Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Again Jesus went into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered.

²The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

³He said to the man whose hand was withered, "Get up and come forward!"

⁴He asked them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent.

⁵After looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, "Hold out your hand." And he held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored.

⁶Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians [to plot] against Him, as to how they might [fabricate some legal grounds to] put Him to death.

⁷Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea,

⁸and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing.

⁹And He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him;

¹⁰for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him.

¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, "You are the Son of God!"

¹²Jesus sternly warned them [again and again] not to tell who He was.

¹³He went up on the hillside and called those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him.

¹⁴And He appointed twelve [disciples], so that they would be with Him [for instruction] and so that He could send them out to preach [the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives],

¹⁵and to have authority and power to cast out demons.

¹⁶He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),

¹⁷and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder");

¹⁸and [He also appointed] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathanael), and Matthew (Levi the tax collector), and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas the son of James), and Simon the Zealot;

¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

²⁰Then He came to a house [in Capernaum], and a crowd formed again, so [many people] that Jesus and His disciples could not even eat a meal [together].

²¹When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He is out of His mind."

²²The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul (Satan)," and "He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons."

²³So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan?

²⁴If a kingdom is divided [split into factions and rebelling] against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

²⁷But no one can go into a strong man's house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man, and then he will ransack and rob his house.

²⁸"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say;

²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin [a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come]"—

³⁰[Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

³¹Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him.

³²A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You."

³³And He replied, "Who are My mother and My brothers?"

³⁴Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!

³⁵For whoever does the will of God [by believing in Me, and following Me], he is My brother and sister and mother."

¹Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying: "Jacob has taken away everything that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has acquired all this wealth and honor."

²Jacob noticed [a change in] the attitude of Laban, and saw that it was not friendly toward him as before.

³Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your people, and I will be with you."

⁴So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

⁵and he said to them, "I see [a change in] your father's attitude, that he is not friendly toward me as [he was] before; but the God of my father [Isaac] has been with me.

⁶You know that I have served your father with all my strength.

⁷Yet your father has cheated me [as often as possible] and changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to hurt me.

⁸If he said, 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then the entire flock gave birth to speckled [young]; and if he said, 'The streaked shall be your wages,' then the entire flock gave birth to streaked [young].

⁹Thus God has taken away the flocks of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰And it happened at the time when the flock conceived that I looked up and saw in a dream that the rams which mated [with the female goats] were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

¹¹And the Angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' And I said, 'Here I am.'

¹²He said, 'Look up and see, all the rams which are mating [with the flock] are streaked, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.

¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you made a vow to Me; now stand up, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'"

¹⁴Rachel and Leah answered him, "Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

¹⁵Are we not counted by him as foreigners? For he sold us [to you in marriage], and has also entirely used up our purchase price.

¹⁶Surely all the riches which God has taken from our father are ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has told you to do, do it."

¹⁷Then Jacob stood [and took action] and put his children and his wives on camels;

¹⁸and he drove away all his livestock and [took along] all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he had obtained and accumulated in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel [went inside the house and] stole her father's household gods.

²⁰And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean (Syrian) by not telling him that he intended to leave and he slipped away secretly.

²¹So he fled with everything that he had, and got up and crossed the river [Euphrates], and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead [east of the Jordan River].

²²On the third day [after his departure] Laban was told that Jacob had fled.

²³So he took his relatives with him and pursued him for seven days, and they overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁴God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob, either good or bad."

²⁵Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent on the hill, and Laban with his relatives camped on the same hill of Gilead.

²⁶Then Laban said to Jacob, "What do you mean by deceiving me and leaving without my knowledge, and carrying off my daughters as if [they were] captives of the sword?

²⁷Why did you run away secretly and deceive me and not tell me, so that [otherwise] I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with [music on the] tambourine and lyre?

²⁸And why did you not allow me to kiss my grandchildren and my daughters [goodbye]? Now you have done a foolish thing [in behaving like this].

²⁹It is in my power to harm you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to speak to Jacob, either good or bad.'

³⁰Now [I suppose] you felt you must go because you were homesick for your father's house and family; but why did you steal my [household] gods?"

³¹Jacob answered Laban, "[I left secretly] because I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.

³²The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our relatives [search my possessions and] point out whatever you find that belongs to you and take it." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³³So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he came out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.

³⁴Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddlebag and sat on them. Laban searched through all her tent, but did not find them.

³⁵So Rachel said to her father, "Do not be displeased, my lord, that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is on me and I am unwell." He searched [further] but did not find the household idols.

³⁶Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. And he said to Laban, "What is my fault? What is my sin that you pursued me like this?

