Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias.

²A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.

³Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.

⁴(It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.)

⁵Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”

⁶He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

⁷Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

⁸Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.

⁹“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

¹⁰“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)

¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

¹²After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”

¹³So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

¹⁴When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”

¹⁵When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.

¹⁶That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him.

¹⁷But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum.

¹⁸Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough.

¹⁹They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified,

²⁰but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here! ”

²¹Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!

²²The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them.

²³Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten.

²⁴So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.

²⁵They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.

²⁷But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

²⁸They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

²⁹Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

³⁰They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do?

³¹After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

³²Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven.

³³The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

³⁵Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

³⁶But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.

³⁷However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.

³⁸For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

³⁹And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.

⁴⁰For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

⁴¹Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

⁴²They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said.

⁴⁴For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

⁴⁵As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

⁴⁶(Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

⁴⁷“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.

⁴⁸Yes, I am the bread of life!

⁴⁹Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died.

⁵⁰Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die.

⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

⁵²Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

⁵³So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.

⁵⁴But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.

⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

⁵⁶Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

⁵⁷I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.

⁵⁸I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

⁵⁹He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

⁶⁰Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

⁶¹Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you?

⁶²Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again?

⁶³The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

⁶⁴But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)

⁶⁵Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

⁶⁶At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.

⁶⁷Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

⁶⁸Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.

⁶⁹We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God. ”

⁷⁰Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.”

⁷¹He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.

¹These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

²Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.

³But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say.

⁴This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

⁵While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD’s instructions as follows.

⁶“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

⁷It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions — the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River.

⁸Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

⁹Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.

¹⁰The LORD your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!

¹¹And may the LORD, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!

¹²But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?

¹³Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

¹⁴“Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’

¹⁵So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.

¹⁶“At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions

¹⁷and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

¹⁸“At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

¹⁹“Then, just as the LORD our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea,

²⁰I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the LORD our God is giving us.

²¹Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

²²“But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’

²³“This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.

²⁴They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it.

²⁵They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the LORD our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

²⁶“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in.

²⁷You complained in your tents and said, ‘The LORD must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt — to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.

²⁸Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there — the descendants of Anak!”’

²⁹“But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them!

³⁰The LORD your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.

³¹And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

³²“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God,

³³who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

³⁴“When the LORD heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,

³⁵‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,

³⁶except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the LORD completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’

³⁷“And the LORD was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!

³⁸Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it.

³⁹I will give the land to your little ones — your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.

⁴⁰As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. ’

⁴¹“Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the LORD! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the LORD our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

⁴²“But the LORD told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’

⁴³“This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the LORD’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight.

⁴⁴But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah.

⁴⁵Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but he refused to listen.

⁴⁶So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

¹If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

²If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

³If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

⁴Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

⁵or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

⁶It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

⁷Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

⁸Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

⁹Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!

¹⁰But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

¹¹When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

¹²Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³Three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love.

¹Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus.

²You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

³Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

⁵And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.

⁶And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.

⁷Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.

⁸Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.

⁹And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained.

¹⁰So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

¹¹This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him.

¹²If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us.

¹³If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

¹⁴Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

¹⁵Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.

¹⁶Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.

¹⁷This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus.

¹⁸They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.

¹⁹But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The LORD knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil.”

²⁰In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.

²¹If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

²²Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

²³Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.

²⁴A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

²⁵Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.

²⁶Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

¹“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.

²For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?

³Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil?

⁴Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take?

⁵“Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone?

⁶Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity.

⁷If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin,

⁸then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

⁹“If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,

¹⁰then let my wife serve another man; let other men sleep with her.

¹¹For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished.

¹²It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.

¹³“If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me,

¹⁴how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me?

¹⁵For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb.

¹⁶“Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows?

¹⁷Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans?

¹⁸No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows.

¹⁹Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear,

²⁰did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?

²¹“If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side,

²²then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket!

²³That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

²⁴“Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?

²⁵Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own?

²⁶“Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway,

²⁷and been secretly enticed in my heart to throw kisses at them in worship?

²⁸If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.

²⁹“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way?

³⁰No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge.

³¹“My servants have never said, ‘He let others go hungry.’

³²I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone.

³³“Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart?

³⁴Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?

³⁵“If only someone would listen to me! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me.

³⁶I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown.

³⁷For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince.

³⁸“If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together,

³⁹or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners,

⁴⁰then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words are ended.

¹Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble.

²The LORD protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies.

³The LORD nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.

⁴“O LORD,” I prayed, “have mercy on me. Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

⁵But my enemies say nothing but evil about me. “How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask.

⁶They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.

⁷All who hate me whisper about me, imagining the worst.

