Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ’ ”

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

⁶a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’

⁷And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’

⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

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

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

¹⁴Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.

¹⁵But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”

¹⁶Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

¹⁷Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.

¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

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

²¹“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.

²²But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

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

²⁴“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’

²⁵When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.

²⁶Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

²⁷As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

²⁸He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

²⁹As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.

³⁰For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.

³¹The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here.

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

³³“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.

³⁴Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.

³⁵See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

³⁶Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

³⁷When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.

³⁸But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

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

⁴⁰You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

⁴²“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

⁴³“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

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

⁴⁶Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

⁴⁷“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them.

⁴⁸So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

⁴⁹Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’

⁵⁰Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

⁵²“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,

⁵⁴waiting to catch him in something he might say.

¹The LORD said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.

²Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law.

³They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die.

⁴They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.

⁵“You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.

⁶I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to do the work at the tent of meeting.

⁷But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”

⁸Then the LORD said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion, your perpetual share.

⁹You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

¹⁰Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.

¹¹“This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

¹²“I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest.

¹³All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the LORD will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

¹⁴“Everything in Israel that is devoted to the LORD is yours.

¹⁵The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the LORD is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

¹⁶When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

¹⁷“But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Splash their blood against the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

¹⁸Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your offspring.”

²⁰The LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

²¹“I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.

²²From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.

²³It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.

²⁴Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’ ”

²⁵The LORD said to Moses,

²⁶“Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD’s offering.

²⁷Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

²⁸In this way you also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the LORD’s portion to Aaron the priest.

²⁹You must present as the LORD’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

³⁰“Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.

³¹You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.

³²By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.’ ”

¹Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

²For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

³Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

⁴Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”

⁶But the righteousness that is by 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 deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

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

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

¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

¹¹As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and 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 the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

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

¹⁶But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

¹⁷Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

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

¹⁹Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”

²⁰And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

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

¹After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

²for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

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

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

⁶Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

⁷Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

⁸Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

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

¹⁰At this 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 with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

¹²His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

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

¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

¹⁵Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

¹⁷And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

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

²⁰But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

²¹The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

¹Then Job replied:

²“Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!

³But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things?

⁴“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

⁵Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

⁶The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure— those God has in his hand.

⁷“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;

⁸or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.

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

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

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

¹²Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

¹³“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

¹⁴What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released.

¹⁵If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

¹⁶To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his.

¹⁷He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges.

¹⁸He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist.

¹⁹He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established.

²⁰He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.

²¹He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.

²²He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.

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

²⁴He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste.

²⁵They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

¹For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

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

³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.

⁴In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.

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

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

⁷All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

⁸“He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

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

¹³Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.

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

¹⁶Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.

¹⁷All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.

²⁰Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.

²¹Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²²I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.

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

²⁴For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

²⁶The poor 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, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,

²⁸for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.

³¹They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

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

²Good people obtain favor from the LORD, but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.

³No one can be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

⁵The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

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

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm.

⁸A person is praised according to their prudence, and one with a warped mind is despised.

⁹Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

¹⁰The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

¹²The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers, but the root of the righteous endures.

¹³Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk, and so the innocent escape trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward.

¹⁵The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

¹⁶Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.

¹⁷An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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

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

²¹No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

²²The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

²³The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

²⁴Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

²⁶The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

²⁸In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.

¹After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.”

²So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

³He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.

⁴The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.

⁶He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.”

⁷With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

⁸Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

⁹He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’?

¹⁰This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the LORD’s anointed.’

¹¹See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life.

¹²May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

¹³As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.

¹⁴“Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?

¹⁵May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”

¹⁶When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud.

¹⁷“You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly.

¹⁸You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me.

¹⁹When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today.

²⁰I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.

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

²²So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

¹“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.

²I will destroy Daughter Zion, so beautiful and delicate.

³Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion.”

⁴“Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long.

⁵So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses!”

⁶This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression.

⁷As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

⁸Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.”

⁹This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand over the branches again, like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

¹¹But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years.

¹²Their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,” declares the LORD.

¹³“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

¹⁴They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.

¹⁵Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD.

¹⁶This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them.

¹⁹Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.

²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.”

²¹Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles before this people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth.

²³They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.”

²⁴We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.

²⁵Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side.

²⁶Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

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

²⁸They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.

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

¹At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

²But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

⁴The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.

⁵There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.

⁶But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,

⁷where they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.

⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed

¹⁰and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

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

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

¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

¹⁶In the past, he let all nations go their own way.

¹⁷Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

¹⁸Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

²⁰But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

²¹They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,

²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

²⁴After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,

²⁵and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

²⁷On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.