Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, 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.

⁴And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

⁵And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

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

⁷And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

⁹“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?

¹²Or if the child asks for an egg, will give 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 one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed.

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

¹⁶Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house.

¹⁸If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? — for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul.

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

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

²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe.

²²But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder.

²³Whoever 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 wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

²⁵When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.

²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

²⁷While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”

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

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

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

³¹The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!

³²The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!

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

³⁴Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness.

³⁵Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness.

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

³⁷While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table.

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

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

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

⁴¹So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.

⁴²“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.

⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.

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

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

⁴⁶And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.

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

⁴⁸So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; 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 this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,

⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against 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.”

⁵³When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things,

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

¹The LORD said to Aaron: You and your sons and your ancestral house with you shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, while you and your sons alone shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.

²So bring with you also your brothers of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, in order that they may be joined to you, and serve you while you and your sons with you are in front of the tent of the covenant.

³They shall perform duties for you and for the whole tent. But they must not approach either the utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, otherwise both they and you will die.

⁴They are attached to you in order to perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; no outsider shall approach you.

⁵You yourselves shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, so that wrath may never again come upon the Israelites.

⁶It is I who now take your brother Levites from among the Israelites; they are now yours as a gift, dedicated to the LORD, to perform the service of the tent of meeting.

⁷But you and your sons with you shall diligently perform your priestly duties in all that concerns the altar and the area behind the curtain. I give your priesthood as a gift; any outsider who approaches shall be put to death.

⁸The LORD spoke to Aaron: I have given you charge of the offerings made to me, all the holy gifts of the Israelites; I have given them to you and your sons as a priestly portion due you in perpetuity.

⁹This shall be yours from the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs that they render to me as a most holy thing, whether grain offering, sin offering, or guilt offering, shall belong to you and your sons.

¹⁰As a most holy thing you shall eat it; every male may eat it; it shall be holy to you.

¹¹This also is yours: I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due, whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the elevation offerings of the Israelites; everyone who is clean in your house may eat them.

¹²All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the choice produce that they give to the LORD, I have given to you.

¹³The first 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 of it.

¹⁴Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵The first issue of the womb of all creatures, human and animal, which is offered to the LORD, shall be yours; but the firstborn of human beings you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

¹⁶Their redemption price, reckoned from one month of age, you shall fix at five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary (that 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 dash their blood on the altar, and shall turn their fat into smoke as an offering by fire for a pleasing odor to the LORD;

¹⁸but their flesh shall be yours, just as the breast that is elevated and as the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and your descendants as well.

²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.

²¹To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for a possession in return for the service that they perform, the service in the tent of meeting.

²²From now on the Israelites shall no longer approach the tent of meeting, or else they will incur guilt and die.

²³But the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear responsibility for their own offenses; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. But among the Israelites they shall have no allotment,

²⁴because I have given to the Levites as their portion the tithe of the Israelites, which they set apart as an offering to the LORD. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no allotment among the Israelites.

²⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²⁶You shall speak to the Levites, saying: When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them for your portion, you shall set apart an offering from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe.

²⁷It shall be reckoned to you as your gift, the same as the grain of the threshing floor and the fullness of the wine press.

²⁸Thus you also shall set apart an offering to the LORD from all the tithes that you receive from the Israelites; and from them you shall give the LORD’s offering to the priest Aaron.

²⁹Out of all the gifts to you, you shall set apart every offering due to the LORD; the best of all of them is the part to be consecrated.

³⁰Say also to them: When you have set apart the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the wine press.

³¹You may eat it in any place, you and your households; for it is your payment for your service in the tent of meeting.

³²You shall incur no guilt by reason of it, when you have offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the Israelites, on pain of death.

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

²I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened.

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

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

⁵Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.”

⁶But the righteousness that comes from 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, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

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

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

¹¹The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.

¹³For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

¹⁴But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?

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

¹⁶But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

¹⁷So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes 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.”

¹⁹Again 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, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God,

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

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

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

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

⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, 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;

⁸to her it has been granted to be clothed 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 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 comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and 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 inscribed that no one knows but himself.

