Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹It happened one Sabbath, when He went for a meal at the house of one of the ruling Pharisees, that they were watching Him closely and carefully [hoping to entrap Him].

²And there in front of Him was a man who had dropsy (extreme swelling).

³And Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"

⁴But they kept silent. Then He took hold of the man and healed him, and sent him on his way.

⁵Then He said to them, "Which one of you, having a son or an ox that falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"

⁶And they were unable to reply to this.

⁷Now Jesus began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been selecting the places of honor at the table, saying to them,

⁸"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down [to eat] at the place of honor, since a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by the host,

⁹and he who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your place,' and then, in disgrace you proceed to take the last place.

¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down [to eat] at the last place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; and then you will be honored in the presence of all who are at the table with you.

¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted."

¹²Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.

¹³But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind,

¹⁴and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (the just, the upright)."

¹⁵When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

¹⁶But Jesus said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many guests;

¹⁷and at the dinner hour he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, because everything is ready now.'

¹⁸But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have purchased a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; please consider me excused.'

¹⁹Another one said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.'

²⁰And another said, 'I have [recently] married a wife, and for that reason I am unable to come.'

²¹So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then [his master,] the head of the household, became angry [at the rejections of his invitation] and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the lame.'

²²And the servant [after returning] said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'

²³Then the master told the servant, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled [with guests].

²⁴For I tell you, not one of those who were invited [and declined] will taste my dinner.'"

²⁵Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them,

²⁶"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple.

²⁷Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple.

²⁸For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it?

²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is unable to finish [the building], all who see it will begin to ridicule him,

³⁰saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish!'

³¹Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

³²Or else [if he feels he is not powerful enough], while the other [king] is still a far distance away, he sends an envoy and asks for terms of peace.

³³So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [carefully consider the cost and then for My sake] give up all his own possessions.

³⁴"Therefore, salt is good; but if salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?

³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words."

¹When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev (the South country) heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim [the route traveled by the spies sent out by Moses], he fought against Israel and took some of them captive.

²So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed hand over these people to me, then I will utterly destroy their cities."

³The LORD heard the voice of Israel and handed over the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of the place was called Hormah (dedicate to destruction).

⁴Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [branch of the] Red Sea [called the Gulf of Aqabah], to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient, because [of the challenges] of the journey.

⁵So the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, nor is there any water, and we loathe this miserable food."

⁶Then the LORD sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites died.

⁷So the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD, so that He will remove the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it."

⁹So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on the pole, and it happened that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

¹⁰Now the sons of Israel moved out and camped at Oboth.

¹¹They journeyed on from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness facing Moab, toward the sunrise.

¹²From there they set out and camped in the Wadi Zered.

¹³From there they journeyed on and camped on the other side of [the river] Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for [the river] Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

¹⁴That is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: " Waheb in Suphah, And the wadis of the Arnon [River],

¹⁵And the slope of the wadis That stretches toward the site of Ar And leans to the border of Moab."

¹⁶From there the Israelites went on to Beer, that is the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Gather the people together and I will give them water."

¹⁷Then Israel sang this song, "Spring up, O well! Sing to it,

¹⁸The well which the leaders dug, Which the nobles of the people hollowed out With the scepter and with their staffs." And from the wilderness Israel journeyed to Mattanah,

¹⁹and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

²⁰and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.

²¹Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying,

²²"Let me pass through your land; we will not turn away [from the road] into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of the wells. We will go by the king's highway until we have crossed your border."

²³But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border. Instead Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel.

²⁴Then Israel struck the king of the Amorites with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the boundary of the Ammonites was strong.

²⁵Israel took all these cities, and settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its towns.

²⁶For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.

²⁷That is why those who use proverbs say, "Come to Heshbon, Let the city of Sihon be built and established.

²⁸"For fire has gone out of Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon; It devoured Ar of Moab And the lords of the heights of the Arnon.

²⁹"Woe (judgment is coming) to you, Moab! You are destroyed, O people of [the god] Chemosh! Moab has given his sons as fugitives [that is, survivors of battle], And his daughters into captivity To Sihon king of the Amorites.

³⁰"We have shot them down [with arrows]; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon, And we have laid them waste as far as Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba."

³¹Thus Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

³²Now Moses sent men to spy out Jazer, and they overthrew its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

³³Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

³⁴But the LORD said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have handed over him and all his people and his land to you; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon."

