Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus — the man he had raised from the dead.

²A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him.

³Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

⁴But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said,

⁵“That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.”

⁶Not that he cared for the poor — he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

⁷Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.

⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

⁹When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead.

¹⁰Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too,

¹¹for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.

¹²The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors

¹³took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

¹⁵“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

¹⁶His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

¹⁷Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it.

¹⁸That was the reason so many went out to meet him — because they had heard about this miraculous sign.

¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

²⁰Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration

²¹paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”

²²Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.

²³Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.

²⁴I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels — a plentiful harvest of new lives.

²⁵Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

²⁶Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

²⁷“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!

²⁸Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.”

²⁹When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine.

³¹The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.

³²And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

³³He said this to indicate how he was going to die.

³⁴The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”

³⁵Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going.

³⁶Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

³⁷But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him.

³⁸This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “LORD, who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?”

³⁹But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,

⁴⁰“The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts — so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.”

⁴¹Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory.

⁴²Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.

⁴³For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.

⁴⁵For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.

⁴⁶I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.

⁴⁷I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.

⁴⁸But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.

⁴⁹I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.

⁵⁰And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

¹“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you.

²When the LORD your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.

³You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters,

⁴for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.

⁵This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols.

⁶For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.

⁷“The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!

⁸Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the LORD rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

⁹Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.

¹⁰But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him.

¹¹Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.

¹²“If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the LORD your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors.

¹³He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals. When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats.

¹⁴You will be blessed above all the nations of the earth. None of your men or women will be childless, and all your livestock will bear young.

¹⁵And the LORD will protect you from all sickness. He will not let you suffer from the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all your enemies!

¹⁶“You must destroy all the nations the LORD your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you.

¹⁷Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’

¹⁸But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.

¹⁹Remember the great terrors the LORD your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the strong hand and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt. The LORD your God will use this same power against all the people you fear.

²⁰And then the LORD your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you!

²¹“No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.

²²The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.

²³But the LORD your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed.

²⁴He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all.

²⁵“You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

²⁶Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction.

¹Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not!

²The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.

³Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

⁴We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.

⁵It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

⁶He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

⁷The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.

⁸Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?

⁹If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!

¹⁰In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.

¹¹So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!

¹²Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.

¹³We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away.

¹⁴But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

¹⁵Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

¹⁶But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁷For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

¹⁸So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

¹This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to Philemon, our beloved co-worker,

²and to our sister Apphia, and to our fellow soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets in your house.

³May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

⁴I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon,

⁵because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.

⁶And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.

⁷Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.

⁸That is why I am boldly asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do.

⁹But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me — Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.

¹⁰I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison.

¹¹Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.

¹²I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.

¹³I wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and he would have helped me on your behalf.

¹⁴But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced.

¹⁵It seems you lost Onesimus for a little while so that you could have him back forever.

¹⁶He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

¹⁸If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.

¹⁹I, PAUL, WRITE THIS WITH MY OWN HAND: I WILL REPAY IT. AND I WON’T MENTION THAT YOU OWE ME YOUR VERY SOUL!

²⁰Yes, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord’s sake. Give me this encouragement in Christ.

²¹I am confident as I write this letter that you will do what I ask and even more!

²²One more thing — please prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that God will answer your prayers and let me return to you soon.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings.

²⁴So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers.

²⁵May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹“My heart pounds as I think of this. It trembles within me.

²Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice as it rolls from his mouth.

³It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.

⁴Then comes the roaring of the thunder — the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain it when he speaks.

⁵God’s voice is glorious in the thunder. We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

⁶“He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.

⁷Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power.

⁸The wild animals take cover and stay inside their dens.

⁹The stormy wind comes from its chamber, and the driving winds bring the cold.

¹⁰God’s breath sends the ice, freezing wide expanses of water.

¹¹He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning.

¹²The clouds churn about at his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.

¹³He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.

¹⁴“Pay attention to this, Job. Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!

¹⁵Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?

¹⁶Do you understand how he moves the clouds with wonderful perfection and skill?

¹⁷When you are sweltering in your clothes and the south wind dies down and everything is still,

¹⁸he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror. Can you do that?

¹⁹“So teach the rest of us what to say to God. We are too ignorant to make our own arguments.

²⁰Should God be notified that I want to speak? Can people even speak when they are confused?

²¹We cannot look at the sun, for it shines brightly in the sky when the wind clears away the clouds.

²²So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God. He is clothed in dazzling splendor.

²³We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us.

²⁴No wonder people everywhere fear him. All who are wise show him reverence. ”

¹Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!

²For the LORD Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth.