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

¹⁴And the armies of heaven, wearing 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 wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “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 in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,

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

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

²⁰And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence 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 killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

¹Then Job answered:

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 upon God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, I am a laughingstock.

⁵Those at ease have contempt for misfortune, but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable.

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

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

⁸ask the plants 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 every human being.

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

¹²Is wisdom with the aged, and understanding in length of days?

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

¹⁴If he tears down, no one can rebuild; if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.

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

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

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

¹⁸He looses the sash of kings, and binds a waistcloth on their loins.

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 looses the belt of the strong.

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

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

²⁴He strips understanding from the leaders of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste.

²⁵They grope in the dark without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

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

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

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

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

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

⁶But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.

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

⁸“Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver — let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

⁹Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.

¹⁰On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God.

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

¹²Many bulls encircle 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 mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;

¹⁷I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;

¹⁸they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.

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

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

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.

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

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

²⁴For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.

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

²⁶The poor 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 him.

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

²⁹To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.

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

³¹and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.

²The good obtain favor from the LORD, but those who devise evil he condemns.

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

⁴A good 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 advice of the wicked is treacherous.

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

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

⁸One is commended for good sense, but a perverse mind is despised.

⁹Better to be despised and have a servant, than to be self-important and lack food.

¹⁰The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹Those who till their land will have plenty of food, but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.

¹²The wicked covet the proceeds of wickedness, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

¹³The evil are ensnared by the transgression of their lips, but the righteous escape from trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of the mouth one is filled with good things, and manual labor has its reward.

¹⁵Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice.

¹⁶Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult.

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

¹⁸Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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

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

²¹No harm happens to 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.

²³One who is clever conceals knowledge, but the mind of a fool broadcasts folly.

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

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

²⁶The righteous gives good advice to friends, but the way of the wicked leads astray.

²⁷The lazy do not roast their game, but the diligent obtain precious wealth.

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

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

²Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, 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.

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

⁵Afterward David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak.

⁶He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the LORD’s anointed.”

⁷So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.

⁸Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.

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

¹⁰This very day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’s anointed.’

¹¹See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life.

¹²May the LORD judge between me and you! May the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.

¹³As the ancient proverb says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.

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

¹⁵May the LORD therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.”

¹⁶When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” 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.

¹⁸Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands.

¹⁹For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

²⁰Now 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 descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father’s house.”

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

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

²I have likened daughter Zion to the loveliest pasture.

³Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her. They shall pitch their tents around her; they shall pasture, all in their places.

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

⁵“Up, 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 ramp 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 wickedness; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.

⁸Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I shall turn from you in disgust, and make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.

⁹Thus says the LORD of hosts: 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? See, their ears are closed, they cannot listen. The word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.

¹¹But I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the gatherings of young men as well; both husband and wife shall be taken, the old folk 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, — says the LORD.

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

¹⁴They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.

¹⁵They acted shamefully, they committed abomination; yet they were not 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 at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in it.”

¹⁷Also I raised up sentinels for you: “Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!” But they said, “We will not give heed.”

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

¹⁹Hear, O earth; I am going to bring disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not given heed to my words; and as for my teaching, they have rejected it.

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

²¹Therefore thus says the LORD: See, I am laying before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; parents and children together, neighbor and friend shall perish.

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

²³They grasp the bow and the javelin, they are cruel and have no mercy, their sound is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, equipped like a warrior for battle, against you, O daughter Zion!

²⁴“We have heard news of them, our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.

²⁵Do not go out into the field, or walk on the road; for the enemy has a sword, terror is on every side.”

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

²⁷I have made you a tester and a refiner among my people so 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.

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

¹The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

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 testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them.

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

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

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

⁷and there they continued proclaiming the good news.

⁸In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth.

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

¹⁰said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man sprang up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowds 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 oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the 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 follow their own ways;

¹⁷yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good — giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”

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

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

²⁰But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch.

²²There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

²³And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

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

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

²⁷When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.

²⁸And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.