Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

²And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,

³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,

⁴rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.

⁵After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

⁶Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

⁸Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

⁹Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

¹¹For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

¹²So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?

¹³You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.

¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.

¹⁷If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

¹⁸“I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’

¹⁹Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.

²⁰Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

²¹When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

²²Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.

²³Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

²⁴Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke.

²⁵Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

²⁷Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”

²⁸But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him.

²⁹For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.

³⁰Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.

³¹So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.

³²If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.

³³Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.

³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

³⁵By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

³⁶Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

³⁷Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”

³⁸Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.

¹“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers.

²And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

³So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

⁴Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.

⁵You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.

⁶“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

⁷For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills;

⁸a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;

⁹a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

¹⁰When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

¹¹“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today,

¹²lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;

¹³and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;

¹⁴when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

¹⁵who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock;

¹⁶who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end—

¹⁷then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

¹⁸“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

¹⁹Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.

²⁰As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.

¹Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.

²But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

³But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

⁴whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

⁶For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

⁸We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—

¹⁰always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

¹¹For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

¹²So then death is working in us, but life in you.

¹³And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,

¹⁴knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

¹⁵For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

¹⁸while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

¹James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

²My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

³knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

⁴But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

⁶But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

⁷For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

¹⁰but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

¹¹For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

¹²Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

¹⁵Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

¹⁸Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

¹⁹So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

²⁰for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

²¹Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

²²But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

²⁴for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

²“Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?

³Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸“Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band;

¹⁰When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors;

¹¹When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!’

¹²“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

¹⁴It takes on form like clay under a seal, And stands out like a garment.

¹⁵From the wicked their light is withheld, And the upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶“Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home?

²¹Do you know it, because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is great?

²²“Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

²³Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is light diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no man;

²⁷To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

²⁸Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

³⁰The waters harden like stone, And the surface of the deep is frozen.

³¹“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?

³²Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you?

³⁵Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

³⁶Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?

³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸When the dust hardens in clumps, And the clods cling together?

³⁹“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?

⁴¹Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?

¹A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. [1] Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain.

²Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.

³God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.

⁴For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together.

⁵They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away.

⁶Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,

⁷As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind.

⁸As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah

⁹We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple.

¹⁰According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.

¹¹Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments.

¹²Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers;

¹³Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following.

¹⁴For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.

¹My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you.

²Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin,

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice,

⁷And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,

⁸Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

⁹In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night.

¹⁰And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.

¹¹She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴“I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey;

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him, And will come home on the appointed day.”

²¹With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

²³Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life.

²⁴Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth:

²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths;

²⁶For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men.

²⁷Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.

¹And Joab was told, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”

²So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.”

³And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

⁴But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, “Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,

⁶in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you well.

⁷Now therefore, arise, go out and speak comfort to your servants. For I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night. And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.”

⁸Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “There is the king, sitting in the gate.” So all the people came before the king. For everyone of Israel had fled to his tent.

⁹Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

¹⁰But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?”

¹¹So King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house?

¹²You are my brethren, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’

¹³And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.’ ”

¹⁴So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants!”

¹⁵Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.

¹⁶And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

¹⁷There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan before the king.

¹⁸Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan.

¹⁹Then he said to the king, “Do not let my lord impute iniquity to me, or remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart.

²⁰For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the first to come today of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?”

²²And David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?”

²³Therefore the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore to him.

²⁴Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.

²⁵So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”

²⁶And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your servant is lame.

²⁷And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.

²⁸For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out anymore to the king?”

²⁹So the king said to him, “Why do you speak anymore of your matters? I have said, ‘You and Ziba divide the land.’ ”

³⁰Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Rather, let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house.”

³¹And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan.

³²Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man.

³³And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”

³⁴But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

³⁵I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king?

³⁶Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward?

³⁷Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.”

³⁸And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you.”

³⁹Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.

⁴⁰Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. And all the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel.

⁴¹Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king, his household, and all David’s men with him across the Jordan?”

⁴²So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is a close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”

⁴³And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, “We have ten shares in the king; therefore we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us—were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

²For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

³For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye;

⁵then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him,” says the LORD; “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”

⁶And Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’

⁸Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

⁹So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.

¹¹So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open;

¹²and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

¹³“Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.”

¹⁵For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” ’

¹⁶“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:

¹⁷‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

¹⁸You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

¹⁹You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

²⁰You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day.

²¹You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

²²You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them— “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

²³And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

²⁴‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!

²⁵And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”

²⁶Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁷“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

²⁸Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

²⁹And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger;

³⁰because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the LORD.

³¹‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face

³²because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger— they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³³And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.

³⁴But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

³⁵And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’

³⁶“Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’:

³⁷Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

³⁸They shall be My people, and I will be their God;

³⁹then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.

⁴⁰And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

⁴¹Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

⁴²“For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.

⁴³And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”

⁴⁴Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captives to return,’ says the LORD.”

¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

²Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

⁴So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

⁵Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

⁶And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

⁷Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.

⁸Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”

⁹So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹²So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

¹³And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.

¹⁵But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”

¹⁶Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

¹⁹But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

²⁰Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.

²¹So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.

²²And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

²³Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But the word of God grew and multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.