³⁵So the sons of Israel killed Og and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left to him; and they took possession of his land.

¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God [granted by His permission and sanction], and those which exist have been put in place by God.

²Therefore whoever resists [governmental] authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who have resisted it will bring judgment (civil penalty) on themselves.

³For [civil] authorities are not a source of fear for [people of] good behavior, but for [those who do] evil. Do you want to be unafraid of authority? Do what is good and you will receive approval and commendation.

⁴For he is God's servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, [you should] be afraid; for he does not carry the [executioner's] sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an avenger who brings punishment on the wrongdoer.

⁵Therefore one must be subject [to civil authorities], not only to escape the punishment [that comes with wrongdoing], but also as a matter of principle [knowing what is right before God].

⁶For this same reason you pay taxes, for civil authorities are God's servants, devoting themselves to governance.

⁷Pay to all what is due: tax to whom tax is due, customs to whom customs, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe nothing to anyone except to love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one's fellowman].

⁹The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet," and any other commandment are summed up in this statement: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor [it never hurts anyone]. Therefore [unselfish] love is the fulfillment of the Law.

¹¹Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ].

¹²The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ's return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

¹³Let us conduct ourselves properly and honorably as in the [light of] day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy.

¹⁴But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for [nor even think about gratifying] the flesh in regard to its improper desires.

¹Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),

²in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

³There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion];

⁴they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

⁵And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.

⁶Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.

⁷"And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll)."

⁸I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

⁹But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God."

¹⁰And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time [of their fulfillment] is near.

¹¹Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy (vile, impure), still be filthy; and the one who is righteous (just, upright), still be righteous; and the one who is holy, still be holy."

¹²"Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness).

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One]."

¹⁴Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

¹⁵Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).

¹⁶"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star."

¹⁷The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.

¹⁸I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book;

¹⁹and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.

²⁰He who testifies and affirms these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered [Job] and said,

²"Should a wise man [such as you] utter such windy and vain knowledge [as we have just heard] And fill himself with the east wind [of withering, parching, and violent accusations]?

³"Should he rebuke and argue with useless talk? Or with words in which there is no benefit?

⁴"Indeed, you are doing away with fear, And you are diminishing meditation before God.

⁵"For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose [to speak] the language of the crafty and cunning.

⁶"Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷"Were you the first man to be born [the original wise man], Or were you created before the hills?

⁸"Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?

⁹"What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not equally clear to us?

¹⁰"Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged, Older than your father.

¹¹"Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you, [Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

¹²"Why does your heart carry you away [allowing you to be controlled by emotion]? And why do your eyes flash [in anger or contempt],

¹³That you should turn your spirit against God And let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

¹⁴"What is man, that he should be pure and clean, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous and just?

¹⁵"Behold, God puts no trust in His holy ones (angels); Indeed, the heavens are not pure in His sight—

¹⁶How much less [pure and clean is] the one who is repulsive and corrupt, Man, who drinks unrighteousness and injustice like water!

¹⁷"I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

¹⁸What wise men have [freely] told, And have not hidden [anything passed on to them] from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

²⁰"The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And numbered are the years stored up for him, the ruthless one.

²¹"A [dreadful] sound of terrors is in his ears; While at peace and in a time of prosperity the destroyer comes upon him [the tent of the robber is not at peace].

²²"He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered], And he is destined for the sword [of God's vengeance].

²³"He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already at hand.

²⁴"Distress and anxiety terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for battle.

²⁵"Because he has stretched out his hand against God And behaves arrogantly against the Almighty,

²⁶Running and charging headlong against Him With his ornamented and massive shield;

²⁷For he has covered his face with his fat, Adding layers of fat to his thighs [giving himself up to pleasures],

²⁸And he has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities, In houses which no one should inhabit, Which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];

²⁹He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend to the earth nor his possessions be extended on the earth.

³⁰"He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster]; The flame [of God's wrath] will wither his branch, And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

³¹"Let him not trust in vanity (emptiness, futility) and be led astray; For emptiness will be his reward [for such living].

³²"It will be fulfilled while he still lives, And his branch will not be green [but shall wither away].

³³"He will fail to bring his grapes to maturity [leaving them to wither unnourished] on the vine, And will cast off blossoms [and fail to bring forth fruit] like the olive tree.

³⁴"For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of bribery (wrong and injustice).

