Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death.

²But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters,

³and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles!

⁴You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!”

⁵For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

⁶Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime.

⁷The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil.

⁸You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.”

⁹After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

¹⁰But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.

¹¹The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him.

¹²There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.”

¹³But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

¹⁴Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach.

¹⁵The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

¹⁶So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.

¹⁷Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.

¹⁸Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.

¹⁹Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

²⁰The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”

²¹Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed.

²²But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.)

²³For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?

²⁴Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

²⁵Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?

²⁶But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah?

²⁷But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

²⁸While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him.

²⁹But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.”

³⁰Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

³¹Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

³²When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

³³But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.

³⁴You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

³⁵The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks!

³⁶What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”

³⁷On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

³⁸Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

³⁹(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

⁴⁰When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?

⁴²For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”

⁴³So the crowd was divided about him.

⁴⁴Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶“We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.

⁴⁷“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked.

⁴⁸“Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him?

⁴⁹This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”

⁵⁰Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up.

⁵¹“Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.

⁵²They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself — no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” [The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]

⁵³Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.

¹“Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.

²“Then at last the LORD said to me,

³‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north.

⁴Give these orders to the people: “You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful.

⁵Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land.

⁶If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it.

⁷For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’

⁸“So we bypassed the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber. “Then as we turned north along the desert route through Moab,

⁹the LORD warned us, ‘Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them Ar as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”

¹⁰(A race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of Ar. They were as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites, another race of giants.

¹¹Both the Emites and the Anakites are also known as the Rephaites, though the Moabites call them Emites.

¹²In earlier times the Horites had lived in Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau, just as Israel drove out the people of Canaan when the LORD gave Israel their land.)

¹³Moses continued, “Then the LORD said to us, ‘Get moving. Cross the Zered Brook.’ So we crossed the brook.

¹⁴“Thirty-eight years passed from the time we first left Kadesh-barnea until we finally crossed the Zered Brook! By then, all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness, as the LORD had vowed would happen.

¹⁵The LORD struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community.

¹⁶“When all the men of fighting age had died,

¹⁷the LORD said to me,

¹⁸‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar

¹⁹and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”

²⁰(That area was once considered the land of the Rephaites, who had lived there, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.

²¹They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land.

²²He had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau live there to this day.

²³A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Crete invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.)

²⁴Moses continued, “Then the LORD said, ‘Now get moving! Cross the Arnon Gorge. Look, I will hand over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land.

²⁵Beginning today I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.’”

²⁶Moses continued, “From the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace:

²⁷‘Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the main road and won’t turn off into the fields on either side.

²⁸Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land.

²⁹The descendants of Esau who live in Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in Ar. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.’

³⁰“But King Sihon of Heshbon refused to allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he has now done.

³¹“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.’

³²“Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz.

³³But the LORD our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people.

³⁴We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone — men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared.

³⁵We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked.

³⁶“The LORD our God also helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us.

³⁷However, we avoided the land of the Ammonites all along the Jabbok River and the towns in the hill country — all the places the LORD our God had commanded us to leave alone.

¹Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives — especially the ability to prophesy.

²For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious.

³But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.

⁴A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.

⁵I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.

⁶Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful.

⁷Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody.

⁸And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?

⁹It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

¹⁰There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning.

¹¹But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.

¹²And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.

¹³So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.

¹⁴For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.

¹⁵Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.

¹⁶For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying?

¹⁷You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.

¹⁸I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.

¹⁹But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

²⁰Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.

²¹It is written in the Scriptures : “I will speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the LORD.

²²So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers.

²³Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy.

²⁴But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.

²⁵As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

²⁶Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

²⁷No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say.

²⁸But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.

²⁹Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said.

³⁰But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop.

³¹In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged.

³²Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns.

³³For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.

³⁴Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.

³⁵If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.

³⁶Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given?

³⁷If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself.

³⁸But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.

³⁹So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues.

⁴⁰But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

¹You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.

²For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.

³They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.

⁴They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

⁵They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

⁶They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.

⁷(Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.)

⁸These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.

⁹But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.

¹⁰But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.

¹¹You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra — but the Lord rescued me from all of it.

¹²Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

¹³But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.

¹⁴But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.

¹⁵You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

¹⁷God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

¹Job’s three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence.

²Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him.

³He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job’s arguments.

⁴Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he.

⁵But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily.

⁶Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think.

⁷I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.’

⁸But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.

⁹Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.

¹⁰So listen to me, and let me tell you what I think.

¹¹“I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, listening to you grope for words.

¹²I have listened, but not one of you has refuted Job or answered his arguments.

¹³And don’t tell me, ‘He is too wise for us. Only God can convince him.’

¹⁴If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with your kind of logic!

¹⁵You sit there baffled, with nothing more to say.

¹⁶Should I continue to wait, now that you are silent? Must I also remain silent?

¹⁷No, I will say my piece. I will speak my mind.

¹⁸For I am full of pent-up words, and the spirit within me urges me on.

¹⁹I am like a cask of wine without a vent, like a new wineskin ready to burst!

²⁰I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers.

²¹I won’t play favorites or try to flatter anyone.

²²For if I tried flattery, my Creator would soon destroy me.

¹As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

²I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

³Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”

⁴My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!

⁵Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and

⁶my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you — even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.

