Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”

²He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say, Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.”

⁵He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

⁶because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’

⁷Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’

⁸I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?

¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

¹⁴Now he was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed.

¹⁵But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶And others, as a test, were demanding of him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷Knowing their thoughts, he told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.

¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

²⁰If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure.

²²But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons he trusted in, and divides up his plunder.

²³Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, and not finding rest, it then says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’

²⁵Returning, it finds the house swept and put in order.

²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first.”

²⁷As he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the one who nursed you!”

²⁸He said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”

²⁹As the crowds were increasing, he began saying: “This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

³⁰For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

³¹The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look — something greater than Solomon is here.

³²The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching, and look — something greater than Jonah is here.

³³“No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light.

³⁴Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness.

³⁵Take care, then, that the light in you is not darkness.

³⁶If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

³⁷As he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table.

³⁸When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that he did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner.

³⁹But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil.

⁴⁰Fools! Didn’t he who made the outside make the inside too?

⁴¹But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you.

⁴²“But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

⁴³“Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴“Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don’t know it.”

⁴⁵One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too.”

⁴⁶Then he said: “Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, and yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers.

⁴⁷“Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

⁴⁸Therefore, you are witnesses that you approve the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments.

⁴⁹Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’

⁵⁰so that this generation may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world — 

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. “Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible.

⁵²“Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were trying to go in.”

⁵³When he left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things;

⁵⁴they were lying in wait for him to trap him in something he said.

¹The LORD said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestral family will be responsible for iniquity against the sanctuary. You and your sons will be responsible for iniquity involving your priesthood.

²But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the testimony.

³They are to perform duties for you and for the whole tent. They must not come near the sanctuary equipment or the altar; otherwise, both they and you will die.

⁴They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.

⁵“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

⁶Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the LORD to work at the tent of meeting.

⁷But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities for everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the curtain, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

⁸Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.

⁹A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or guilt offering will be most holy for you and your sons.

¹⁰You are to eat it as a most holy offering. Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you.

¹¹“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites’ presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.

¹²I am giving you all the best of the fresh oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.

¹³The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.

¹⁴“Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the LORD belongs to you.

¹⁵The firstborn of every living thing, human or animal, presented to the LORD belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem a human firstborn, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal.

¹⁶You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your assessment: five shekels of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.

¹⁷“However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁸But their meat belongs to you. It belongs to you like the breast of the presentation offering and the right thigh.

¹⁹“I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to the LORD as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you as well as your offspring.”

²⁰The LORD told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

²¹“Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting.

²²The Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.

²³The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their iniquity. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

²⁴For I have given them the tenth that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution for their inheritance. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

²⁵The LORD instructed Moses,

²⁶“Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you are to present part of it as an offering to the LORD  — a tenth of the tenth.

²⁷Your offering will be credited to you as if it were your grain from the threshing floor or the full harvest from the winepress.

²⁸You are to present an offering to the LORD from every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to the priest Aaron as an offering to the LORD.

²⁹You must present the entire offering due the LORD from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth is to be consecrated.

³⁰“Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress,

³¹then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.

³²You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites’ holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

¹Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.

²I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

³Since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness.

⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes,

⁵since Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them.

⁶But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?” that is, to bring Christ down

⁷or, “Who will go down into the abyss?” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.

⁸On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim:

⁹If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame,

¹²since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him.

¹³For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

¹⁴How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?

¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

¹⁶But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?

¹⁷So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

¹⁸But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

¹⁹But I ask, “Did Israel not understand?” First, Moses said, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that lacks understanding.

²⁰And Isaiah says boldly, I was found by those who were not looking for me; I revealed myself to those who were not asking for me.

²¹But to Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and defiant people.

¹After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,

²because his judgments are true and righteous, because he has judged the notorious prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality; and he has avenged the blood of his servants that was on her hands.

³A second time they said, Hallelujah! Her smoke ascends forever and ever!

⁴Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who is seated on the throne, saying, Amen! Hallelujah!

⁵A voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all his servants, and the ones who fear him, both small and great!

⁶Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!

⁷Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself.