³⁷Although you have searched through all my possessions, what have you found of your household goods? Put it here before my relatives and your relatives, so that they may decide [who has done right] between the two of us.

³⁸These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not lost their young, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.

³⁹I did not bring you the torn carcasses [of the animals attacked by predators]; I [personally] took the loss. You required of me [to make good] everything that was stolen, whether it occurred by day or night.

⁴⁰This was my situation: by day the heat consumed me and by night the cold, and I could not sleep.

⁴¹These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for [my share of] your flocks, and you have changed my wages ten times.

⁴²If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and [the Feared One] of Isaac, had not been with me, most certainly you would have sent me away now empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and humiliation and the [exhausting] labor of my hands, so He rendered judgment and rebuked you last night."

⁴³Laban answered Jacob, "These women [that you married] are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, these flocks are [from] my flocks, and all that you see [here] is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children to whom they have given birth?

⁴⁴So come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me."

⁴⁵So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a [memorial] pillar.

⁴⁶Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a mound [of stones], and they ate [a ceremonial meal together] there on the mound [of stones].

⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha (stone monument of testimony in Aramaic), but Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸Laban said, "This mound [of stones] is a witness [a reminder of the oath taken] today between you and me." Therefore he [also] called the name Galeed,

⁴⁹and Mizpah ( watchtower), for Laban said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.

⁵⁰If you should mistreat (humiliate, oppress) my daughters, or if you should take other wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us [as a witness], see and remember, God is witness between you and me."

⁵¹Laban said to Jacob, "Look at this mound [of stones] and look at this pillar which I have set up between you and me.

⁵²This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this mound to harm you, and that you will not pass by this mound and this pillar to harm me.

⁵³The God of Abraham [your father] and the God of Nahor [my father], and the god [the image of worship] of their father [Terah, an idolater], judge between us." But Jacob swore [only] by [the one true God] the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴Then Jacob offered a sacrifice [to the LORD] on the mountain, and called his relatives to the meal; and they ate food and spent the night on the mountain.

⁵⁵Early in the morning Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters [goodbye] and pronounced a blessing [asking God's favor] on them. Then Laban left and returned home.

¹Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith].

²By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment].

³For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

⁴and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve.

⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death].

⁷Then He was seen by James, then by all the apostles,

⁸and last of all, as to one untimely (prematurely, traumatically) born, He appeared to me also.

⁹For I am the least [worthy] of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I [at one time] fiercely oppressed and violently persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.

¹¹So whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed and trusted in and relied on with confidence.

¹²Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth].

¹⁵We are even discovered to be false witnesses [misrepresenting] God, because we testified concerning Him that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, either;

¹⁷and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless [mere delusion]; you are still in your sins [and under the control and penalty of sin].

¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

¹⁹If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

²⁰But now [as things really are] Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, [and He became] the first fruits [that is, the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body, foreshadowing the resurrection] of those who have fallen asleep [in death].

²¹For since [it was] by a man that death came [into the world], it is also by a Man that the resurrection of the dead has come.

²²For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ's [own will be resurrected with incorruptible, immortal bodies] at His coming.

²⁴After that comes the end (completion), when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has made inoperative and abolished every ruler and every authority and power.

²⁵For Christ must reign [as King] until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy to be abolished and put to an end is death.

²⁷For He (the Father) has put all things in subjection under His (Christ's) feet. But when He says, "All things have been put in subjection [under Christ]," it is clear that He (the Father) who put all things in subjection to Him (Christ) is excepted [since the Father is not in subjection to His own Son].

²⁸However, when all things are subjected to Him (Christ), then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One (the Father) who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all [manifesting His glory without any opposition, the supreme indwelling and controlling factor of life].

²⁹Otherwise, what will those do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people even baptized for them?

³⁰[For that matter] why are we [running such risks and putting ourselves] in danger [nearly] every hour [if there is no resurrection]?

³¹I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self].

³²What good has it done me if, [merely] from a human point of view, I fought with wild animals at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink [enjoying ourselves now], for tomorrow we die.

³³Do not be deceived:"Bad company corrupts good morals."

³⁴Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body will they come?"

³⁶You fool! Every time you plant seed you sow something that does not come to life [germinating, springing up and growing] unless it first dies.

³⁷The seed you sow is not the body (the plant) which it is going to become, but it is a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He planned, and to each kind of seed a body of its own [is given].

³⁹All flesh is not the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies [sun, moon and stars] and earthly bodies [humans, animals, and plants], but the glory and beauty of the heavenly is one kind, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is a glory and beauty of the sun, another glory of the moon, and yet another [distinctive] glory of the stars; and one star differs from another in glory and brilliance.

