Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

²Early in the morning He came back into the temple [court], and all the people were coming to Him. He sat down and began teaching them.

³Now the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the center of the court,

⁴and they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery.

⁵Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women [to death]. So what do You say [to do with her—what is Your sentence]?"

⁶They said this to test Him, hoping that they would have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and began writing on the ground with His finger.

⁷However, when they persisted in questioning Him, He straightened up and said, "He who is without [any] sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

⁸Then He stooped down again and started writing on the ground.

⁹They listened [to His reply], and they began to go out one by one, starting with the oldest ones, until He was left alone, with the woman [standing there before Him] in the center of the court.

¹⁰Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"

¹¹She answered, "No one, Lord!" And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more."]

¹²Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, " I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

¹³Then the Pharisees told Him, "You are testifying on Your own behalf; Your testimony is not valid."

¹⁴Jesus replied, "Even if I do testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

¹⁵You judge according to human standards [just by what you see]. I do not judge anyone.

¹⁶But even if I do judge, My judgment is true and My decision is right; for I am not alone [in making it], but I and the Father who sent Me [make the same judgment].

¹⁷Even in your own law it is written that the testimony of two persons is true [valid and admissible].

¹⁸I am One [of the Two] who testifies about Myself, and My Father who sent Me testifies about Me."

¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to Him, "Where is this Father of Yours?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."

²⁰Jesus said these things in the treasury, as He taught in the temple [courtyard]; and no one seized Him, because His time had not yet come.

²¹Then He said again to them, "I am going away, and you will look for Me, and you will die [unforgiven and condemned] in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."

²²So the Jews were asking [among themselves], "Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"

²³He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

²⁴That is why I told you that you will die [unforgiven and condemned] in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am the One [I claim to be], you will die in your sins."

²⁵So they said to Him, "Who are You [anyway]?" Jesus replied, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?

²⁶I have many things to say and judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I say to the world [only] the things that I have heard from Him."

²⁷They did not realize [or have the spiritual insight to understand] that He was speaking to them about the Father.

²⁸So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man [on the cross], you will know then [without any doubt] that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but I say these things just as My Father taught Me.

²⁹And He who sent Me is [always] with Me; He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him."

³⁰As He said these things, many believed in Him.

³¹So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples.

³²And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin]."

³³They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone. What do You mean by saying, 'You will be set free'?"

³⁴Jesus answered, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, everyone who practices sin habitually is a slave of sin.

³⁵Now the slave does not remain in a household forever; the son [of the master] does remain forever.

³⁶So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free.

³⁷I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you plan to kill Me, because My word has no place [to grow] in you [and it makes no change in your heart].

³⁸I tell the things that I have seen at My Father's side [in His very presence]; so you also do the things that you heard from your father."

³⁹They answered, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are [truly] Abraham's children, then do the works of Abraham and follow his example.

⁴⁰But as it is, you want to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. This is not the way Abraham acted.

⁴¹You are doing the works of your [own] father." They said to Him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one [spiritual] Father: God."

⁴²Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father [but He is not], you would love and recognize Me, for I came from God [out of His very presence] and have arrived here. For I have not even come on My own initiative [as self-appointed], but He [is the One who] sent Me.

⁴³Why do you misunderstand what I am saying? It is because [your spiritual ears are deaf and] you are unable to hear [the truth of] My word.

⁴⁴You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what it natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths.

⁴⁵But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me [and continue in your unbelief].

⁴⁶Which one of you [has proof and] convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?

⁴⁷Whoever is of God and belongs to Him hears [the truth of] God's words; for this reason you do not hear them: because you are not of God and you are not in fellowship with Him."

⁴⁸The Jews answered Him, "Are we not right when we say You are a Samaritan and [that You] have a demon [and are under its power]?"

⁴⁹Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon. On the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

⁵⁰However, I am not seeking glory for Myself. There is One who seeks [glory for Me] and judges [those who dishonor Me].

⁵¹I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if anyone keeps My word [by living in accordance with My message] he will indeed never, ever see and experience death."

