Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives,

²but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them.

³As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

⁴“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

⁵The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

⁶They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.

⁷They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

⁸Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

⁹When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

¹⁰Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

¹¹“No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

¹²Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

¹³The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me.

¹⁵You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone.

¹⁶And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.

¹⁷Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact.

¹⁸I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

¹⁹“Where is your father?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

²⁰Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.

²¹Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

²²The people asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

²³Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not.

²⁴That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵“Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be.

²⁶I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.”

²⁷But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.

²⁸So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me.

²⁹And the one who sent me is with me — he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”

³⁰Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.

³¹Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.

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

³³“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

³⁴Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.

³⁵A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.

³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

³⁷Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.

³⁸I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

³⁹“Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.

⁴⁰Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.

⁴¹No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

⁴²Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me.

⁴³Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me!

⁴⁴For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

⁴⁵So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!

⁴⁶Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me?

⁴⁷Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

⁴⁸The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

⁴⁹“No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father — and you dishonor me.

⁵⁰And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge.

⁵¹I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”

⁵²The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’

⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’

⁵⁵but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him.

⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham? ”

⁵⁸Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM! ”

⁵⁹At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

¹“Next we turned and headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edrei.

²But the LORD told me, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.’

³“So the LORD our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. Not a single person survived.

⁴We conquered all sixty of his towns — the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. Not a single town escaped our conquest.

⁵These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time.

⁶We completely destroyed the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed all the people in every town we conquered — men, women, and children alike.

⁷But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns.

⁸“So we took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River — all the way from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon.

⁹(Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir.)

¹⁰We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead and Bashan, as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og’s kingdom in Bashan.

¹¹(King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)

¹²“When we took possession of this land, I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns.

¹³Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan — Og’s former kingdom — to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This entire Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites.

¹⁴Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the whole Argob region in Bashan, all the way to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the Towns of Jair, as it is still known today.)

¹⁵I gave Gilead to the clan of Makir.

¹⁶But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier.

¹⁷They also received the Jordan Valley, all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, with the Jordan River serving as the western boundary. To the east were the slopes of Pisgah.

¹⁸“At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: ‘Although the LORD your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them.

¹⁹Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stay behind in the towns I have given you.

²⁰When the LORD has given security to the rest of the Israelites, as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may all return here to the land I have given you.’

²¹“At that time I gave Joshua this charge: ‘You have seen for yourself everything the LORD your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan.

²²Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.’

²³“At that time I pleaded with the LORD and said,

²⁴‘O Sovereign LORD, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?

²⁵Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’

²⁶“But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more.

²⁷But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River.

²⁸Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’

²⁹So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.

¹Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.

²It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you — unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

³I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

⁴He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

⁵He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.

⁶After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

⁷Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

⁸Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

⁹For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

¹⁰But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me — and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

¹¹So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

¹²But tell me this — since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?

¹³For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.

¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

¹⁵And we apostles would all be lying about God — for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.

¹⁶And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.

¹⁸In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

¹⁹And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

²⁰But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

²¹So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.

²²Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

²³But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

²⁴After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.

²⁵For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

²⁶And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

²⁷For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)

²⁸Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

²⁹If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

³⁰And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?

³¹For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.

³²And what value was there in fighting wild beasts — those people of Ephesus — if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

³⁴Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

³⁵But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”

³⁶What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.

³⁷And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.

³⁸Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.

³⁹Similarly there are different kinds of flesh — one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.

⁴¹The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

⁴²It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.

⁴³Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

⁴⁴They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

⁴⁵The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.

⁴⁷Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

⁴⁸Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.

⁴⁹Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.

⁵⁰What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

⁵¹But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!

⁵²It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

⁵³For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

⁵⁴Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.

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

⁵⁶For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

⁵⁷But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

¹I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom:

²Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

³For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

⁴They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

⁵But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

⁶As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

⁸And now the prize awaits me — the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

⁹Timothy, please come as soon as you can.

¹⁰Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry.

¹²I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

¹³When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my books, and especially my papers.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done.

¹⁵Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.

¹⁶The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.

¹⁸Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁹Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and those living in the household of Onesiphorus.

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

²¹Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

²²May the Lord be with your spirit. And may his grace be with all of you.

¹“Listen to my words, Job; pay attention to what I have to say.

²Now that I have begun to speak, let me continue.

³I speak with all sincerity; I speak the truth.

⁴For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Answer me, if you can; make your case and take your stand.

⁶Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay.

⁷So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t come down hard on you.

⁸“You have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard your very words.

⁹You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin; I am innocent; I have no guilt.

¹⁰God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks and watches my every move.’

¹²“But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being.

¹³So why are you bringing a charge against him? Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

¹⁴For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.

¹⁵He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.

¹⁶He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings.

¹⁷He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.

¹⁸He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.

¹⁹“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones.

²⁰They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food.

²¹Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out.

²²They are at death’s door; the angels of death wait for them.

²³“But if an angel from heaven appears — a special messenger to intercede for a person and declare that he is upright —

²⁴he will be gracious and say, ‘Rescue him from the grave, for I have found a ransom for his life.’

²⁵Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again.

²⁶When he prays to God, he will be accepted. And God will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing.

²⁷He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.

²⁸God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.’

²⁹“Yes, God does these things again and again for people.

³⁰He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life.

³¹Mark this well, Job. Listen to me, for I have more to say.

³²But if you have anything to say, go ahead. Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.