⁴²So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal.

⁴³It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength;

⁴⁴it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So it is written [in Scripture], "The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);" the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life].

⁴⁶However, the spiritual [the immortal life] is not first, but the physical [the mortal life]; then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man [Adam] is from the earth, earthy [made of dust]; the second Man [Christ, the Lord] is from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven.

⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven].

⁵⁰Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal).

⁵¹Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed],

⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed].

⁵³For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death].

⁵⁴And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, "Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever).

⁵⁵O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law;

⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world],

²so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God.

³For the time already past is [more than] enough for doing what the [unsaved] Gentiles like to do— living [unrestrained as you have done] in a course of [shameless] sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and wanton idolatries.

⁴In [connection with] all this, they [the unbelievers] are resentful and surprised that you do not [think like them, value their values and] run [hand in hand] with them into the same excesses of dissipation and immoral freedom, and they criticize and abuse and ridicule you and make fun of your values.

⁵But they will [have to] give an account to Him who is ready to judge and pass sentence on the living and the dead.

⁶For this is why the good news [of salvation] was preached [in their lifetimes] even to those who are dead, that though they were judged in the flesh as men are, they may live in the spirit according to [the will and purpose of] God.

⁷The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him.]

⁸Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].

⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

¹⁰Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God's multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God's unmerited favor].

¹¹Whoever speaks [to the congregation], is to do so as one who speaks the oracles (utterances, the very words) of God. Whoever serves [the congregation] is to do so as one who serves by the strength which God [abundantly] supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified [honored and magnified] through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you.

¹³But insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory [filled with His radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy.

¹⁴If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God's salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify].

¹⁵Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or any sort of criminal [in response to persecution], or as a troublesome meddler interfering in the affairs of others;

¹⁶but if anyone suffers [ill-treatment] as a Christian [because of his belief], he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God [because he is considered worthy to suffer] in this name.

¹⁷For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸And if it is difficult for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the godless and the sinner?

¹⁹Therefore, those who are ill-treated and suffer in accordance with the will of God must [continue to] do right and commit their souls [for safe-keeping] to the faithful Creator.

¹"I have made a covenant (agreement) with my eyes; How then could I gaze [lustfully] at a virgin?

²"For what is the portion I would have from God above, And what heritage from the Almighty on high?

³"Does not tragedy fall [justly] on the unjust And disaster to those who work wickedness?

⁴"Does not God see my ways And count all my steps?

⁵"If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has chased after deceit,

⁶Oh, let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.

⁷"If my step has turned away from the way [of God], Or if my heart has [covetously] followed my eyes, Or if any spot [of guilt] has stained my hands,

⁸Then let me plant and [let] another eat [from the results of my labor], And let my crops be uprooted and ruined.

⁹"If my heart has been enticed and I was made a fool by a woman, Or if I have [covetously] lurked at my neighbor's door [until his departure],

¹⁰Let my wife grind [meal, like a bond slave] for another [man], And let others kneel down over her.

¹¹"For adultery is a heinous and lustful crime; Moreover, it would be a sin punishable by the judges.

¹²"For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment); And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life's] increase [destroying everything].

¹³"If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants When they filed a complaint against me,

¹⁴What then could I do when God arises [to judge me]? When He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

¹⁵"Did not He who made me in the womb make my servant, And did not the same One fashion us both in the womb?

¹⁶"If I have withheld from the poor what they desired, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel [of food] alone, And did not share it with the orphan

¹⁸(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father, And from my mother's womb I have been the widow's guide),

¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor person without covering,

²⁰If his loins have not thanked and blessed me [for clothing them], And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

²¹If I have lifted my hand against the orphan, Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,

²²Then let my shoulder fall away from its socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

²³"For tragedy from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty and exaltation I can do nothing [nor endure facing Him].

²⁴"If I have put my trust and confidence in gold, Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,

²⁵If I gloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my [powerful] hand [alone] had obtained so much,

²⁶If I beheld the sun [as an object of worship] when it shone Or the moon going in its splendor,

²⁷And my heart became secretly enticed [by them], And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth [in respect to them],

²⁸This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.

²⁹"Have I rejoiced at the destruction of the enemy [who hated me], Or exulted [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him?

³⁰"No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

³¹"I assure you, the men of my tent have said, 'Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat'?

³²"The stranger has not lodged in the street, Because I have opened my door to the traveler.

³³"Have I concealed my transgressions like Adam or like other men, By hiding my wickedness in my bosom,

³⁴Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?