⁵²The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon [and are under its power]. Abraham died, and also the prophets; yet You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never, ever taste of death.'

⁵³Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too! Whom do You make Yourself out to be?"

⁵⁴Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is [worth] nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.'

⁵⁵Yet you do not know Him, but I know Him fully. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him and keep His word.

⁵⁶Your father Abraham [greatly] rejoiced to see My day (My incarnation). He saw it and was delighted."

⁵⁷Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not even fifty years old, and You [claim to] have seen Abraham?"

⁵⁸Jesus replied, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am."

⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus concealed Himself and left the temple.

¹"Then we turned and went up the road toward Bashan, and at Edrei, Og king of Bashan, with all his people came out to meet us in battle.

²And the LORD said to me, 'Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you, him and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.'

³So the LORD our God also handed over Og king of Bashan, and all his people, into our hand and we struck him until no survivor was left.

⁴We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

⁵All these cities were fortified and unassailable with their high walls, gates, and bars; in addition, [there were] a very great number of unwalled villages.

⁶We utterly destroyed them, just as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city—the men, women, and children.

⁷But we took all the cattle and the spoil of the cities as plunder for ourselves.

⁸"So we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings [Sihon and Og] of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon

⁹(the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir):

¹⁰all the cities of the plain and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan."

¹¹(For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the [the giants known as the] Rephaim. Behold, his bed frame was a bed frame of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? It was nine cubits (12 ft.) long and four cubits (6 ft.) wide, using the cubit of a man [the forearm to the end of the middle finger].)

¹²"So we took possession of this land at that time. I gave the territory from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, along with half of the hill country of Gilead and its cities to the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

¹³The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim.

¹⁴Jair the son (descendant) of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, that is Bashan, and called it after his own name, Havvoth (the villages of) Jair, as it is called to this day.)

¹⁵I gave Gilead to Machir [of Manasseh].

¹⁶To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of Arnon, with the middle of the Valley as a boundary, and as far as the Jabbok River, the boundary of the sons of Ammon;

¹⁷the Arabah also, with the Jordan as its boundary, from Chinnereth (the Sea of Galilee) as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea (Dead Sea), at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

¹⁸"Then I commanded you [Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh] at that time, saying, 'The LORD your God has given you this land to possess; all you who are brave men shall cross over [the Jordan] armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel.

¹⁹But your wives and your children and your cattle—I know that you have much livestock—shall remain in your cities which I have given you,

²⁰until the LORD gives rest to your fellow countrymen as [He has] to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God has given them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to the land (possession) which I have given to you.'

²¹I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to these two kings [Sihon and Og]; so the LORD shall do the same to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross.

²²Do not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who is fighting for you.'

²³"Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time [for His favor], saying,

²⁴'O Lord GOD, You have only begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth that can do such works and mighty acts (miracles) as Yours?

²⁵I pray, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country [with Hermon] and Lebanon.'

²⁶But the LORD was angry with me because of you [and your rebellion at Meribah], and would not listen to me; and the LORD said to me, 'Enough! Speak to Me no longer about this matter.

²⁷Go up to the top of [Mount] Pisgah and raise your eyes toward the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross this Jordan.

²⁸But command Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go across and lead this people, and he will give them the land which you see as an inheritance.'

²⁹So we stayed in the Valley opposite Beth-peor.

¹Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith].

²By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment].

³For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

⁴and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve.

⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death].

⁷Then He was seen by James, then by all the apostles,

⁸and last of all, as to one untimely (prematurely, traumatically) born, He appeared to me also.

⁹For I am the least [worthy] of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I [at one time] fiercely oppressed and violently persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.

¹¹So whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed and trusted in and relied on with confidence.

¹²Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth].

¹⁵We are even discovered to be false witnesses [misrepresenting] God, because we testified concerning Him that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, either;

¹⁷and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless [mere delusion]; you are still in your sins [and under the control and penalty of sin].

¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

¹⁹If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

²⁰But now [as things really are] Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, [and He became] the first fruits [that is, the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body, foreshadowing the resurrection] of those who have fallen asleep [in death].

²¹For since [it was] by a man that death came [into the world], it is also by a Man that the resurrection of the dead has come.

²²For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ's [own will be resurrected with incorruptible, immortal bodies] at His coming.

²⁴After that comes the end (completion), when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has made inoperative and abolished every ruler and every authority and power.

²⁵For Christ must reign [as King] until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy to be abolished and put to an end is death.

²⁷For He (the Father) has put all things in subjection under His (Christ's) feet. But when He says, "All things have been put in subjection [under Christ]," it is clear that He (the Father) who put all things in subjection to Him (Christ) is excepted [since the Father is not in subjection to His own Son].

²⁸However, when all things are subjected to Him (Christ), then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One (the Father) who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all [manifesting His glory without any opposition, the supreme indwelling and controlling factor of life].

²⁹Otherwise, what will those do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people even baptized for them?

³⁰[For that matter] why are we [running such risks and putting ourselves] in danger [nearly] every hour [if there is no resurrection]?

³¹I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self].

³²What good has it done me if, [merely] from a human point of view, I fought with wild animals at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink [enjoying ourselves now], for tomorrow we die.

³³Do not be deceived:"Bad company corrupts good morals."

³⁴Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body will they come?"

³⁶You fool! Every time you plant seed you sow something that does not come to life [germinating, springing up and growing] unless it first dies.

³⁷The seed you sow is not the body (the plant) which it is going to become, but it is a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He planned, and to each kind of seed a body of its own [is given].

³⁹All flesh is not the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies [sun, moon and stars] and earthly bodies [humans, animals, and plants], but the glory and beauty of the heavenly is one kind, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is a glory and beauty of the sun, another glory of the moon, and yet another [distinctive] glory of the stars; and one star differs from another in glory and brilliance.

⁴²So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal.

⁴³It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength;

⁴⁴it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So it is written [in Scripture], "The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);" the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life].

⁴⁶However, the spiritual [the immortal life] is not first, but the physical [the mortal life]; then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man [Adam] is from the earth, earthy [made of dust]; the second Man [Christ, the Lord] is from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven.

⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven].

⁵⁰Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal).

⁵¹Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed],

⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed].

⁵³For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death].

⁵⁴And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, "Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever).

⁵⁵O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law;

⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].

¹I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

²preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching.

³For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God's truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,

⁴and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable].

⁵But as for you, be clear-headed in every situation [stay calm and cool and steady], endure every hardship [without flinching], do the work of an evangelist, fulfill [the duties of] your ministry.

⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure [from this world] is at hand and I will soon go free.

⁷I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error].

⁸In the future there is reserved for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.

⁹Make every effort to come to me soon;

¹⁰for Demas, having loved [the pleasures of] this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very helpful to me for the ministry.

¹²But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

¹³When you come bring the coat that I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; [but that is no concern of mine, for] the Lord will repay him according to his actions.

¹⁵Be on guard against him yourself, because he vigorously opposed our message.

¹⁶At my first trial no one supported me [as an advocate] or stood with me, but they all deserted me. May it not be counted against them [by God].

¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened and empowered me, so that through me the [gospel] message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear it; and I was rescued from the mouth of the lion.

¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil assault, and He will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, and to the household of Onesiphorus.

²⁰Erastus stayed on at Corinth, but I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

²¹Try your best to come [to me] before winter. Eubulus wishes to be remembered to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

¹"However, Job, please listen to my words, And pay attention to everything I say.

²"Behold, I have opened my mouth [to begin my speech]; My tongue in my mouth is going to speak.

³"My words will express the uprightness of my heart, And my lips will speak what they know with utter sincerity.

⁴"The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life [which inspires me].

⁵"Answer me, if you can; Set yourselves before me, take your stand.

⁶"Behold, I belong to God like you; I too was formed out of the clay.

⁷"Behold, I will not make you afraid or terrified of me [for I am only mortal and not God], Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.

