Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

²Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.

³When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

⁴And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,

⁵for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

⁶And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

⁷Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.

⁸For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

¹¹Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.

¹²As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.

¹³And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

¹⁴Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

¹⁵And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

¹⁶Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”

¹⁷And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

¹⁸The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,

¹⁹calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

²⁰And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”

²¹In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.

²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

²³And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

²⁴When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

²⁵What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts.

²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,

³⁰but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

³⁵Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

³⁶One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.

³⁷And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

³⁸and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven — for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

⁴⁸And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

¹Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night.

²And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!

³Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

⁴And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel.

⁶And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes

⁷and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land.

⁸If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.

⁹Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”

¹⁰Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

¹²I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them,

¹⁴and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say,

¹⁶‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying,

¹⁸‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

¹⁹Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

²⁰Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word.

²¹But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD,

²²none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,

²³shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

²⁴But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

²⁵Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

²⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²⁷“How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.

²⁸Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you:

²⁹your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me,

³⁰not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

³¹But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.

³²But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.

³³And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

³⁴According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’

³⁵I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

³⁶And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land —

³⁷the men who brought up a bad report of the land — died by plague before the LORD.

³⁸Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

³⁹When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly.

⁴⁰And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed?

⁴²Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies.

⁴³For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.”

⁴⁴But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

¹What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

²By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

⁴We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

⁷For one who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

⁹We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

¹⁰For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹²Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

¹³Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

¹⁴For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

¹⁵What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

¹⁶Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

¹⁷But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

¹⁸and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

¹⁹I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

²⁰For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

²¹But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

²And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire — and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.

³And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

⁴Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened,

⁶and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests.

⁷And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever,

⁸and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind?

³Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

⁴If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.

⁵If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy,

⁶if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.

⁷And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.

⁸“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out.

⁹For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow.

¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding?

¹¹“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water?

¹²While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.

¹³Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish.

¹⁴His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider's web.

¹⁵He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.

¹⁶He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden.

¹⁷His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones.

¹⁸If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring.

²⁰“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers.

²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.

²²Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

¹I love you, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me;

⁵the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

⁷Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.

⁹He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.

¹²Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

¹³The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.

²³I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.

²⁴So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

²⁶with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

²⁷For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

²⁸For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.

²⁹For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰This God — his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

³¹For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? —

³²the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.

³³He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.

³⁶You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.

³⁸I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.

³⁹For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

⁴²I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

⁴³You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.

⁴⁴As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation —

⁴⁷the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,

⁴⁸who rescued me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence.

⁴⁹For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.

⁵⁰Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

¹Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?

²On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

³beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

⁴“To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man.

⁵O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.

⁶Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right,

⁷for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

⁹They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,

¹¹for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.

¹³The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

¹⁴I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.

¹⁵By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just;

¹⁶by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.

¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

¹⁸Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice,

²¹granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

²²“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.

²³Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

²⁴When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth,

²⁶before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.

²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,

²⁹when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

³⁰then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,

³¹rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

³²“And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.

³⁴Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

³⁵For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,

³⁶but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

¹Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

²And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.”

³But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

⁴Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”

⁵David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening.

⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’

⁷If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him.

⁸Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

⁹And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?”

¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?”

¹¹And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.

¹²And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?

¹³But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father.

¹⁴If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die;

¹⁵and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David's enemies.”

¹⁷And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

¹⁹On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.

²⁰And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.

²¹And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.

²²But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away.

²³And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”

²⁴So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.

²⁵The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty.

²⁶Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.”

²⁷But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

²⁸Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.

²⁹He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”

³⁰Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”

³²Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”

³³But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.

³⁴And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.

³⁵In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy.

³⁶And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

³⁷And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”

³⁸And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master.

³⁹But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.”

⁴¹And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most.

⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

¹The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

³Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the LORD.”

⁴Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel.

⁵Thus says the LORD: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

⁶They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’

⁷And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.

⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.

⁹“Therefore I still contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children's children I will contend.

¹⁰For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing.

¹¹Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.

¹²Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD,

¹³for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey?

¹⁵The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

¹⁶Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

¹⁷Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

¹⁸And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

¹⁹Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

²⁰“For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, ‘I will not serve.’ Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore.

²¹Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?

²²Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord GOD.

²³How can you say, ‘I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done — a restless young camel running here and there,

²⁴a wild donkey used to the wilderness, in her heat sniffing the wind! Who can restrain her lust? None who seek her need weary themselves; in her month they will find her.

²⁵Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.’

²⁶“As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets,

²⁷who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us!’

²⁸But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with me? You have all transgressed against me, declares the LORD.

³⁰In vain have I struck your children; they took no correction; your own sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion.

³¹And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘We are free, we will come no more to you’?

³²Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

³³“How well you direct your course to seek love! So that even to wicked women you have taught your ways.

³⁴Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the guiltless poor; you did not find them breaking in. Yet in spite of all these things

³⁵you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’

³⁶How much you go about, changing your way! You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria.

³⁷From it too you will come away with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper by them.

¹At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,

²a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

³About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

⁵And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

⁶He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,

⁸and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance

¹¹and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

¹²In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

¹³And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

¹⁷Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate

¹⁸and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

¹⁹And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

²¹And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”

²²And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

²³So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

³⁰And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁶As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

³⁷you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

⁴¹not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.

⁴⁵And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.