⁸She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”

¹⁰Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war with justice.

¹²His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself.

¹³He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

¹⁴The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen.

¹⁵A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty.

¹⁶And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”

¹⁹Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against his army.

²⁰But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

²¹The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

¹Then Job answered:

²No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!

³But I also have a mind like you; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

⁴I am a laughingstock to my friends, by calling on God, who answers me. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

⁵The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

⁶The tents of robbers are safe, and those who trouble God are secure; God holds them in his hands.

⁷But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you; let the fish of the sea inform you.

⁹Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

¹⁰The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.

¹¹Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food?

¹²Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.

¹³Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his.

¹⁴Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released.

¹⁵When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land.

¹⁶True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his.

¹⁷He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad.

¹⁸He releases the bonds put on by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.

¹⁹He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders.

²⁰He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders’ good judgment.

²¹He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong.

²²He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light.

²³He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away.

²⁴He deprives the world’s leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

²⁵They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

¹For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David. [1] My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning?

²My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.

³But you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in you; they trusted, and you rescued them.

⁵They cried to you and were set free; they trusted in you and were not disgraced.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by people.

⁷Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads:

⁸“He relies on the LORD; let him save him; let the LORD rescue him, since he takes pleasure in him.”

⁹It was you who brought me out of the womb, making me secure at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰I was given over to you at birth; you have been my God from my mother’s womb.

¹¹Don’t be far from me, because distress is near and there’s no one to help.

¹²Many bulls surround me; strong ones of Bashan encircle me.

¹³They open their mouths against me — lions, mauling and roaring.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me.

¹⁸They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹But you, LORD, don’t be far away. My strength, come quickly to help me.

²⁰Rescue my life from the sword, my only life from the power of these dogs.

²¹Save me from the lion’s mouth, from the horns of wild oxen. You answered me!

²²I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the assembly.

²³You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! All you descendants of Israel, revere him!

²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred the torment of the oppressed. He did not hide his face from him but listened when he cried to him for help.

²⁵I will give praise in the great assembly because of you; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.

²⁶The humble will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise him. May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before you,

²⁸for kingship belongs to the LORD; he rules the nations.

²⁹All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down; all those who go down to the dust will kneel before him — even the one who cannot preserve his life.

³⁰Their descendants will serve him; the next generation will be told about the Lord.

³¹They will come and declare his righteousness; to a people yet to be born they will declare what he has done.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.

²One who is good obtains favor from the LORD, but he condemns a person who schemes.

³No one can be made secure by wickedness, but the root of the righteous is immovable.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a wife who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just, but guidance from the wicked is deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man is praised for his insight, but a twisted mind is despised.

⁹Better to be disregarded, yet have a servant, than to act important but have no food.

¹⁰The righteous cares about his animal’s health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.

¹²The wicked desire what evil people have caught, but the root of the righteous is productive.

¹³By rebellious speech an evil person is trapped, but a righteous person escapes from trouble.

¹⁴A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the work of a person’s hands will reward him.

¹⁵A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.

¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword; but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue, only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

²¹No disaster overcomes the righteous, but the wicked are full of misery.

²²Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but faithful people are his delight.

²³A shrewd person conceals knowledge, but a foolish heart publicizes stupidity.

²⁴The diligent hand will rule, but laziness will lead to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up.

²⁶A righteous person is careful in dealing with his neighbor, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

²⁷A lazy hunter doesn’t roast his game, but to a diligent person, his wealth is precious.

²⁸There is life in the path of righteousness, and in its path there is no death.

¹When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”

²So Saul took three thousand of Israel’s fit young men and went to look for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave,

⁴so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the LORD told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

⁶He said to his men, “I swear before the LORD: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”

⁷With these words David persuaded his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.

⁸After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David knelt low with his face to the ground and paid homage.

⁹David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?

¹⁰You can see with your own eyes that the LORD handed you over to me today in the cave. Someone advised me to kill you, but I took pity on you and said: I won’t lift my hand against my lord, since he is the LORD’s anointed.

