Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When He had completed all His teaching in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.

²Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.

³When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.

⁴When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

⁵for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

⁶Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof;

⁷for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

⁸For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd.

¹²Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.

¹³When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not go on weeping.”

¹⁴And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”

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

¹⁶Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”

¹⁷And this report about Him spread throughout Judea and in all the surrounding region.

¹⁸The disciples of John also reported to him about all these things.

¹⁹And after summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for another?”

²⁰When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for another?’ ”

²¹At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.

²²And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and people who are poor have the gospel preached to them.

²³And blessed isanyone who does not take offense at Me.”

²⁴When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into thewilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

²⁵But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces!

²⁶But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

²⁷This is the one about whom it is written: ‘BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

²⁸I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

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

³²They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and aheavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors andsinners!’

³⁵And yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

³⁶Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

³⁷And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,

³⁸and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!”

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

⁴¹“A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundreddenarii, and the other, fifty.

⁴²When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?”

⁴³Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

⁴⁴And 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.

⁴⁵Yougave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in.

⁴⁶You did notanoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.

⁴⁷For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

⁴⁹And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

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

¹Then all the congregation raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night.

²And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness!

³So why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

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

⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.

⁸If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey.

⁹Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection is gone from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”

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

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?

¹²I will strike them with plague and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

¹³But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people up from their midst,

¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are in the midst of this people, because You, LORD, are seen eye to eye, while 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 put this people to death all at once, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

¹⁶‘Since the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying,

¹⁸‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’

¹⁹Please forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

²⁰So the LORD said, “I have forgiven them in accordance with your word;

²¹however, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.

²²Certainly all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,

²³shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it.

²⁴But as for My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.

²⁵Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

²⁶The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron again, saying,

²⁷“How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they are voicing against Me.

²⁸Say to them, ‘As I live,’ declares the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you;

²⁹your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all your numbered men according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.

³⁰By no means will you come into the land where I swore to settle you, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

³¹Your children, however, whom you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.

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

³³Also, your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your bodies perish in the wilderness.

³⁴In accordance with the number of days that you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall suffer the punishment for your guilt a year, that is, forty years, and you will know My opposition.

³⁵I, the LORD, have spoken, I certainly will do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall be worn out in this wilderness, and there they shall die.’ ”

³⁶As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and led all the congregation to grumble against him by bringing a bad report about the land,

³⁷those men who brought the bad report of the land also died by a plague in the presence of the LORD.

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

³⁹Now when Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly.

⁴⁰In the morning, however, they got up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why then are you violating the command of the LORD, when doing so will not succeed?

⁴²Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies.

⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there to confront you, and you will fall by the sword, since you have turned back from following the LORD. And the LORD will not be with you.”

⁴⁴But they foolishly dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and scattered them as far as Hormah.

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

²Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

³Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

⁴Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.

⁵For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

⁶knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

⁷for the one who has died is freed from sin.

⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

⁹knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

¹⁰For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

¹¹So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹²Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

¹³and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God.

¹⁴For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.

¹⁵What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Far from it!

¹⁶Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

¹⁷But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted,

¹⁸and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness.

¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your body’s parts as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

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

²¹Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.

²²But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

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

¹Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

²And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who were victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

³And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!

⁴Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,

⁶and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and their chests wrapped with golden sashes.

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

⁸And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

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

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

⁴If your sons sinned against Him, Then He turned them over to the power of their wrongdoing.

⁵If you will search for God And implore the compassion of the Almighty,

⁶If you are pure and upright, Surely now He will stir Himself for you And restore your righteous estate.

⁷Though your beginning was insignificant, Yet your end will increase greatly.

⁸“Please inquire of past generations, And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

⁹For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you, And bring forth words from their minds?

¹¹“Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh? Can the rushes grow without water?

¹²While it is still green and not cut down, Yet it withers before any other plant.

¹³So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the godless will perish,

¹⁴His confidence is fragile, And his trust is a spider’s web.

¹⁵He depends on his house, but it does not stand; He holds on to it, but it does not endure.

¹⁶He flourishes before the sun, And his shoots spread out over his garden.

¹⁷His roots wrap around a rock pile, He grasps a house of stones.

¹⁸If he is removed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of His way; And out of the dust others will spring.

²⁰Behold, God will not reject a person of integrity, Nor will He help evildoers.

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

²²Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”

¹“I love You, LORD, my strength.”

²The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my savior, 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 ropes of death encompassed me, And the torrents of destruction terrified me.

⁵The ropes of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.

⁸Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth was devouring; Coals burned from it.

⁹He also bowed the heavens down low, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew; And He sped on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds.

¹²From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were exposed By Your rebuke, 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 saved 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 disaster, But the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He also brought me out into an open place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God.

²²For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.

²³I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my wrongdoing.

²⁴Therefore the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

²⁵With the faithful You show Yourself faithful; With the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;

²⁶With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people, But You humiliate haughty eyes.

²⁸For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.

²⁹For by You I can run at a troop of warriors; And by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

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

³²The God who encircles me with strength, And makes my way blameless?

³³He makes my feet like deer’s feet, And sets me up on my high places.

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

³⁵You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.

³⁶You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

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

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

³⁹For You have encircled me with strength for battle; You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me.

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

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save, They cried to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

⁴²Then I beat them fine like the dust before the wind; I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.

⁴³You have rescued me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners pretend to obey me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their fortresses.

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

⁴⁷The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me.

⁴⁸He rescues me from my enemies; You indeed lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from a violent man.

⁴⁹Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, LORD, And I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰He gives great salvation to His king, And shows faithfulness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.

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

²On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

³Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

⁴“To you, people, I call, And my voice is to mankind.