⁸"Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying:

⁹'I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

¹⁰'Behold, God finds pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹'He puts my feet in the stocks [to hinder and humiliate me]; He [suspiciously] watches all my paths,' [you say].

¹²"Look, let me answer you, in this you are not right or just; For God is greater and far superior to man.

¹³"Why do you complain against Him? That He does not answer [you with] all His doings.

¹⁴"For God speaks once, And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].

¹⁵"In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God's voice], When deep sleep falls on men While slumbering upon the bed,

¹⁶Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction,

¹⁷That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep him from pride;

¹⁸He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction], And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

¹⁹"Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones,

²⁰So that his life makes him loathe food, And his soul [loathe] even his favorite dishes.

²¹"His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, And his bones which were not seen now stick out.

²²"Then his soul draws near to the pit [of destruction], And his life to those who bring death (the destroyers).

²³"If there is an angel as a mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],

²⁴Then the angel is gracious to him, and says, 'Spare him from going down to the pit [of destruction]; I have found a ransom [a consideration, or reason for redemption, an atonement]!'

²⁵"Let his flesh be restored and become fresher than in youth; Let him return to the days of his youthful strength.

²⁶"He will pray to God, and He shall be favorable to him, So that he looks at His face with joy; For God restores to man His righteousness [that is, his right standing with God—with its joys].

²⁷"He sings out to other men, 'I have sinned and perverted that which was right, And it was not proper for me!

²⁸'God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction], And my life shall see the light.'"

²⁹[Elihu comments,] "Behold, God does all these things twice, yes, three times, with a man,

³⁰To bring his life back from the pit [of destruction], That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

³¹"Pay attention, Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will speak.

³²"If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.

³³"If not [and you have nothing to say], listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

¹Judge and vindicate me, O God; plead my case against an ungodly nation. O rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man!

²For You are the God of my strength [my stronghold—in whom I take refuge]; why have You rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, To God, my exceeding joy; With the lyre I will praise You, O God, my God!

⁵Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you restless and disturbed within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my [sad] countenance and my God.

¹My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,

²So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];

³Yes, if you cry out for insight, And lift up your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you would silver And search for her as you would hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives [skillful and godly] wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him]; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of honorable character and moral courage],

⁸He guards the paths of justice; And He preserves the way of His saints (believers).

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice [in every circumstance] And integrity and every good path.

¹⁰For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you, Understanding and discernment will guard you,

¹²To keep you from the way of evil and the evil man, From the man who speaks perverse things;

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who find joy in doing evil And delight in the perversity of evil,

¹⁵Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

¹⁶To keep you from the immoral woman; From the seductress with her flattering words,

¹⁷Who leaves the companion (husband) of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house leads down to death And her paths lead to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return again, Nor do they regain the paths of life—

²⁰So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character], And keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright [those who are in right standing with God] will live in the land And those [of integrity] who are blameless [in God's sight] will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous shall be [forcibly] uprooted and removed from it.

¹Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom.

²So Joab sent word to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there and told her, "Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning clothes, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has for many days been in mourning for the dead.

³Then go to the king and speak to him in this way." So Joab told her what to say.

⁴When the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she bowed with her face to the ground and lay herself down, and said, "Help, O king."

⁵The king asked her, " What is the matter?" She said, "Truly I am a widow; my husband is dead.

⁶Your maidservant had two sons, but the two of them struggled and fought in the field. There was no one to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him.

⁷Now behold, the entire family has risen against your maidservant, and they say, 'Hand over the one who killed his brother, so that we may put him to death [to pay] for the life of his brother whom he killed and destroy the heir also.' By doing this they will extinguish my coal that is left, leaving my husband without a name or a remnant (heir) on the face of the earth."

⁸Then David said to the woman, "Go to your home, and I will give orders concerning you."

⁹The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord, O king, the guilt is on me and on my father's house, but the king and his throne are guiltless."

¹⁰The king said, "If anyone speaks to you [about this matter], bring him to me [for judgment], and he will not touch you again."