⁷I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

⁸But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

⁹“O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?”

¹⁰Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”

¹¹Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and my God!

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

²Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.

³Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

⁴These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance

⁶by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

⁹What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!

¹¹They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave ; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.

¹³Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.

¹⁴Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”

¹⁵My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths.

¹⁶They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder.

¹⁷If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.

¹⁸But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.

²¹She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:

²²“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?

²³Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

²⁴“I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.

²⁵You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.

²⁶So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you —

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸“When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.

³¹Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.

³²For simpletons turn away from me — to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.

³³But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

¹Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her.

²Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her.

³But Amnon had a very crafty friend — his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.

⁴One day Jonadab said to Amnon, “What’s the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?” So Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

⁵“Well,” Jonadab said, “I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands.”

⁶So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands.”

⁷So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon’s house to prepare some food for him.

⁸When Tamar arrived at Amnon’s house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him.

⁹But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. “Everyone get out of here,” Amnon told his servants. So they all left.

¹⁰Then he said to Tamar, “Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here.” So Tamar took his favorite dish to him.

¹¹But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling sister.”

¹²“No, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel.

¹³Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me.”

¹⁴But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her.

¹⁵Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. “Get out of here!” he snarled at her.

¹⁶“No, no!” Tamar cried. “Sending me away now is worse than what you’ve already done to me.” But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her.

¹⁷He shouted for his servant and demanded, “Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!”

¹⁸So the servant put her out and locked the door behind her. She was wearing a long, beautiful robe, as was the custom in those days for the king’s virgin daughters.

¹⁹But now Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. And then, with her face in her hands, she went away crying.

²⁰Her brother Absalom saw her and asked, “Is it true that Amnon has been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet for now, since he’s your brother. Don’t you worry about it.” So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in her brother Absalom’s house.

²¹When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry.

²²And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister.

²³Two years later, when Absalom’s sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come to a feast.

²⁴He went to the king and said, “My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?”

²⁵The king replied, “No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you.” Absalom pressed him, but the king would not come, though he gave Absalom his blessing.

²⁶“Well, then,” Absalom said, “if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?” “Why Amnon?” the king asked.

²⁷But Absalom kept on pressing the king until he finally agreed to let all his sons attend, including Amnon. So Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king.

²⁸Absalom told his men, “Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!”

²⁹So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.

³⁰As they were on the way back to Jerusalem, this report reached David: “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons; not one is left alive!”

³¹The king got up, tore his robe, and threw himself on the ground. His advisers also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow.

³²But just then Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimea, arrived and said, “No, don’t believe that all the king’s sons have been killed! It was only Amnon! Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

³³No, my lord the king, your sons aren’t all dead! It was only Amnon.”

³⁴Meanwhile Absalom escaped. Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming down the hill on the road from the west. He ran to tell the king, “I see a crowd of people coming from the Horonaim road along the side of the hill.”

³⁵“Look!” Jonadab told the king. “There they are now! The king’s sons are coming, just as I said.”

³⁶They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept bitterly with them.

³⁷And David mourned many days for his son Amnon. Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur.

³⁸He stayed there in Geshur for three years.

³⁹And King David, now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.

¹This message came to Jeremiah from the LORD early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah.

²“This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the LORD, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.

³Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change my mind about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins.

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: If you will not listen to me and obey my word I have given you,

⁵and if you will not listen to my servants, the prophets — for I sent them again and again to warn you, but you would not listen to them —

⁶then I will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth.’”

⁷The priests, the prophets, and all the people listened to Jeremiah as he spoke in front of the LORD’s Temple.

⁸But when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the LORD had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him. “Kill him!” they shouted.

⁹“What right do you have to prophesy in the LORD’s name that this Temple will be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem will be destroyed and left with no inhabitants?” And all the people threatened him as he stood in front of the Temple.

¹⁰When the officials of Judah heard what was happening, they rushed over from the palace and sat down at the New Gate of the Temple to hold court.

¹¹The priests and prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the people. “This man should die!” they said. “You have heard with your own ears what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this city.”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to the officials and the people in his own defense. “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this Temple and this city,” he said. “The LORD gave me every word that I have spoken.

¹³But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the LORD your God, he will change his mind about this disaster that he has announced against you.

¹⁴As for me, I am in your hands — do with me as you think best.

¹⁵But if you kill me, rest assured that you will be killing an innocent man! The responsibility for such a deed will lie on you, on this city, and on every person living in it. For it is absolutely true that the LORD sent me to speak every word you have heard.”

¹⁶Then the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets, “This man does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.”

¹⁷Then some of the wise old men stood and spoke to all the people assembled there.

¹⁸They said, “Remember when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.’

¹⁹But did King Hezekiah and the people kill him for saying this? No, they turned from their sins and worshiped the LORD. They begged him for mercy. Then the LORD changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had pronounced against them. So we are about to do ourselves great harm.”

²⁰At this time Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim was also prophesying for the LORD. And he predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and nation as Jeremiah did.

²¹When King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying, the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plan and escaped in fear to Egypt.

²²Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt along with several other men to capture Uriah.

²³They took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave.

²⁴Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed.

¹But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

²So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.

³And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.

⁴Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

⁶These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁸Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.

⁹But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia.

¹⁰None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

¹¹So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.”

¹²This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

¹³The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.

¹⁴We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.