³³But if not, then listen to me. Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”

¹Declare me innocent, O God! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars.

²For you are God, my only safe haven. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?

³Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.

⁴There I will go to the altar of God, to God — the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!

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

¹My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.

²Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.

³Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.

⁴Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

⁵Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

⁸He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.

⁹Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.

¹¹Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.

¹²Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.

¹³These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths.

¹⁴They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.

¹⁵Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

¹⁶Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.

¹⁷She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God.

¹⁸Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.

¹⁹The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.

²⁰So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous.

²¹For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.

²²But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

¹Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom.

²So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.

³Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you.” Then Joab told her what to say.

⁴When the woman from Tekoa approached the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, “O king! Help me!”

⁵“What’s the trouble?” the king asked. “Alas, I am a widow!” she replied. “My husband is dead.

⁶My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed.

⁷Now the rest of the family is demanding, ‘Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn’t deserve to inherit his family’s property.’ They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband’s name and family will disappear from the face of the earth.”

⁸“Leave it to me,” the king told her. “Go home, and I’ll see to it that no one touches him.”

⁹“Oh, thank you, my lord the king,” the woman from Tekoa replied. “If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father’s house, and let the king and his throne be innocent.”

¹⁰“If anyone objects,” the king said, “bring him to me. I can assure you he will never harm you again!”

¹¹Then she said, “Please swear to me by the LORD your God that you won’t let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed.” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he replied, “not a hair on your son’s head will be disturbed!”

¹²“Please allow me to ask one more thing of my lord the king,” she said. “Go ahead and speak,” he responded.

¹³She replied, “Why don’t you do as much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son.

¹⁴All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

¹⁵“I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me

¹⁶and rescue us from those who would cut us off from the inheritance God has given us.

¹⁷Yes, my lord the king will give us peace of mind again.’ I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the LORD your God be with you.”

¹⁸“I must know one thing,” the king replied, “and tell me the truth.” “Yes, my lord the king,” she responded.

¹⁹“Did Joab put you up to this?” And the woman replied, “My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say.

²⁰He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!”

²¹So the king sent for Joab and told him, “All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²Joab bowed with his face to the ground in deep respect and said, “At last I know that I have gained your approval, my lord the king, for you have granted me this request!”

²³Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.

²⁴But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” So Absalom did not see the king.

²⁵Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot.

²⁶He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds!

²⁷He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.

²⁸Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come.

³⁰So Absalom said to his servants, “Go and set fire to Joab’s barley field, the field next to mine.” So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded.

³¹Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

³²And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me.”

³³So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king, and the king kissed him.

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

²This is what the LORD said to me: “Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with leather straps.

³Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors who have come to see King Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

⁴Give them this message for their masters: ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:

⁵With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose.

⁶Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.

⁷All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon.

⁸So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the LORD. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.

⁹“‘Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, “The king of Babylon will not conquer you.”

¹⁰They are all liars, and their lies will lead to your being driven out of your land. I will drive you out and send you far away to die.

¹¹But the people of any nation that submits to the king of Babylon will be allowed to stay in their own country to farm the land as usual. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”

¹²Then I repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. “If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people.

¹³Why do you insist on dying — you and your people? Why should you choose war, famine, and disease, which the LORD will bring against every nation that refuses to submit to Babylon’s king?

¹⁴Do not listen to the false prophets who keep telling you, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you.’ They are liars.

¹⁵This is what the LORD says: ‘I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die — you and all these prophets, too.’”

¹⁶Then I spoke to the priests and the people and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not listen to your prophets who claim that soon the gold articles taken from my Temple will be returned from Babylon. It is all a lie!

¹⁷Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed?

¹⁸If they really are prophets and speak the LORD’s messages, let them pray to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Let them pray that the articles remaining in the LORD’s Temple and in the king’s palace and in the palaces of Jerusalem will not be carried away to Babylon!’

¹⁹“For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken about the pillars in front of the Temple, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the water carts, and all the other ceremonial articles.

²⁰King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

²¹Yes, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about the precious things still in the Temple, in the palace of Judah’s king, and in Jerusalem:

²²‘They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them,’ says the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again.’”

¹Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”

²This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran.

³God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’

⁴So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.

⁵“But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants — even though he had no children yet.

⁶God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

⁷‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’

⁸“God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

⁹“These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.

¹¹“But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food.

¹²Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons — our ancestors — to buy some.

¹³The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh.

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

¹⁵So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors.

¹⁶Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.

¹⁷“As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.

¹⁸But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph.

¹⁹This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.

²⁰“At that time Moses was born — a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months.

²¹When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son.

²²Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.

²³“One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel.

²⁴He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian.

²⁵Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.

²⁶“The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’

²⁷“But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked.

²⁸‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’

²⁹When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.

³⁰“Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the LORD called out to him,

³²‘I am the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.

³³“Then the LORD said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

³⁴I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’

³⁵“So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior.

³⁶And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷“Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’

³⁸Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.

³⁹“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.

⁴⁰They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’

⁴¹So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made.

⁴²Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?

⁴³No, you carried your pagan gods — the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.’

⁴⁴“Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.

⁴⁵Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

⁴⁶“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who actually built it.

⁴⁸However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

⁴⁹‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the LORD. ‘Could you build me such a resting place?

⁵⁰Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’

⁵¹“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!

⁵²Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One — the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered.

⁵³You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

⁵⁴The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

⁵⁶And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

⁵⁷Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him

⁵⁸and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.