¹¹Then she said, "Please let the king remember the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son." And David said, "As the LORD lives, not a single hair [from the head] of your son shall fall to the ground."

¹²Then the woman said, "Please let your maidservant speak one more word to my lord the king." He said, "Speak."

¹³The woman said, "Now why have you planned such a thing against God's people? For in speaking this word the king is like a guilty man, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

¹⁴For we will certainly die and are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not [simply] take away life, but devises plans so that the one who is banished is not driven away from Him.

¹⁵Now I came to speak of this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. So your maidservant thought, 'I will just speak to the king; perhaps the king will do what his maidservant requests.

¹⁶For the king will hear and save his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.'

¹⁷Then your maidservant said, 'Please let the word of my lord the king be comforting, for my lord the king is as the angel of God to discern good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.'"

¹⁸Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Do not hide from me anything that I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak."

¹⁹The king said, "Is the hand of Joab with you in all of this?" And the woman answered, "As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me; he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant.

²⁰In order to change the appearance of things [between Absalom and you, his father] your servant Joab did this thing. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth."

²¹Then the king said to Joab, "Listen, I will most certainly do this thing; now go, bring back the young man Absalom."

²²Joab bowed his face toward the ground and lay himself down and blessed the king. Then Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has done the request of his servant."

²³So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴However, the king said, "Let him go to his own house, and do not let him see my face." So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the king's face.

²⁵Now in all Israel there was no man as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised [for that]; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

²⁶When he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of each year he cut it, because its weight was heavy on him) he weighed the hair of his head at200 shekels by the king's weight.

²⁷To Absalom were born three sons and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.

²⁸Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without seeing the king's face.

²⁹So Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him; even when he sent again a second time, he [still] would not come.

³⁰Therefore Absalom said to his servants, "See, Joab's property is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire." So Absalom's servants set the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab took action and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, "Why did your servants set my field on fire?"

³²Absalom answered Joab, "I sent for you, saying, 'Come here, so that I may send you to the king to ask, "Why have I come [back] from Geshur? It would be better for me to still be there."' Now then, let me see the king's face, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death."

³³So Joab came to the king and told him. Then David called for Absalom, and he came to the king and bowed his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.

¹In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

²Thus says the LORD to me, "Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck,

³and send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

⁴Command them to go to their masters, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, you shall say this to your masters:

⁵"I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to whomever pleases Me.

⁶Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant and instrument, and I have also given the wild animals of the field to serve him.

⁷All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the [appointed] time [of punishment] for his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their servant.

⁸"But any nation or kingdom that will not serve this same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish," says the LORD, "with the sword, with famine and with pestilence (virulent disease), until I have destroyed it by Nebuchadnezzar's hand.

⁹And as for you, do not listen to your [counterfeit] prophets, your diviners, your dreams and dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers, who say to you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.'

¹⁰For they prophesy a lie to you which will cause you to be removed far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish.

¹¹But the nation which will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, that nation I will let remain on its own land," says the LORD, "to cultivate it and live in it."'"

¹²I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah in the same way, saying, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!

¹³Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine and by virulent disease, as the LORD has spoken to any nation which will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴Do not listen to and believe the words of the [false] prophets who are saying to you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you;

¹⁵for I have not sent them," says the LORD, "but they are prophesying falsely in My Name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you [together] with the [false] prophets who prophesy to you."

¹⁶Then I said to the priests and to all these people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your [false] prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, 'Behold, the articles of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon'; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

¹⁸But if they are [true] prophets, and if the word of the LORD is [really spoken] by them, let them now entreat the LORD of hosts that the articles which are [still] left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.

¹⁹For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the [bronze] pillars, the [bronze] Sea, the [bronze] bases [of the ten basins in Solomon's temple used for washing sacrificial animals], and the rest of the articles that are left in this city (Jerusalem),

²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

²¹"Yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the articles which remain in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem,

²²'They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day that I visit them [with My favor],' says the LORD. 'Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'"

¹Now the high priest asked [Stephen], "Are these charges true?"

