Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

²And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them.

³Now the scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard,

⁴they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery.

⁵Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”

⁶Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

⁷When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

⁸And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard.

¹⁰And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

¹¹She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.”]]

¹²Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

¹³So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”

¹⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I am testifying about Myself, My testimony istrue, 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 judgeaccording to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.

¹⁶But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.

¹⁷Even in your Law it has been written that the testimony of two people istrue.

¹⁸I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

¹⁹So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

²⁰These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple area; and no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.

²¹Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”

²²So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

²³And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

²⁴Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe thatI am, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵Then they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I even been saying to you from the beginning?

²⁶I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.”

²⁷They did not realize that He was speaking to them about the Father.

²⁸So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know thatI am, and I do nothingon My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me.

²⁹And He who sent Me is with Me; Hehas not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

³⁰As He said these things, many came to believe in Him.

³¹So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples;

³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

³⁵Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

³⁷I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My wordhas no place in you.

³⁸I speak of the things which I have seenwith My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

³⁹They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.

⁴⁰But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.

⁴¹You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even comeon My own, butHe sent Me.

⁴³Why do you not understandwhat I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word.

⁴⁴You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tellsa lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father oflies.

⁴⁵But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me.

⁴⁶Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?

⁴⁷The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

⁴⁸The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?”

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

⁵⁰But I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges.

⁵¹Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows My word, he will never see death.”

⁵²The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone follows My word, he will never taste of death.’

⁵³You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;

⁵⁵and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you; but I do know Him, and I follow His word.

⁵⁶Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.”

⁵⁷So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abrahamwas born,I am.”

⁵⁹Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.

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

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

³So the LORD our God also handed over to us Og, king of Bashan, with all his people, and we struck them 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, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

⁵All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns.

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

⁷But all the animals and the spoils of the cities we took as our plunder.

⁸“So at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon

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

¹⁰all the cities of the plateau, 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 Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by the usual cubit.)

¹²“So we took possession of this land at that time. From Aroer, which is by the Valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

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

¹⁴Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, that is, Bashan, and named it after his own name: Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.)

¹⁵To Machir I gave Gilead.

¹⁶To the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the Valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border, and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon;

¹⁷the Arabah also, with the Jordan as a border, from Chinnereth even as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

¹⁸“Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed ahead of your brothers, the sons of Israel.

¹⁹However, your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (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 to you, and they also take possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return, each man to his possession which I have given you.’

²¹And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; the LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross.

²²Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the One fighting for you.’

²³“I also pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying,

²⁴‘Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?

²⁵Please let me cross over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country, and Lebanon.’

²⁶But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; instead, the LORD said to me, ‘Enough! Do not speak to Me any more about this matter.

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

²⁸But commission Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across leading this people, and he will give to them, as an inheritance, the land which you will see.’

²⁹So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

¹Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand,

²by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

⁷then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

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

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹²Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do 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 in vain, your faith also is in vain.

¹⁵Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God 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 not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁷and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

¹⁸Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

²¹For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

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

²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

²⁴then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

²⁵For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

²⁷For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.

²⁸When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹For otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?

³⁰Why are we also in danger every hour?

³¹I affirm, brothers and sisters, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily.

³²If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me? If the dead are not raised, LET’S EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.

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

³⁴Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

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

³⁶You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

³⁷and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So also it is written: “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING PERSON.” The last Adam was a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

⁵¹Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

⁵³For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP in victory.

⁵⁵WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR VICTORY? WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR STING?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law;

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

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

¹I solemnly exhort 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; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.

³For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,

⁴and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

⁵But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

⁸in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

⁹Make every effort to come to me soon;

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

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

¹²But I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

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

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

¹⁵Be on guard against him yourself too, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

¹⁶At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.

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

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

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

²¹Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

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

¹“However, please hear my speech, Job, And listen to all my words.

²Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks.

³My words are from the integrity of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Refute me if you can; Line up against me, take your stand.

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

⁷Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

⁸“You have in fact spoken while I listened, And I heard the sound of your words:

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

¹⁰Behold, He invents criticisms against me; He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’

¹²Behold, let me respond to you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than mankind.

¹³“Why do you complain to Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?

¹⁴Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.

¹⁵In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds,

¹⁶Then He opens the ears of people, And horrifies them with warnings,

¹⁷So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct, And keep a man from pride;

¹⁸He keeps his soul back from the pit, And his life from perishing by the spear.

¹⁹“A person is also rebuked by pain in his bed, And with constant complaint in his bones,

²⁰So that his life loathes bread, And his soul, food that he should crave.

²¹His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones, which were not seen, stick out.

²²Then his soul comes near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.

²³“If there is an interceding angel for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a person of what is right for him,

²⁴And he is gracious to him, and says, ‘Free him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’;

²⁵Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;

²⁶Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, So that he may see His face with joy, And He will restore His righteousness to that person.

²⁷He will sing to people and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.

²⁸He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life will see the light.’

²⁹“Behold, God does all these things for a man two or three times,

³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit, So that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and let me speak.

³²Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.

³³If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

¹Vindicate me, God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; Save me from the deceitful and unjust person!

²For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³Send out Your light and Your truth, they shall lead me; They shall 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; And I will praise You on the lyre, God, my God.

⁵Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.

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

²Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding.

³For if you cry out for insight, And raise your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸Guarding the paths of justice, And He watches over the way of His godly ones.

