Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

³ Give us each day our daily bread,

⁴and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

⁵And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,

⁶for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

⁷and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’?

⁸I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

⁹And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

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

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

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 casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”

¹⁶while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

²⁰But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe;

²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.

²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

²⁵And when it comes, 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 dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

²⁷As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”

²⁸But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

²⁹When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

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

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

³² The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

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

³⁵ Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

³⁷While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.

³⁸The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.

³⁹And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰ You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.”

⁴⁶And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

⁴⁷ Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.

⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’

⁵⁰so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,

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

⁵²Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,

⁵⁴lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

¹So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.

²And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

³They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die.

⁴They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.

⁵And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.

⁶And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting.

⁷And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

⁸Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.

⁹This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons.

¹⁰In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you.

¹¹This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

¹²All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you.

¹³The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

¹⁴Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

¹⁶And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

¹⁷But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁸But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.”

²⁰And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

²¹“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting,

²²so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.

²³But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

²⁴For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”

²⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁶“Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe.

²⁷And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.

²⁸So you shall also present a contribution to the LORD from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the LORD's contribution to Aaron the priest.

²⁹Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the LORD; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’

³⁰Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress.

³¹And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.

³²And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”

¹Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

²For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

³For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

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

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

⁶But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)

⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

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

¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

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

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

²⁰Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

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

¹After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

²for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

⁵And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”

⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

⁷Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

⁸it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

¹²His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

¹³He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

¹⁴And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

¹⁵From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,

¹⁸to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”

¹⁹And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.

²⁰And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

²¹And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

¹Then Job answered and said:

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

³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

⁴I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

⁵In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip.

⁶The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their hand.

⁷“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

⁸or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

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

¹⁰In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

¹¹Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food?

¹²Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

¹³“With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.

¹⁵If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

¹⁶With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his.

¹⁷He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools.

¹⁸He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips.

¹⁹He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty.

²⁰He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong.

²²He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light.

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

²⁴He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste.

²⁵They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

²O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

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

⁴In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.

⁵To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

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

⁷All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

⁸“He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

⁹Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

¹⁰On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

¹¹Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

¹³they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;

¹⁵my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet —

¹⁷I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me;

¹⁸they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

²²I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

²³You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

²⁵From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

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

²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

²⁸For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.

³⁰Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

³¹they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns.

³No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised.

⁹Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.

¹⁰Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

¹²Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

¹³An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

¹⁶The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.

¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.

¹⁸There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.

²¹No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

²³A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

²⁶One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

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

¹When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”

²Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks.

³And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.

⁴And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

⁵And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

⁶He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed.”

⁷So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

⁸Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage.

⁹And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’?

¹⁰Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD's anointed.’

¹¹See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it.

¹²May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.

¹³As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

¹⁴After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea!

¹⁵May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

¹⁶As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

¹⁷He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.

¹⁸And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands.

¹⁹For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

²⁰And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

²¹Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.”

²²And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

¹Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north, and great destruction.

²The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy, the daughter of Zion.

³Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her; they shall pitch their tents around her; they shall pasture, each in his place.

⁴“Prepare war against her; arise, and let us attack at noon! Woe to us, for the day declines, for the shadows of evening lengthen!

⁵Arise, and let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!”

⁶For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Cut down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.

⁷As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.

⁸Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I turn from you in disgust, lest I make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.”

⁹Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel; like a grape gatherer pass your hand again over its branches.”

¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.

¹¹Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. “Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged.

¹²Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together, for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.

¹³“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

¹⁴They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.

¹⁵Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD.

¹⁶Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

¹⁸Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.

¹⁹Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.

²⁰What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.

²¹Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.’”

²²Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.

²³They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!”

²⁴We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.

²⁵Go not out into the field, nor walk on the road, for the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.

²⁶O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways.

²⁸They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly.

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed.

³⁰Rejected silver they are called, for the LORD has rejected them.”

¹Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue 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 remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

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

⁶they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country,

⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

⁹He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,

¹⁰said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

¹¹And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

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

¹³And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,

¹⁵“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

¹⁶In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

²⁰But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

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

²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia,

²⁶and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

²⁷And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they remained no little time with the disciples.