Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of theleaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

²But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

³Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you havewhispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴“Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.

⁵But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person intohell; yes, I tell you, fearHim!

⁶Are five sparrows not sold for twoassaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God.

⁷But even the hairs of your head are all counted.Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

⁸“Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God;

⁹but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰And everyone whospeaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.

¹¹Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;

¹²for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

¹³Now someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

¹⁴But He said to him, “You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?”

¹⁵But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.”

¹⁶And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.

¹⁷And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’

¹⁸And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there.

¹⁹And I will say tomyself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!” ’

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very nightyour soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’

²¹Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²²And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you,do not worry about yourlife, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear.

²³For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

²⁴Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

²⁵And which of you by worrying can add aday to hislife’s span?

²⁶Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things?

²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor norspin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

²⁸Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith!

²⁹And do notseek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.

³⁰Forall these things are what the nations of the worldeagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things.

³¹Butseek His kingdom, and these things will beprovided to you.

³²Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

³³“Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy.

³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

³⁵“ Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit.

³⁶You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks.

³⁷Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he willprepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them.

³⁸Whether he comes in thesecond watch, or even in thethird, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

⁴⁰You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

⁴¹Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”

⁴²And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?

⁴³Blessed is that slave whom hismaster finds so doing when he comes.

⁴⁴Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

⁴⁵But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;

⁴⁶then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and willcut him in two, and assignhim a place with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will receive many blows,

⁴⁸but the one who did not know it, and committed acts deserving ofa beating, will receive only a few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

⁴⁹“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!

⁵⁰But I have a baptismto undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

⁵¹Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;

⁵²for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.

⁵³They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴And He was also saying to the crowds, “Whenever you see a cloud risingin the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out.

⁵⁵And whenever you feel asouth wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way.

⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

⁵⁷“And why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right?

⁵⁸For when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort tosettle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.

⁵⁹I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid upthe very lastlepton.”

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²“This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never been mounted.

³And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence.

⁴And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.

⁵Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned.

⁶And the priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material, and throw it into the midst of the burning heifer.

⁷The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be unclean until evening.

⁸The one who burns the heifer shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and will be unclean until evening.

⁹Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep them for water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin.

¹⁰And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening; and it shall be a permanent statute for the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them.

¹¹‘The one who touches the dead body of any person will also be unclean for seven days.

¹²That one shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.

¹³Anyone who touches a dead body, the body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Since the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴‘This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁵And every open container, which has no cover tied down on it, will be unclean.

¹⁶Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been killed with a sword or one who has died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁷Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the burnt purification from sin and running water shall be added to them in a container.

¹⁸And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one who was killed or the one who died naturally, or the grave.

¹⁹Then the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and will be clean by evening.

²⁰‘But the person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.

²¹So it shall be a permanent statute for them. And the one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

²²Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean; and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’ ”

¹I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

²God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

³“Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”

⁴But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”

⁵In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.

⁶But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

⁸just as it is written: “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.”

⁹And David says, “MAY THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.

¹⁰MAY THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS CONTINUALLY.”

¹¹I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Far from it! But by their wrongdoing salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

¹²Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

¹³But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Therefore insofar as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

¹⁴if somehow I may move my own people to jealousy and save some of them.

¹⁵For if their rejection proves to be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

¹⁶If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are as well.

¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;

²¹for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

²²See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off.

²³And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

²⁶and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”

²⁷“THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”

²⁸In relation to the gospel they are enemies on your account, but in relation to God’s choice they are beloved on account of the fathers;

²⁹for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

³⁰For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,

³¹so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.

³²For God has shut up all in disobedience, so that He may show mercy to all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

³⁴For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?

³⁵Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM, THAT IT WOULD BE PAID BACK TO HIM?

³⁶For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

²And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

³and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

⁴Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

⁶Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

⁷When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

⁸and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

⁹And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

¹⁰And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them.

¹²And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

¹³And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds.

¹⁴Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

¹⁵And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

¹“Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it.

²What you know I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³“But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God.

⁴But you smear me with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

⁵Oh that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom!

⁶Please hear my argument, And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.

⁷Will you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what is deceitful for Him?

⁸Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?

⁹Will it go well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

¹⁰He will certainly punish you If you secretly show partiality.

¹¹Will His majesty not terrify you, And the dread of Him fall upon you?

¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Be silent before me so that I may speak; Then let come upon me what may.

¹⁴Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands?

¹⁵Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.

¹⁶This also will be my salvation, For a godless person cannot come before His presence.

¹⁷Listen carefully to my speech, And let my declaration fill your ears.

¹⁸Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated.

¹⁹Who could contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.

²⁰“Only two things I ask that You do not do to me, Then I will not hide from Your face:

²¹Remove Your hand from me, And may the dread of You not terrify me.