³⁵"Oh, that I had one to listen to me! Look, here is my signature (mark); Let the Almighty answer me! Let my adversary write out His indictment [and put His vague accusations in tangible form].

³⁶"Surely I would [proudly] bear it on my shoulder, And bind the scroll around my head like a crown.

³⁷"I would count out to Him the number of my steps [with every detail of my life], Approaching His presence as if I were a prince.

³⁸"For if my land has cried out against me, And its furrows weep together;

³⁹If I have eaten its fruits without paying for them, Or have caused its [rightful] owners to lose their lives,

⁴⁰Let thorns grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley." So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. In You, O LORD, I have placed my trust and taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness rescue me.

²Incline Your ear to me, deliver me quickly; Be my rock of refuge, And a strong fortress to save me.

³Yes, You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.

⁴You will draw me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength and my stronghold.

⁵Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, the God of truth and faithfulness.

⁶I hate those who pay regard to vain (empty, worthless) idols; But I trust in the LORD [and rely on Him with unwavering confidence].

⁷I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love, Because You have seen my affliction; You have taken note of my life's distresses,

⁸And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a broad place.

⁹Be gracious and compassionate to me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; My eye is clouded and weakened by grief, my soul and my body also.

¹⁰For my life is spent with sorrow And my years with sighing; My strength has failed because of my iniquity, And even my body has wasted away.

¹¹Because of all my enemies I have become a reproach and disgrace, Especially to my neighbors, And an object of dread to my acquaintances; Those who see me on the street run from me.

¹²I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

¹³For I have heard the slander and whispering of many, Terror is on every side; While they schemed together against me, They plotted to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust [confidently] in You and Your greatness, O LORD; I said, "You are my God."

¹⁵My times are in Your hands; Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue and persecute me.

¹⁶Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness.

¹⁷Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call on You; Let the wicked (godless) be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

¹⁸Let the lying lips be mute, Which speak insolently and arrogantly against the [consistently] righteous With pride and contempt.

¹⁹How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who [reverently] fear You, Which You have prepared for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of man!

²⁰In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots and conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter (pavilion) from the strife of tongues.

²¹Blessed be the LORD, For He has shown His marvelous favor and lovingkindness to me [when I was assailed] in a besieged city.

²²As for me, I said in my alarm, "I am cut off from Your eyes." Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications (specific requests) When I cried to You [for help].

²³O love the LORD, all you His godly ones! The LORD preserves the faithful [those with moral and spiritual integrity] And fully repays the [self-righteousness of the] arrogant.

²⁴Be strong and let your hearts take courage, All you who wait for and confidently expect the LORD.

¹The words of King Lemuel, the oracle, which his mother taught him:

²What, O my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what [shall I advise you], O son of my vows?

³Do not give your [generative] strength to women [neither foreign wives in marriages of alliances, nor concubines], Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

⁵Otherwise they drink and forget the law and its decrees, And pervert the rights and justice of all the afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty And no longer remember his trouble.

⁸Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all who are unfortunate and defenseless;

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, And administer justice for the afflicted and needy.

¹⁰An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her? Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her [with secure confidence], And he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She comforts, encourages, and does him only good and not evil All the days of her life.

¹³She looks for wool and flax And works with willing hands in delight.

¹⁴She is like the merchant ships [abounding with treasure]; She brings her [household's] food from far away.

¹⁵She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And assigns tasks to her maids.

¹⁶She considers a field before she buys or accepts it [expanding her business prudently]; With her profits she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

¹⁷She equips herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] And makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She sees that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out, but it burns continually through the night [she is prepared for whatever lies ahead].

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle [as she spins wool into thread for clothing].

²⁰She opens and extends her hand to the poor, And she reaches out her filled hands to the needy.

²¹She does not fear the snow for her household, For all in her household are clothed in [expensive] scarlet [wool].

²²She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry. Her clothing is linen, pure and fine, and purple [wool].

²³Her husband is known in the [city's] gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes [fine] linen garments and sells them; And supplies sashes to the merchants.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; And she smiles at the future [knowing that she and her family are prepared].

²⁶She opens her mouth in [skillful and godly] wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue [giving counsel and instruction].

²⁷She looks well to how things go in her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired); Her husband also, and he praises her, saying,

²⁹"Many daughters have done nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], But you excel them all."

³⁰Charm and grace are deceptive, and [superficial] beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD [reverently worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect], she shall be praised.

³¹Give her of the product of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates [of the city].

¹Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

²Then the LORD said to Gideon, "There are too many people with you for Me to hand over Midian to them, otherwise Israel will boast [about themselves] against Me, saying, 'My own power has rescued me.'

