Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.

²And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.

³And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

⁴But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.

⁵Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”

⁶And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

⁷So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:

⁸“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;

⁹and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

¹¹For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.

¹³But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁵Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

¹⁶Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,

¹⁷and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’

¹⁸But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’

¹⁹And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’

²⁰Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

²¹So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’

²²And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’

²³Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

²⁴For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”

²⁵Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,

²⁶“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

²⁷And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—

²⁹lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

³⁰saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?

³¹Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

³²Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

³³So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

³⁴“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

³⁵It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

¹The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners.

²So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”

³And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah.

⁴Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.

⁵And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”

⁶So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

⁷Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

⁹So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

¹⁰Now the children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth.

¹¹And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise.

¹²From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered.

¹³From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

¹⁴Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah, The brooks of the Arnon,

¹⁵And the slope of the brooks That reaches to the dwelling of Ar, And lies on the border of Moab.”

¹⁶From there they went to Beer, which 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! All of you sing to it—

¹⁸The well the leaders sank, Dug by the nation’s nobles, By the lawgiver, with their staves.” And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah,

¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

²⁰and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country 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 aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”

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

²⁴Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified.

²⁵So Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages.

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 from his hand as far as the Arnon.

²⁷Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; Let the city of Sihon be repaired.

²⁸“For fire went out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, The lords of the heights of the Arnon.

²⁹Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, And his daughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites.

³⁰“But we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.”

³¹Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

³²Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

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

³⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”

³⁵So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.

¹Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

²Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

⁴For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

⁵Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.

⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.

⁷Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

⁹For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

¹²The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

¹And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

²In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

³And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

⁴They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

⁵There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

⁶Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

⁷“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

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

⁹Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

¹⁰And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

¹¹He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

¹²“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

¹⁵But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

¹⁷And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

¹⁸For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;

¹⁹and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

²⁰He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?

³Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or by speeches with which he can do no good?

⁴Yes, you cast off fear, And restrain prayer before God.

⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty.

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

⁷“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?

⁸Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us?

¹⁰Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Much older than your father.

¹¹Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken gently with you?

¹²Why does your heart carry you away, And what do your eyes wink at,

¹³That you turn your spirit against God, And let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴“What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?

¹⁵If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight,

¹⁶How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷“I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare,

¹⁸What wise men have told, Not hiding anything received from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them:

²⁰The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.

²¹Dreadful sounds are in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return from darkness, For a sword is waiting for him.

²³He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.

²⁴Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.

²⁵For he stretches out his hand against God, And acts defiantly against the Almighty,

²⁶Running stubbornly against Him With his strong, embossed shield.

²⁷“Though he has covered his face with his fatness, And made his waist heavy with fat,

²⁸He dwells in desolate cities, In houses which no one inhabits, Which are destined to become ruins.

²⁹He will not be rich, Nor will his wealth continue, Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.

³⁰He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

³¹Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward.

³²It will be accomplished before his time, And his branch will not be green.

³³He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

³⁴For the company of hypocrites will be barren, And fire will consume the tents of bribery.

³⁵They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit.”

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

²O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.

³Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

⁴Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

⁵Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

⁶Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

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

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

¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

¹¹For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

¹²Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

¹³He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.

¹⁴The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.

¹⁷The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!

¹⁸Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred.

²⁰Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.

²²Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!

¹A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father’s instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool does not do so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness.

¹⁰Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.

¹¹Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.

¹²A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.

¹³A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred.

¹⁸A wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

¹⁹The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.

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

²¹Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly.

²²Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

²³A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

²⁴The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below.

²⁵The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.

²⁷He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.

³¹The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise.

³²He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

¹And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

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

³So David dwelt 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, Nabal’s widow.

⁴And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

⁵Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

⁶So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

⁸And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.

⁹Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.

¹⁰Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.”

¹¹David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

¹²So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

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 for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men.

³“And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” says the LORD.

⁴“Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.

⁵Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity.

⁶Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the LORD.

⁷Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?

⁸Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait.

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

¹⁰I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”

¹²Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?

¹³And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it,

¹⁴but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which 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 water of gall to drink.

¹⁶I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”

¹⁷Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come.

¹⁸Let them make haste And take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run with tears, And our eyelids gush with water.

¹⁹For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are plundered! We are greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.’ ”

²⁰Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women, And let your ear receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.

²¹For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children— no longer to be outside! And the young men— no longer on the streets!

²²Speak, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.’ ”

²³Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

²⁴But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

²⁵“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised—

²⁶Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”

¹Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”

⁴And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

⁵But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

⁷Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”

⁸And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.

⁹So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

¹⁰Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

¹²Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

¹⁴Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

¹⁶Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

¹⁷Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

¹⁸Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?

²⁰For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”

²¹For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

²²Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;

²³for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

²⁴“God, who made 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 worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

²⁶And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

²⁷so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

²⁸for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

²⁹Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

³⁰Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

³¹because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

³²And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”

³³So Paul departed from among them.

³⁴However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.