⁸“He has some fatal disease,” they say. “He will never get out of that bed!”

⁹Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

¹⁰LORD, have mercy on me. Make me well again, so I can pay them back!

¹¹I know you are pleased with me, for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.

¹²You have preserved my life because I am innocent; you have brought me into your presence forever.

¹³Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen!

¹The sayings of King Lemuel contain this message, which his mother taught him.

²O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,

³do not waste your strength on women, on those who ruin kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol.

⁵For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed.

⁶Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.

⁷Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more.

⁸Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.

⁹Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

¹⁰Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.

¹¹Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.

¹²She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

¹³She finds wool and flax and busily spins it.

¹⁴She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

¹⁶She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.

¹⁸She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.

¹⁹Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.

²⁰She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.

²¹She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes.

²²She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

²³Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders.

²⁴She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.

²⁵She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.

²⁶When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.

²⁷She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.

²⁸Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:

²⁹“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”

³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.

³¹Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

¹So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor.

²The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle.

³The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.

⁴One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

⁵David was furious. “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!

⁶He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

⁷Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.

⁸I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.

⁹Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.

¹⁰From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.

¹¹“This is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view.

¹²You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”

¹³Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.

¹⁴Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD by doing this, your child will die.”

¹⁵After Nathan returned to his home, the LORD sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife.

¹⁶David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.

¹⁷The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.

¹⁸Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?”

¹⁹When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

²⁰Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the LORD. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate.

²¹His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”

²²David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.’

²³But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”

²⁴Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child

²⁵and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the LORD”), as the LORD had commanded.

²⁶Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.

²⁷Joab sent messengers to tell David, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.

²⁸Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory.”

²⁹So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it.

³⁰David removed the crown from the king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds. David took a vast amount of plunder from the city.

³¹He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns. That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

¹This message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah. This was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began his reign.

²Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people in Judah and Jerusalem,

³“For the past twenty-three years — from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until now — the LORD has been giving me his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not listened.

⁴“Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention.

⁵Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever.

⁶Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’

⁷“But you would not listen to me,” says the LORD. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer.

⁸And now the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me,

⁹I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever.

¹⁰I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out.

¹¹This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

¹²“Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the LORD. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever.

¹³I will bring upon them all the terrors I have promised in this book — all the penalties announced by Jeremiah against the nations.

¹⁴Many nations and great kings will enslave the Babylonians, just as they enslaved my people. I will punish them in proportion to the suffering they cause my people.”

¹⁵This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.

¹⁶When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them.”

¹⁷So I took the cup of anger from the LORD and made all the nations drink from it — every nation to which the LORD sent me.

¹⁸I went to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an object of horror, contempt, and cursing.

¹⁹I gave the cup to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials, and all his people,

²⁰along with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod.

²¹Then I gave the cup to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon,

²²and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea.

²³I gave it to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places.

²⁴I gave it to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert,

²⁵and to the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media.

²⁶And I gave it to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other — all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon himself drank from the cup of the LORD’s anger.

²⁷Then the LORD said to me, “Now tell them, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’

²⁸And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, ‘The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: You have no choice but to drink from it.

²⁹I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!’

³⁰“Now prophesy all these things, and say to them, “‘The LORD will roar against his own land from his holy dwelling in heaven. He will shout like those who tread grapes; he will shout against everyone on earth.

³¹His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring his case against all the nations. He will judge all the people of the earth, slaughtering the wicked with the sword. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”

³²This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “Look! Disaster will fall upon nation after nation! A great whirlwind of fury is rising from the most distant corners of the earth!”

³³In that day those the LORD has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure.

³⁴Weep and moan, you evil shepherds! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock! The time of your slaughter has arrived; you will fall and shatter like a fragile vase.

³⁵You will find no place to hide; there will be no way to escape.

³⁶Listen to the frantic cries of the shepherds. The leaders of the flock are wailing in despair, for the LORD is ruining their pastures.

³⁷Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland by the LORD’s fierce anger.

³⁸He has left his den like a strong lion seeking its prey, and their land will be made desolate by the sword of the enemy and the LORD’s fierce anger.

¹But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.

²He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.

⁴The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

⁵As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.

⁶Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”

¹⁰Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

¹²The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.

¹⁴Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord — crowds of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.

¹⁶Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them,

²⁰“Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!”

²¹So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council — the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.

²²But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported,

²³“The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”

²⁴When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.

²⁵Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”

²⁶The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.

²⁷Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.

³¹Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

³²We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.

³⁴But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.

³⁵Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!

³⁶Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.

³⁷After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸“So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

⁴⁰The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.

⁴¹The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

⁴²And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”