⁹Then you will discern righteousness, justice, And integrity, and every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be delightful to your soul;

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

¹²To rescue you from the way of evil, From a person who speaks perverse things;

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

¹⁴Who delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

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

¹⁶To rescue you from the strange woman, From the foreign woman who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

²⁰So you will walk in the way of good people And keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will live in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be eliminated from the land, And the treacherous will be torn away from it.

¹Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was drawn toward Absalom.

²So Joab sent a messenger to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, “Please follow mourning rites, and put on mourning garments now, and do not anoint yourself with oil but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for many days.

³Then go to the king and speak to him in this way.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴Now when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, “Help, O king!”

⁵And the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

⁶And your servant had two sons, but the two of them fought in the field, and there was no one to save them from each other, so one struck the other and killed him.

⁷Now behold, the entire family has risen against your servant, and they have said, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, and eliminate the heir as well.’ So they will extinguish my coal which is left, so as to leave my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”

⁸Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your home, and I will issue orders concerning you.”

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

¹⁰So the king said, “Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore.”

¹¹Then she said, “May the king please remember the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son.” And he said, “As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”

¹²Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”

¹³The woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is like one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

¹⁴For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. Yet God does not take away life, but makes plans so that the banished one will not be cast out from Him.

¹⁵Now then, the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his slave.

¹⁶For the king will listen, to save his slave from the hand of the man who would eliminate both me and my son from the inheritance of God.’

¹⁷Then your servant said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king be comforting, for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.’ ”

¹⁸Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king please speak.”

¹⁹So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman replied, “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 spoken. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.

²⁰In order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is on the earth.”

²¹Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I will certainly do this thing; go then, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²And Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself, and blessed the king; then Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant.”

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

²⁴However, the king said, “He shall return to his own house, but he shall not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.

²⁵Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no impairment in him.

²⁶And when he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it was heavy on him, so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.

²⁷And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.

²⁸Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, yet he did not see the king’s face.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. So he sent word again a second time, but he would not come.

³⁰Therefore he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s plot is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the plot on fire.

³¹Then Joab got up, came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my plot on fire?”

³²Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.” ’ Now then, let me see the king’s face, and if there is guilt in me, he can have me executed.”

³³So when Joab came to the king and told him, he summoned Absalom. Then Absalom came to the king and prostrated himself with 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, saying—

²this is what the LORD has said to me: “Make for yourself restraints and yokes and put them on your neck,

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

⁴Order them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “This is what you shall say to your masters:

⁵‘I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.

⁶And now I have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have also given him the animals of the field to serve him.

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

⁸‘And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with plague,’ declares the LORD, ‘until I have eliminated it by his hand.

⁹And as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who talk to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon.”

¹⁰For they are prophesying a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you away and you will perish.

¹¹But the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and they will cultivate it and live in it.’ ” ’ ”

¹²I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!

¹³Why should you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and plague, as the LORD has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴So do not listen to the words of the prophets who talk to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a lie to you;

¹⁵for I have not sent them,” declares the LORD, “but they are prophesying falsely in My name, so that I will drive you away and that you will perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels 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 place of ruins?

¹⁸But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, have them now plead with the LORD of armies that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem do not go to Babylon.

¹⁹For this is what the LORD of armies says concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the kettle stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,

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

²¹Yes, this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem:

²²“They will be brought to Babylon and will be there until the day I visit them,” declares the LORD. “Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.” ’ ”

¹Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

²And Stephen said, “Listen to me, brothers and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

³and He said to him, ‘GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME TO THE LAND WHICH I WILL SHOW YOU.’

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

⁵But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.

⁶But God spoke to this effect, that his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE STRANGERS IN A LAND THAT WAS NOT THEIRS, AND THEY WOULD ENSLAVE AND MISTREAT them for four hundred years.

⁷‘AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY ARE ENSLAVED I MYSELF WILL JUDGE,’ said God, ‘AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.’

⁸And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.

⁹“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him,

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

¹¹“Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food.

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

¹³And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh.

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

¹⁵And Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there.

¹⁶And they were brought back from there to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷“But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸until ANOTHER KING AROSE OVER EGYPT WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH.

¹⁹It was he who shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive.

²⁰At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home.

²¹And after he had been put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son.

²²Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in speaking and action.

²³But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel.

²⁴And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian.

²⁵And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand.

²⁶And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?’

²⁷But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND JUDGE OVER US?

²⁸YOU DO NOT INTEND TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY, DO YOU?’

²⁹At this remark, MOSES FLED AND BECAME A STRANGER 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; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came:

³²‘I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND ISAAC, AND JACOB.’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely.

³³But the LORD said to him, ‘REMOVE YOUR SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND.

³⁴I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN EGYPT, AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANING, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM; AND NOW COME, I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT.’

³⁵“This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

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

³⁷This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR COUNTRYMEN.’

³⁸This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness together with the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to you.

³⁹Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,

⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘MAKE US A GOD WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT—WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.’

⁴¹At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away and gave them over to serve the heavenly lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘YOU DID NOT OFFER ME VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FOR FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, DID YOU, HOUSE OF ISRAEL?

⁴³YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF YOUR GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP. I ALSO WILL DEPORT YOU BEYOND BABYLON.’

⁴⁴“Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.

⁴⁵Our fathers in turn received it, and they also brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David.

⁴⁶David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.

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

⁴⁸However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

⁴⁹‘HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND THE EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord, ‘OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REST?

⁵⁰WAS IT NOT MY HAND THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’

⁵¹“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always 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 had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, and you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him;

⁵³you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

⁵⁴Now when they heard this, they were infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

⁵⁶and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one mind.

⁵⁸When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.