¹¹Look, my father! Look at the corner of your robe in my hand, for I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. Recognize that I’ve committed no crime or rebellion. I haven’t sinned against you even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

¹²“May the LORD judge between me and you, and may the LORD take vengeance on you for me, but my hand will never be against you.

¹³As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness comes from wicked people.’ My hand will never be against you.

¹⁴Who has the king of Israel come after? What are you chasing after? A dead dog? A single flea?

¹⁵May the LORD be judge and decide between you and me. May he take notice and plead my case and deliver me from you.”

¹⁶When David finished saying these things to him, Saul replied, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud

¹⁷and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have done what is good to me though I have done what is evil to you.

¹⁸You yourself have told me today what good you did for me: when the LORD handed me over to you, you didn’t kill me.

¹⁹When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go unharmed? May the LORD repay you with good for what you’ve done for me today.

²⁰“Now I know for certain you will be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

²¹Therefore swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”

²²So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.

¹“Run for cover out of Jerusalem, Benjaminites. Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; raise a smoke signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster threatens from the north, even a crushing blow.

²Though she is beautiful and delicate, I will destroy Daughter Zion.

³Shepherds and their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents all around her. Each will pasture his own portion.

⁴Set them apart for war against her; rise up, let’s attack at noon. Woe to us, for the day is passing; the evening shadows grow long.

⁵Rise up, let’s attack by night. Let us destroy her fortresses.”

⁶For this is what the LORD of Armies says: Cut down the trees; raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished. There is nothing but oppression within her.

⁷As a well gushes out its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her. Sickness and wounds keep coming to my attention.

⁸Be warned, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you; I will make you a desolation, a land without inhabitants.

⁹This is what the LORD of Armies says: Glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine. Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer over the branches.

¹⁰Who can I speak to and give such a warning that they will listen? Look, their ear is uncircumcised, so they cannot pay attention. See, the word of the LORD has become contemptible to them — they find no pleasure in it.

¹¹But I am full of the LORD’s wrath; I am tired of holding it back. Pour it out on the children in the street, on the gathering of young men as well. For both husband and wife will be captured, the old with the very old.

¹²Their houses will be turned over to others, their fields and wives as well, for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land. This is the LORD’s declaration.

¹³For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

¹⁴They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.

¹⁵Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably? They weren’t at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen. When I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.

¹⁶This is what the LORD says: Stand by the roadways and look. Ask about the ancient paths, “Which is the way to what is good?” Then take it and find rest for yourselves. But they protested, “We won’t!”

¹⁷I appointed watchmen over you and said, “Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.” But they protested, “We won’t listen!”

¹⁸Therefore listen, you nations and you witnesses, learn what the charge is against them.

¹⁹Listen, earth! I am about to bring disaster on these people, the fruit of their own plotting, for they have paid no attention to my words. They have rejected my instruction.

²⁰What use to me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.

²¹Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people; fathers and sons together will stumble over them; friends and neighbors will also perish.

²²This is what the LORD says: Look, an army is coming from a northern land; a great nation will be stirred up from the remote regions of the earth.

²³They grasp bow and javelin. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, lined up like men in battle formation against you, Daughter Zion.

²⁴We have heard about it, and our hands have become weak. Distress has seized us — pain, like a woman in labor.

²⁵Don’t go out to the fields; don’t walk on the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.

²⁶My dear people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in the dust. Mourn as you would for an only son, a bitter lament, for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.

²⁷I have appointed you to be an assayer among my people — a refiner  — so you may know and assay their way of life.

²⁸All are stubborn rebels spreading slander. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.

²⁹The bellows blow, blasting the lead with fire. The refining is completely in vain; the evil ones are not separated out.

³⁰They are called rejected silver, for the LORD has rejected them.

¹In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders.

⁴But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles.

⁵When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them,

⁶they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside.

⁷There they continued preaching the gospel.

⁸In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth.

⁹He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed,

¹⁰Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around.

¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting:

¹⁵“People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.

¹⁶In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own way,

¹⁷although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”

¹⁸Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.

²⁰After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,

²²strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

²³When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

²⁵After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

²⁷After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.