³So now, proclaim in the hearing of the people, 'Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men returned [home], but ten thousand remained.

⁴Then the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many people; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."

⁵So he brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels down to drink."

⁶Now the number of those who lapped [the water], putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men, but all the rest of the people kneeled down to drink water.

⁷And the LORD told Gideon, "With the three hundred men who lapped I will rescue you, and will hand over the Midianites to you. Let all the other people go, each man to his home."

⁸So the three hundred men took people's provisions [for the journey] and their trumpets [made of rams' horns] in their hands. And Gideon sent [away] all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but kept the three hundred men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

⁹Now on that same night the LORD said to Gideon, "Arise, go down against their camp, for I have given it into your hand.

¹⁰But if you are afraid to go down [by yourself], go with Purah your servant down to the camp,

¹¹and you will hear what they say; and afterward you will have the courage to go down against the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the army that was in the camp.

¹²Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying [camped] in the valley, as countless as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

¹³When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his friend. And he said, "Listen carefully, I had a dream: there was a loaf of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat."

¹⁴And his friend replied, "This [dream] is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has given Midian and the entire camp into his hand."

¹⁵When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hand."

¹⁶He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.

¹⁷And he said to them, "Look at me, then do likewise. When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do.

¹⁸When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet (ram's horn), then all around the camp you also blow the trumpets and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon!'"

¹⁹So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when the guards had just been changed, and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands.

²⁰When three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow, and they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

²¹Then each stood in his place around the camp; and the entire [Midianite] army ran, crying out as they fled.

²²When Gideon's men blew the three hundred trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one [Midianite] against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

²³The men of Israel were summoned together from [the tribes of] Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.

²⁴Then Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of [the tribe of] Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and take [control of] the waters before them [thereby cutting off the Midianites], as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan [River]." So all the men of Ephraim were assembled together and they took control of the waters, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

²⁵Then the men of Ephraim took the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, and pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

¹Woe (judgment is coming) to those who go down to Egypt for help, Who rely on horses And trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek and consult the LORD!

²Yet He is also wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the helpers of those who do evil.

³Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; And the LORD will stretch out His hand, And he (Egypt) who helps will stumble, And he (Judah) who is helped will fall, And all of them will perish together.

⁴For so the LORD says to me, "As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, And though a large group of shepherds is called out against him He will not be terrified at their voice nor cringe at their noise, So the LORD of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill."

⁵Like flying birds, so will the LORD of hosts protect Jerusalem; He will protect and save it, He will pass over and rescue it.

⁶Return to Him from whom you have so deeply defected, O sons of Israel.

⁷For in that day every man will reject and throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold [in disgust], which your own hands have sinfully made for you.

⁸Then the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of man will devour him. And he will flee from the sword [of God], And his young men will become forced labor.

⁹"His rock [his stronghold] will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the [sight of the battle] standard," Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

¹Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.),

²and a man who had been unable to walk from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, so that he could beg alms from those entering the temple.

³So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking [them] for coins.

⁴But Peter, along with John, stared at him intently and said, "Look at us!"

⁵And the man began to pay attention to them, eagerly expecting to receive something from them.

⁶But Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have I give to you: In the name (authority, power) of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—[begin now to] walk and go on walking!"

⁷Then he seized the man's right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong and steady,

⁸and with a leap he stood up and began to walk; and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹All the people saw him walking and praising God;

¹⁰and they recognized him as the very man who usually sat begging for coins at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement and were mystified at what had happened to him.

¹¹Now while he was still holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly amazed, ran together and crowded around them at the covered porch called Solomon's portico.

¹²And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, "You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant and Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], the One whom you handed over and disowned and rejected before Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

¹⁴But you disowned and denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.

¹⁵But you killed the Prince (Author, Originator, Source) of life, whom God raised [bodily] from the dead. To this [fact] we are witnesses [for we have seen the risen Christ].

¹⁶And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health and complete wholeness in your presence.

¹⁷"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance [not fully aware of what you were doing], just as your rulers did also.

¹⁸And so God has fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (Messiah, Anointed) would suffer.

¹⁹So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day];

²⁰and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you,

²¹whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

²²Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophetlike me from your countrymen; you shall listen to Him and obey everything He tells you.

²³And it will be that every person that does not listen to and heed that Prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

²⁴Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also announced these days.

²⁵You are the sons (descendants) of the prophets and [heirs] of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed (descendant) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'

²⁶It was for you first of all that God raised up His Servant and Son [Jesus], and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways."