Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

²So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

³Give us day by day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

⁵And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;

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

⁷and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?

⁸I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

⁹“So I say to 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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

¹¹If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

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

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

¹⁴And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

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

¹⁶Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.

¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

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

²⁰But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.

²²But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

²³He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

²⁵And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.

²⁶Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

²⁷And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

²⁹And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

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

³¹The queen of the South will rise up in 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 indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

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

³³“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.

³⁴The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

³⁵Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.

³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

³⁷And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.

³⁸When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

⁴⁰Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

⁴¹But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

⁴²“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

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

⁴⁴Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

⁴⁵Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

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

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

⁴⁸In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

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

⁵⁰that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

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

⁵³And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,

⁵⁴lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

¹Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood.

²Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness.

³They shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, lest they die—they and you also.

⁴They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you.

⁵And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel.

⁶Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the LORD, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

⁷Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

⁸And the LORD spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever.

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

¹⁰In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹“This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

¹²“All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you.

¹³Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

¹⁴“Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵“Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

¹⁶And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

¹⁷But the firstborn of a cow, 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 burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD.

¹⁸And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave breast and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹“All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you.”

²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

²¹“Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

²²Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.

²³But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

²⁴For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”

²⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁶“Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.

²⁷And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress.

²⁸Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.

²⁹Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the LORD, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.’

³⁰Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress.

³¹You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting.

³²And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”

¹Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

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

³For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

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

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

⁶But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)

⁷or, “ ‘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 which we preach):

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

¹⁰For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

¹³For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

¹⁴How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

¹⁵And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”

¹⁷So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

¹⁸But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”

²⁰But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

²¹But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.”

¹After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

²For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”

³Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”

⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”

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

⁶And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

⁷Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

⁸And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

¹⁰And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

¹²His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

¹³He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

¹⁴And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

¹⁵Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

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

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,

¹⁸that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”

¹⁹And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

²⁰Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

²¹And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled 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. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴“I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

⁵A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip.

⁶The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand.

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

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you.

⁹Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,

¹⁰In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

¹¹Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?

¹²Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.

¹³“With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.

¹⁵If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

¹⁶With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges.

¹⁸He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.

¹⁹He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty.

²⁰He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.

²²He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.

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

²⁴He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

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

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. [1] My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

²O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.

³But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.

⁵They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

⁶But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.

⁷All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

⁸“He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

⁹But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.

¹⁰I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.

¹¹Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

¹³They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;

¹⁷I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

¹⁸They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

²⁰Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.

²¹Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.

²²I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

²³You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

²⁴For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.

²⁵My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.

²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations.

²⁹All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

³⁰A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,

³¹They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.

¹Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.

³A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

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

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

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

⁸A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

⁹Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.

¹²The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble.

¹⁴A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

¹⁷He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

¹⁹The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

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

²¹No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

²³A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”

²Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. ( David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)

⁴Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.

⁶And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.”

⁷So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

⁸David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down.

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

¹⁰Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’

¹¹Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.

¹²Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

¹³As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

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

¹⁵Therefore let the LORD be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

¹⁶So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

¹⁷Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.

¹⁸And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.

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

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

²¹Therefore swear now to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”

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

¹“O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem; For disaster appears out of the north, And great destruction.

²I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman.

³The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place.”

⁴“Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.

⁵Arise, and let us go by night, And let us destroy her palaces.”

⁶For thus has the LORD of hosts said: “Cut down trees, And build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst.

⁷As a fountain wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds.

⁸Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited.”

⁹Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”

¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.

¹¹Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. I am weary of holding it in. “I will pour it out on the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days.

¹²And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD.

¹³“Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely.

¹⁴They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.

¹⁵Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

¹⁶Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them.

¹⁹Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people— The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it.

²⁰For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

²¹Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

²²Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.

²³They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

²⁴We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor.

²⁵Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side.

²⁶O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.

²⁷“I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way.

²⁸They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, They are all corrupters;

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off.

³⁰People will call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.”

¹Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.

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

³Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

⁵And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them,

⁶they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.

⁷And they were preaching the gospel there.

⁸And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.

⁹This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,

¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.

¹¹Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

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

¹³Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out

¹⁵and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,

¹⁶who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

²⁰However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

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

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

²³So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

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

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

²⁷Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

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