³He subdues the nations before us, putting our enemies beneath our feet.

⁴He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance, the proud possession of Jacob’s descendants, whom he loves. Interlude

⁵God has ascended with a mighty shout. The LORD has ascended with trumpets blaring.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises!

⁷For God is the King over all the earth. Praise him with a psalm.

⁸God reigns above the nations, sitting on his holy throne.

⁹The rulers of the world have gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham. For all the kings of the earth belong to God. He is highly honored everywhere.

¹My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger —

²if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said —

³follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.

⁴Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.

⁶Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!

⁷Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,

⁸they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

⁹But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?

¹⁰A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

¹¹then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹²What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars,

¹³signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.

¹⁴Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble.

¹⁵But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

¹⁶There are six things the LORD hates — no, seven things he detests:

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,

¹⁸a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,

¹⁹a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

²⁰My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

²¹Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you.

²³For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.

²⁴It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.

²⁵Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.

²⁶For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.

²⁷Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?

²⁸Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?

²⁹So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.

³⁰Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.

³¹But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house.

³²But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.

³³He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.

³⁴For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.

¹David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them.

²He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, “I am going out with you.”

³But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run — and even if half of us die — it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us, and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it.”

⁴“If you think that’s the best plan, I’ll do it,” the king answered. So he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands.

⁵And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.

⁶So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim,

⁷and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives.

⁸The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.

⁹During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air.

¹⁰One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”

¹¹“What?” Joab demanded. “You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero’s belt!”

¹²“I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver, ” the man replied to Joab. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’

¹³And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son — and the king would certainly find out who did it — you yourself would be the first to abandon me.”

¹⁴“Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree.

¹⁵Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.

¹⁶Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel.

¹⁷They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes.

¹⁸During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument to this day.

¹⁹Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the LORD has rescued him from his enemies.”

²⁰“No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger another time, but not today.”

²¹Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.

²²But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.” “Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.”

²³“Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged. Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian.

²⁴While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them.

²⁵He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.” As the messenger came closer,

²⁶the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!” The king replied, “He also will have news.”

²⁷“The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said. “He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.

²⁸Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the LORD your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.”

²⁹“What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn’t know what was happening.”

³⁰“Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.

³¹Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the LORD has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”

³²“What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?” And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”

³³The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”

¹“In that day,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.

²This is what the LORD says: “Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land, for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”

³Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

⁴I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.

⁵Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.

⁶The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD our God.’”

⁷Now this is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Israel. Shout for the greatest of nations! Shout out with praise and joy: ‘Save your people, O LORD, the remnant of Israel!’

⁸For I will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women in labor. A great company will return!

⁹Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child.

¹⁰“Listen to this message from the LORD, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: The LORD, who scattered his people, will gather them and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock.

¹¹For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them.

¹²They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the LORD’s good gifts — the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone.

¹³The young women will dance for joy, and the men — old and young — will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.

¹⁴The priests will enjoy abundance, and my people will feast on my good gifts. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹⁵This is what the LORD says: “A cry is heard in Ramah — deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted — for her children are gone.”

¹⁶But now this is what the LORD says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the LORD. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.

¹⁷There is hope for your future,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own land.

¹⁸I have heard Israel saying, ‘You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD my God.

¹⁹I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’

²⁰“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the LORD. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.

²¹Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your towns here.

²²How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the LORD will cause something new to happen — Israel will embrace her God. ”

²³This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, ‘The LORD bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!’

²⁴Townspeople and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness.

²⁵For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”

²⁶At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.

²⁷“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will greatly increase the human population and the number of animals here in Israel and Judah.

²⁸In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the LORD, have spoken!

²⁹“The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’

³⁰All people will die for their own sins — those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker.

³¹“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

³²This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD.

³³“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

³⁴And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

³⁵It is the LORD who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and this is what he says:

³⁶“I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!”

³⁷This is what the LORD says: “Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundations of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away for the evil they have done. I, the LORD, have spoken!

³⁸“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

³⁹A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah.

⁴⁰And the entire area — including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate — will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.”

¹Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.

²But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him.

³“You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.

⁴Then Peter told them exactly what had happened.

⁵“I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me.

⁶When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds.

⁷And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’

⁸“‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean. ’

⁹“But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’

¹⁰This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.

¹¹“Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.

¹²The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us.

¹³He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.

¹⁴He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’

¹⁵“As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning.

¹⁶Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”

¹⁹Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews.

²⁰However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.

²¹The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

²²When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.

²⁴Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.

²⁶When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)

²⁷During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.)

²⁹So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could.

³⁰This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.