³⁵"They conceive mischief and bring forth wickedness, And their inmost soul prepares deceit and fraud."

¹A Psalm of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

²O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence], Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed; Do not let my enemies triumph over me.

³Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed; Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed).

⁴Let me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

⁵Guide me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

⁶Remember, O LORD, Your [tender] compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.

⁸Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

⁹He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.

¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

¹¹For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.

¹²Who is the man who fears the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose.

¹³His soul will dwell in prosperity and goodness, And his descendants will inherit the land.

¹⁴The secret [of the wise counsel] of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning.

¹⁵My eyes are continually toward the LORD, For He will bring my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn to me [LORD] and be gracious to me, For I am alone and afflicted.

¹⁷The troubles of my heart are multiplied; Bring me out of my distresses.

¹⁸Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Look upon my enemies, for they are many; They hate me with cruel and violent hatred.

²⁰Guard my soul and rescue me; Do not let me be ashamed or disappointed, For I have taken refuge in You.

²¹Let integrity and uprightness protect me, For I wait [expectantly] for You.

²²O God, redeem Israel, Out of all his troubles.

¹A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger.

²The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable, But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good [in all their endeavors].

⁴A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, But a perversive tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit.

⁵A [flippant, arrogant] fool rejects his father's instruction and correction, But he who [is willing to learn and] regards and keeps in mind a reprimand acquires good sense.

⁶Great and priceless treasure is in the house of the [consistently] righteous one [who seeks godly instruction and grows in wisdom], But trouble is in the income of the wicked one [who rejects the laws of God].

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge [sifting it as chaff from the grain]; But the hearts of [shortsighted] fools are not so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight!

⁹The way [of life] of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the LORD, But He loves one who pursues righteousness [personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character].

¹⁰There is severe discipline for him who turns from the way [of righteousness]; And he who hates correction will die.

¹¹Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the abyss, the place of eternal punishment) lie open before the LORD— How much more the hearts and inner motives of the children of men.

¹²A scoffer [unlike a wise man] resents one who rebukes him and tries to teach him; Nor will he go to the wise [for counsel and instruction].

¹³A heart full of joy and goodness makes a cheerful face, But when a heart is full of sadness the spirit is crushed.

¹⁴The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it, But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances].

¹⁶Better is a little with the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the LORD Than great treasure and trouble with it.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of vegetables and herbs where love is present Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger and patient calms disputes.

¹⁹The way of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns [it pricks, lacerates, and entangles him], But the way [of life] of the upright is smooth and open like a highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Foolishness is joy to him who is without heart and lacks [intelligent, common] sense, But a man of understanding walks uprightly [making his course straight].

²²Without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they are established and succeed.

²³A man has joy in giving an appropriate answer, And how good and delightful is a word spoken at the right moment—how good it is!

²⁴The [chosen] path of life leads upward for the wise, That he may keep away from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) below.

²⁵The LORD will tear down the house of the proud and arrogant (self-righteous), But He will establish and protect the boundaries [of the land] of the [godly] widow.

²⁶Evil plans and thoughts of the wicked are exceedingly vile and offensive to the LORD, But pure words are pleasant words to Him.

²⁷He who profits unlawfully brings suffering to his own house, But he who hates bribes [and does not receive nor pay them] will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous thinks carefully about how to answer [in a wise and appropriate and timely way], But the [babbling] mouth of the wicked pours out malevolent things.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked [and distances Himself from them], But He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous [that is, those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the hearts of others, And good news puts fat on the bones.

³¹The ear that listens to and learns from the life-giving rebuke (reprimand, censure) Will remain among the wise.

³²He who neglects and ignores instruction and discipline despises himself, But he who learns from rebuke acquires understanding [and grows in wisdom].

³³The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the instruction for wisdom [its starting point and its essence]; And before honor comes humility.

¹But David said in his heart, "Now I will die one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me inside the borders of Israel, and I will escape from his hand [once and for all]."

²So David and the six hundred men who were with him arose and crossed over to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, [who was] Nabal's widow.

⁴When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

⁵Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your sight, let me be given a place [of my own] in one of the cities in the country, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

⁶Then Achish gave David [the town of] Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites [the enemies of Israel that Joshua had failed to annihilate]; for they had inhabited the land from ancient times, as one comes to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt.

⁹David attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, but he took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and returned to Achish.