⁵You naive ones, understand prudence; And, you fools, understand wisdom!

⁶Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

⁷For my mouth will proclaim truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

⁹They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Accept my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

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

¹³The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride, arrogance, the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.

¹⁴Advice is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.

¹⁵By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.

¹⁶By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.

¹⁷I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.

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

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold; And my yield better than choice silver.

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

²¹To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.

²²“The LORD created me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.

²³From eternity I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

²⁴When there were no ocean depths, I was born, When there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was born;

²⁶While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

²⁷When He established the heavens, I was there; When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,

²⁹When He set a boundary for the sea So that the water would not violate His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

³⁰Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was His delight daily, Rejoicing always before Him,

³¹Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of mankind.

³²“Now then, sons, listen to me, For blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Listen to instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.

³⁴Blessed is the person who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.

³⁵For one who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD.

³⁶But one who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”

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

²He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

³Yet David vowed again, saying, “Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.’ But indeed as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is just a step between me and death.”

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

⁵So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am obligated to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.

⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly requested leave of me to run to Bethlehem, his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’

⁷If he says, ‘That is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, be aware that he has decided on evil.

⁸So deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if I am guilty of wrongdoing, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?”

⁹Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I in fact learn that my father has decided to inflict harm on you, would I not inform you?”

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

¹¹Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹²Then Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward you, shall I not then send word to you and inform you?

¹³If it pleases my father to do you harm, may the LORD do so to me and more so, if I fail to inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And may the LORD be with you as He has been with my father.

¹⁴And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the LORD, so that I do not die?

¹⁵And you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.

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

¹⁹When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel.

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

²¹Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the LORD lives.

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

²³As for the agreement 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.

²⁵Now the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side; but David’s place was empty.

²⁶Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, “It must have been an accident; he is not clean, undoubtedly he is not clean.”

²⁷But it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty again; so Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

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

²⁹He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me slip away so that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing 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 will be established. Now then, send men and bring him to me, for he is doomed to die!”

³²But Jonathan replied to his father Saul and said to him, “Why must he be put to death? What has he done?”

³³Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike and kill him; so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death.

³⁴Then Jonathan got up from the table in the heat of anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, because he was worried about David since his father had insulted him.

³⁵Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out to the field at the time agreed upon with David, and a little boy was with him.

³⁶He said to his boy, “Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot an arrow past him.

³⁷When the boy reached the location of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is the arrow not beyond you?”

³⁸Then Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his master.

³⁹But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter.

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

⁴¹When the boy was gone, David got up from the south side, then he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, until David wept immeasurably.

⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in safety, since we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” So David set out and went on his way, while Jonathan went into the city.

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

²“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I remember regarding you the devotion of your youth, Your love when you were a bride, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.

³Israel was holy to the LORD, The first of His harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; Evil came upon them,” declares the LORD.’ ”

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

⁵This is what the LORD says: “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me, And walked after emptiness and became empty?

⁶They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no person lived?’

⁷I brought you into the fruitful land To eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land, And you made My inheritance an abomination.

⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the Law did not know Me; The rulers also revolted against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that were of no benefit.

⁹“Therefore I will still contend with you,” declares the LORD, “And I will contend with your sons’ sons.

¹⁰For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see, And send to Kedar and observe closely, And see if there has been anything like this!

¹¹Has a nation changed gods, When they were not gods? But My people have exchanged their glory For that which is of no benefit.

¹²Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD.

¹³“For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, The fountain of living waters, To carve out for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That do not hold water.

¹⁴“Is Israel a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home? Why has he become plunder?

¹⁵The young lions have roared at him, They have roared loudly. And they have made his land a waste; His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

¹⁶Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes Have shaved your head.

¹⁷Have you not done this to yourself By your abandoning the LORD your God When He led you in the way?

¹⁸But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt, Except to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?

¹⁹Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will punish you; Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter For you to abandon the LORD your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord GOD of armies.

²⁰“For long ago I broke your yoke And tore off your restraints; But you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every high hill And under every leafy tree You have lain down as a prostitute.

²¹Yet I planted you as a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

²²Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

²³“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel running about senselessly on her ways,

²⁴A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. Who can turn her away in her mating season? None who seek her will grow weary; In her month they will find her.

²⁵Keep your feet from being bare, And your throat from thirst; But you said, ‘It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And I will walk after them.’

²⁶“Like the shame of a thief when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their leaders, 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 backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’

²⁸But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time of your trouble! For as many as the number of your cities Are your gods, Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with Me? You have all revolted against Me,” declares the LORD.

³⁰“In vain I have struck your sons; They did not accept discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion.

³¹You generation, look to the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You’?

³²Can a virgin forget her jewelry, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me For days without number.

³³How well you prepare your way To seek love! Therefore even to the wicked women You have taught your ways.

³⁴Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things,

³⁵You said, ‘I am innocent; Surely His anger is turned away from me.’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

³⁶Why do you go around so much Changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt, Just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

³⁷From this place as well you will go out With your hands on your head; For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, And you will not prosper with them.”

¹Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,

²a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

³About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And he looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;

⁶he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants,

⁸and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

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

¹⁰But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;

¹¹and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,

¹²and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky.

¹³A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”

¹⁵Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate;

¹⁸and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

²¹Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.”

²³So he invited them in and gave them lodging. Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

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

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

²⁷As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call any person unholy or unclean.

²⁹That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,

³¹and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God.

³²Therefore send some men to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent men to you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

³⁵but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

³⁶The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—

³⁷you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.

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

³⁹We are witnesses of all the things that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed,

⁴¹not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

⁴²And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵All the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

⁴⁸And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.