, and the fragrance of your breath like apples.

⁹May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine — Young Woman Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.

¹⁰I am my lover’s, and he claims me as his own.

¹¹Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers.

¹²Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.

¹³There the mandrakes give off their fragrance, and the finest fruits are at our door, new delights as well as old, which I have saved for you, my lover.

¹I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

²I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

³My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when you appeared.

⁴For you have judged in my favor; from your throne you have judged with fairness.

⁵You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have erased their names forever.

⁶The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.

⁷But the LORD reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne.

⁸He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness.

⁹The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.

¹¹Sing praises to the LORD who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.

¹²For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless. He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.

¹³LORD, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death.

¹⁴Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates, so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.

¹⁶The LORD is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude

¹⁷The wicked will go down to the grave. This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.

¹⁸But the needy will not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

¹⁹Arise, O LORD! Do not let mere mortals defy you! Judge the nations!

²⁰Make them tremble in fear, O LORD. Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude

¹The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message. I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God.

²I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense.

³I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.

⁴Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is his name — and his son’s name? Tell me if you know!

⁵Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

⁶Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

⁷O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.

⁸First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

⁹For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

¹⁰Never slander a worker to the employer, or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother.

¹²They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed.

¹³They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances.

¹⁴They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.

¹⁵The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied — no, four that never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother’s instructions will be plucked out by ravens of the valley and eaten by vultures.

¹⁸There are three things that amaze me — no, four things that I don’t understand:

¹⁹how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

²⁰An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

²¹There are three things that make the earth tremble — no, four it cannot endure:

²²a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers,

²³a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress.

²⁴There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:

²⁵Ants — they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.

²⁶Hyraxes — they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks.

²⁷Locusts — they have no king, but they march in formation.

²⁸Lizards — they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things that walk with stately stride — no, four that strut about:

³⁰the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,

³¹the strutting rooster, the male goat, a king as he leads his army.

³²If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, cover your mouth in shame.

³³As the beating of cream yields butter and striking the nose causes bleeding, so stirring up anger causes quarrels.

¹About a month later, King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the Israelite town of Jabesh-gilead. But all the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. “Make a treaty with us, and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.

²“All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!”

³“Give us seven days to send messengers throughout Israel!” replied the elders of Jabesh. “If no one comes to save us, we will agree to your terms.”

⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.

⁵Saul had been plowing a field with his oxen, and when he returned to town, he asked, “What’s the matter? Why is everyone crying?” So they told him about the message from Jabesh.

⁶Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he became very angry.

⁷He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them throughout Israel with this message: “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle!” And the LORD made the people afraid of Saul’s anger, and all of them came out together as one.

⁸When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.

⁹So Saul sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, “We will rescue you by noontime tomorrow!” There was great joy throughout the town when that message arrived!

¹⁰The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do to us whatever you wish.”

¹¹But before dawn the next morning, Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments. He launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them the whole morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together.

¹²Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, “Now where are those men who said, ‘Why should Saul rule over us?’ Bring them here, and we will kill them!”

¹³But Saul replied, “No one will be executed today, for today the LORD has rescued Israel!”

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

¹⁵So they all went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before the LORD they made Saul king. Then they offered peace offerings to the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites were filled with joy.

¹Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.

²It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

³Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.

⁴No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.

⁵They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.

⁶Their webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark.

⁷Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them.

⁸They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

⁹So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.

¹⁰We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead.

¹¹We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.

¹²For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are.

¹³We know we have rebelled and have denied the LORD. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies.

¹⁴Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.

¹⁵Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The LORD looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.

¹⁶He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him.

¹⁷He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.

¹⁸He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.

¹⁹In the west, people will respect the name of the LORD; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD.

²⁰“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the LORD.

²¹“And this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the LORD, have spoken!

¹In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach

²until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

³During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

⁴Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.

⁵John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.

¹⁰As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James).

¹⁴They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

¹⁵During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them.

¹⁶“Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David.

¹⁷Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

¹⁸(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.

¹⁹The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

²⁰Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

²¹“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus —

²²from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen

²⁵as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.