²And he answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory [the Shekinah, the radiance of God] appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

³and He said to him, 'Leave your country and your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.'

⁴Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God sent him to this country in which you now live.

⁵But He did not give him inheritable property, not even enough ground to take a step on, yet He promised that He would give it to Him as a possession, and to his descendants after him.

⁶And this is, in effect, what God spoke [to him]: That his descendants would be aliens (strangers) in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

⁷'And I will judge any nation to whom they will be in bondage,' said God, 'and after that they will come out and serve Me [in worship] in this place.'

⁸And God gave Abraham a covenant [a formal agreement to be strictly observed] of [which] circumcision [was the sign]; and so [under these circumstances] Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac [became the father] of Jacob, and Jacob [became the father] of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹"The [ten elder] patriarchs, overwhelmed with jealousy, sold [their younger brother] Joseph into [slavery in] Egypt; but God was with him,

¹⁰and He rescued him from all his suffering, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made Joseph governor over Egypt and over his entire household.

¹¹"Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great distress and our fathers could not find food [for their households and livestock].

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.

¹³And on the second visit Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Joseph's family and background were revealed to Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all.

¹⁵And Jacob (Israel) went down into Egypt, and there he died, as did our fathers;

¹⁶and [from Egypt] their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷"But as the time [for the fulfillment] of the promise which God had made to Abraham was approaching, the [Hebrew] people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸until [the time when] there arose another king over egypt who did not know joseph [nor his history and the merit of his service to Egypt].

¹⁹He shrewdly exploited our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to expose their [male] babies so that they would die.

²⁰It was at this [critical] time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and for three months he was nourished in his father's house.

²¹Then when he was set outside [to die], Pharaoh's daughter rescued him and claimed him for herself, and cared for him as her own son.

²²So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.

²³But when he reached the age of forty, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel.

²⁴And when he saw one [of them] being treated unfairly, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking and killing the Egyptian.

²⁵He expected his countrymen to understand that God was granting them freedom through him [assuming that they would accept him], but they did not understand.

²⁶Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?'

²⁷But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, 'Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?

²⁸Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'

²⁹At this remark Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons.

³⁰"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came [to him, saying]:

³²'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

³³Then the Lord said to him, 'Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground [worthy of reverence and respect].

³⁴I have most certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, and I will send you to Egypt [as My messenger].'

³⁵"This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

³⁶This man led them out [of Egypt] after performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a Prophetlike me from your countrymen.'

³⁸This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles [divine words that still live] to be handed down to you.

³⁹Our fathers were unwilling to be subject to him [and refused to listen to him]. They rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

⁴⁰They said to Aaron, 'Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'

⁴¹In those days they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced and celebrated over the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away [from them] and handed them over to serve the host of heaven. As it is written and forever remains written in the book of the prophets, 'It was not [really] to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel?

⁴³You also took along the tabernacle (portable temple) of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship; and I will remove you beyond Babylon [carrying you away into exile].'

⁴⁴"Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God directed Moses to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.

⁴⁵Our fathers also brought it in [with them into the land] with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, [and so it remained here] until the time of David,

⁴⁶who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.

⁴⁸However, the Most High [the One infinitely exalted above humanity] does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet [Isaiah] says,

⁴⁹'Heaven is My throne, And the earth is the footstool for My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?' says the Lord, 'Or what place is there for My rest?

⁵⁰'Was it not My hand that made all these things?'

⁵¹"You stiff-necked and stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did.

⁵²Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;

⁵³you who received the law as ordained and delivered to you by angels, and yet you did not obey it!"

⁵⁴Now when they heard this [accusation and understood its implication], they were cut to the heart, and they began grinding their teeth [in rage] at him.

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Spirit and led by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory [the great splendor and majesty] of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

⁵⁶and he said, "Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

⁵⁷But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and together rushed at him [considering him guilty of blasphemy].

⁵⁸Then they drove him out of the city and began stoning him; and the witnesses placed their outer robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹They continued stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!"

⁶⁰Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!" When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].