¹⁰When Achish asked, "Where did you raid today?" David replied, "Against the Negev (the South country) of Judah, and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites."

¹¹David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring news to Gath, saying [to himself], "Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, 'This is what David has done, and this has been his practice all the time that he has lived in the country of the Philistines.'"

¹²Achish believed David, saying, "He has certainly become hated by his people in Israel; so he will always be my servant."

¹Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!

²Oh that I had in the wilderness A lodging place (a mere shelter) for wayfaring men, That I might leave my people And go away from them! For they are all adulterers [worshiping idols instead of the LORD], [They are] an assembly of treacherous men [of weak character, men without integrity].

³"They bend their tongue like their bow; [Their] lies and not truth prevail and grow strong in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me," says the LORD.

⁴"Let everyone beware of his neighbor And do not trust any brother. For every brother is a supplanter [like Jacob, a deceiver, ready to grab his brother's heel], And every neighbor goes around as a slanderer.

⁵"Everyone deceives and mocks his neighbor And does not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They exhaust themselves with sin and cruelty.

⁶"Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit [oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit]; Through deceit they refuse to know (understand) Me," says the LORD.

⁷Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, I will refine them [through suffering] and test them; For how else should I deal with the daughter of My people?

⁸"Their tongue is a murderous arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But in his heart he lays traps and waits in ambush for him.

⁹"Shall I not punish them for these things?" says the LORD. "Shall I not avenge Myself On such a nation as this?

¹⁰"I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And a [funeral] dirge for the pastures of the wilderness, Because they are burned up and desolated so that no one passes through [them]; Nor can anyone hear the lowing of cattle. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they are gone.

¹¹"I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt and dwelling place of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant."

¹²Who is the wise man who may understand this [without any doubt]? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, so that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?

¹³The LORD said, "Because they have turned away from My law which I set before them, and have not listened to and obeyed My voice nor walked in accordance with it,

¹⁴but have walked stubbornly after their [own] heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,"

¹⁵therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.

¹⁶"I will [also] scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them."

¹⁷Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider and call for the mourning women to come; Send for the wailing women to come.

¹⁸"Let them hurry and take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may shed tears And our eyelids flow with water.

¹⁹"For a sound of wailing is heard [coming] from Zion: 'How we are ruined! We are greatly perplexed and utterly shamed, Because we have left the land, Because they have torn down our dwellings.'"

²⁰Now hear the word of the LORD, O you women, And let your ear hear the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters a song of mourning, And each one [teach] her neighbor a dirge.

²¹For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces, Cutting off the children from the streets And the young men from the town squares.

²²Speak, "Thus says the LORD, 'The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field, And like sheaves [of grain] behind the reaper, And no one will gather them.'"

²³Thus says the LORD, "Let not the one who is wise and skillful boast in his insight; let not the one who is mighty and powerful boast in his strength; let not the one who is rich boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] abundance;

²⁴but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the LORD who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight," says the LORD.

²⁵"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised [physically] and yet uncircumcised [spiritually]—

²⁶Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."

¹Now after Paul and Silas had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²And Paul entered the synagogue, as was his custom, and for three Sabbaths he engaged in discussion and friendly debate with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and pointing out [scriptural evidence] that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)."

⁴And some of them were persuaded to believe and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and many of the leading women.

⁵But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason's house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.

⁶But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too;

⁷and Jason has welcomed them [into his house and protected them]! And they all are saying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] claiming that there is another king, Jesus."

⁸They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

⁹And when they had taken security (bail) from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they entered the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹²As a result many of them became believers, together with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] had also been preached by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds.

¹⁴So at that time the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea].

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens; and [after] receiving instructions [from Paul] for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was greatly angered when he saw that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place day after day with any who happened to be there.

¹⁸And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, "What could this idle babbler [with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning] have in mind to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities"—because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹They took him and brought him to the Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, "May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

²⁰For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean."

²¹(Now all the Athenians and the foreigners visiting there used to spend their [leisure] time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

²²So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects.

²³Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

²⁵nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.

²⁶And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories.

²⁷This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

²⁸For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'

²⁹So then, being God's children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man.

³⁰Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God's purpose for their lives],

³¹because He has set a day when He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead."

³²Now when they heard [the term] resurrection from the dead, some mocked and sneered; but others said, "We will hear from you again about this matter."

³³So Paul left them.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, [a judge] of the Council of Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.