²²Then call and I will answer; Or let me speak, then reply to me.

²³How many are my guilty deeds and sins? Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.

²⁴Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy?

²⁵Will You scare away a scattered leaf? Or will You pursue the dry chaff?

²⁶For You write bitter things against me And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet,

²⁸While I am decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

¹The LORD is my shepherd, I will not be in need.

²He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

³He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name.

⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

⁶Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, And my dwelling will be in the house of the LORD forever.

¹A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

³One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the lazy one craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made prosperous.

⁵A righteous person hates a false statement, But a wicked person acts disgustingly and shamefully.

⁶Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness brings the sinner to ruin.

⁷There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained from nothing dwindles, But one who gathers by labor increases it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³One who despises the word will do badly, But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is their own disaster.

¹⁶Every prudent person acts with knowledge, But a fool displays foolishness.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into adversity, But a faithful messenger brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects discipline, But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

²⁰One who walks with wise people will be wise, But a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

¹Then Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

²Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

³(now the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite),

⁴that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

⁵So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and visit Nabal, and greet him in my name;

⁶and this is what you shall say: ‘Have a long life, peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!

⁷Now then, I have heard that you have shearers. Now, your shepherds have been with us; we have not harmed them, nor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days they were in Carmel.

⁸Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”

⁹When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in David’s name; then they waited.

¹⁰But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.

¹¹Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?”

¹²So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and informed him in accordance with all these words.

¹³Then David said to his men, “Each of you strap on his sword.” So each man strapped on his sword. And David also strapped on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David, while two hundred stayed with the baggage.

¹⁴Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he spoke to them in anger.

¹⁵Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did anything go missing as long as we went with them, while we were in the fields.

¹⁶They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep.

¹⁷Now then, be aware and consider what you should do, because harm is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

¹⁸Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine, and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys.

¹⁹Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

²⁰And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.

²¹Now David had said, “It is certainly for nothing that I have guarded everything that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing has gone missing of all that belonged to him! For he has returned me evil for good.

²²May God do so to the enemies of David, and more so, if by morning I leave alive as much as one male of any who belong to him.”

²³When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face in front of David and bowed herself to the ground.

²⁴She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak to you, and listen to the words of your slave.

²⁵Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

²⁶“Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then, may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be like Nabal.

²⁷And now let this gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord.

²⁸Please forgive the offense of your slave; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

²⁹Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling.

³⁰And when the LORD does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel,

³¹this will not become an obstacle to you, or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”

³²Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,

³³and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

³⁴Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male.”

³⁵So David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request.”

³⁶Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was having a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was cheerful within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.

³⁷But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone.

³⁸About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

³⁹When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of the shame inflicted on me by the hand of Nabal, and has kept back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

⁴⁰When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.”

⁴¹And she got up and bowed with her face to the ground, and said, “Behold, your slave is a servant to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”

⁴²Then Abigail got up quickly, and rode on a donkey, with her five female attendants who accompanied her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴³David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.

⁴⁴But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

²“Stand at the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!’ ”

³This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you live in this place.

⁴Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’

⁵For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor,

⁶if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin,

⁷then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

⁸“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

⁹Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer sacrifices to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,

¹⁰then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are saved!’—so that you may do all these abominations?

¹¹Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I Myself have seen it,” declares the LORD.

¹²“But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the beginning, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

¹³And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD, “and I spoke to you, speaking again and again, but you did not listen, and I called you but you did not answer,

¹⁴therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, just as I did to Shiloh.

¹⁵I will hurl you out of My sight, just as I have hurled out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

¹⁶“As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not plead with Me; for I am not listening to you.

¹⁷Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁸The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to provoke Me to anger.

¹⁹Are they provoking Me?” declares the LORD. “Is it not themselves instead, to their own shame?”

²⁰Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on human and animal life, and on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”

²¹This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh.

²²For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.

²³But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you shall walk entirely in the way which I command you, so that it may go well for you.’

²⁴Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked by their own advice and in the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and they went backward and not forward.

²⁵Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily, again and again.

²⁶Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.

²⁷“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.

²⁸And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept discipline; trustworthiness has perished and has been eliminated from their mouth.

²⁹Cut off your hair and throw it away, And take up a song of mourning on the bare heights; For the LORD has rejected and forsaken The generation of His wrath.’

³⁰For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the LORD. “They have put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

³¹They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.

³²“Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place.

³³The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth; and no one will frighten them away.

³⁴Then I will eliminate from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a site of ruins.

¹Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had a heated argument and debate with them, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

³Therefore, after being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.

¹⁵The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN TABERNACLE OF DAVID, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

¹⁷SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

¹⁸SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.

²¹For from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

²³and they sent this letter with them: “The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching, upsetting your souls,

²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message.

³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters in peace to those who had sent them out.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.

³⁸But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.