Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.

²It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

³Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.

⁴So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist,

⁵and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

⁶When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

⁸“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

⁹Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

¹⁰Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.”

¹¹For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?

¹³You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.

¹⁴And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.

¹⁵I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

¹⁶I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.

¹⁷Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

¹⁸“I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’

¹⁹I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I AM the Messiah.

²⁰I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”

²¹Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”

²²The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean.

²³The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table.

²⁴Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?”

²⁵So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

²⁷When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”

²⁸None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant.

²⁹Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.

³⁰So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

³¹As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him.

³²And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once.

³³Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.

³⁴So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

³⁵Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

³⁶Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

³⁷“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

³⁸Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter — before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.

¹“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors.

²Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.

³Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

⁴For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell.

⁵Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the LORD your God disciplines you for your own good.

⁶“So obey the commands of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.

⁷For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills.

⁸It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey.

⁹It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.

¹⁰When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

¹¹“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

¹²For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in,

¹³and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!

¹⁴Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

¹⁵Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!

¹⁶He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.

¹⁷He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’

¹⁸Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

¹⁹“But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.

²⁰Just as the LORD has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the LORD your God.

¹Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.

²We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

³If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.

⁴Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

⁵You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁶For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

⁸We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

⁹We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

¹⁰Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

¹¹Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.

¹²So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

¹³But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”

¹⁴We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.

¹⁵All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

¹⁶That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

¹⁷For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

¹⁸So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

¹This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes” — Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!

²Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

³For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

⁴So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

⁵If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

⁶But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

⁷Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

⁸Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

⁹Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.

¹⁰And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.

¹¹The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

¹²God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

¹³And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.

¹⁴Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

¹⁵These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

¹⁶So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.

¹⁷Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

¹⁸He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

¹⁹Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

²⁰Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

²¹So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

²²But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

²³For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.

²⁴You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

²⁵But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

²⁶If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

²⁷Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

¹Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

²“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?

³Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.

⁵Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?

⁶What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone

⁷as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

⁸“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,

⁹and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?

¹⁰For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.

¹¹I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’

¹²“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?

¹³Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

¹⁴As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.

¹⁵The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

¹⁶“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?

¹⁷Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?

¹⁸Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!

¹⁹“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?

²⁰Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there?

²¹But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

²²“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?

²³(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)

²⁴Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

²⁵“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?

²⁶Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?

²⁷Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

²⁸“Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew?

²⁹Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?

³⁰For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

³¹“Can you direct the movement of the stars — binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?

³²Can you direct the constellations through the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?

³³Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

³⁴“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?

³⁵Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?

³⁶Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?

³⁷Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven

³⁸when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?

³⁹“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites

⁴⁰as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket?

⁴¹Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?

¹How great is the LORD, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain!

²It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King!

³God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers, revealing himself as its defender.

⁴The kings of the earth joined forces and advanced against the city.

⁵But when they saw it, they were stunned; they were terrified and ran away.

⁶They were gripped with terror and writhed in pain like a woman in labor.

⁷You destroyed them like the mighty ships of Tarshish shattered by a powerful east wind.

⁸We had heard of the city’s glory, but now we have seen it ourselves — the city of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. It is the city of our God; he will make it safe forever. Interlude

⁹O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.

¹⁰As your name deserves, O God, you will be praised to the ends of the earth. Your strong right hand is filled with victory.

¹¹Let the people on Mount Zion rejoice. Let all the towns of Judah be glad because of your justice.

¹²Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem. Walk around and count the many towers.

¹³Take note of the fortified walls, and tour all the citadels, that you may describe them to future generations.

¹⁴For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die.

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

¹Word soon reached Joab that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom.

²As all the people heard of the king’s deep grief for his son, the joy of that day’s victory was turned into deep sadness.

³They crept back into the town that day as though they were ashamed and had deserted in battle.

⁴The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵Then Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves.

⁶You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased.

⁷Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the LORD that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.”

⁸So the king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town that he was there, everyone went to him. Meanwhile, the Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes.

⁹And throughout all the tribes of Israel there was much discussion and argument going on. The people were saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but Absalom chased him out of the country.

¹⁰Now Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, is dead. Why not ask David to come back and be our king again?”

¹¹Then King David sent Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last ones to welcome back the king into his palace? For I have heard that all Israel is ready.

¹²You are my relatives, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last ones to welcome back the king?”

¹³And David told them to tell Amasa, “Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place.”

¹⁴Then Amasa convinced all the men of Judah, and they responded unanimously. They sent word to the king, “Return to us, and bring back all who are with you.”

¹⁵So the king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river.

¹⁶Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David.

¹⁷A thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba’s fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan to meet the king.

¹⁸They crossed the shallows of the Jordan to bring the king’s household across the river, helping him in every way they could. David’s Mercy to Shimei As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him.

¹⁹“My lord the king, please forgive me,” he pleaded. “Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind.

²⁰I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.”

²¹Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shimei should die, for he cursed the LORD’s anointed king!”

²²“Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!” David exclaimed. “Why have you become my adversary today? This is not a day for execution, for today I am once again the king of Israel!”

²³Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, “Your life will be spared.”

²⁴Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem.

²⁵“Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.

²⁶Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled.

²⁷Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best.

²⁸All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?”

²⁹“You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.”

³⁰“Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!”

³¹Barzillai of Gilead had come down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan.

³²He was very old — eighty years of age — and very wealthy. He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim.

³³“Come across with me and live in Jerusalem,” the king said to Barzillai. “I will take care of you there.”

³⁴“No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem.

³⁵I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king.

³⁶Just to go across the Jordan River with the king is all the honor I need!

³⁷Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham. Let him go with my lord the king and receive whatever you want to give him.”

³⁸“Good,” the king agreed. “Kimham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like. And I will do for you anything you want.”

³⁹So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his own home.

⁴⁰The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king on his way.

⁴¹But all the men of Israel complained to the king, “The men of Judah stole the king and didn’t give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan.”

⁴²The men of Judah replied, “The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven’t eaten any of the king’s food or received any special favors!”

⁴³“But there are ten tribes in Israel,” the others replied. “So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren’t we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?” The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel.

¹The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.

²Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace.

³King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it.

⁴King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonians and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face.

⁵He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the LORD. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’”

⁶At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said,

⁷“Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’”

⁸Then, just as the LORD had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the LORD.

⁹So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it.

¹⁰I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him.

¹¹Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase,

¹²and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

¹³Then I said to Baruch as they all listened,

¹⁴“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’

¹⁵For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”

¹⁶Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the LORD:

¹⁷“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

¹⁸You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁹You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve.

²⁰You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt — things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day.

²¹“You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror.

²²You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before — a land flowing with milk and honey.

²³Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.

²⁴“See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said.

²⁵And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you have told me to buy the field — paying good money for it before these witnesses — even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.”

²⁶Then this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

²⁷“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?

²⁸Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

²⁹The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods.

³⁰Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the LORD.

³¹“From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.

³²“The sins of Israel and Judah — the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets — have stirred up my anger.

³³My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey.

³⁴They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it.

³⁵They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!

³⁶“Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:

³⁷I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety.

³⁸They will be my people, and I will be their God.

³⁹And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.

⁴⁰And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.

⁴¹I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

⁴²“This is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them.

⁴³Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’

⁴⁴Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold — deeds signed and sealed and witnessed — in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.

²He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.

³When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. )

⁴Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

⁶The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

⁷Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

⁹So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.

¹⁰They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

¹²When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

¹³He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

¹⁵“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

¹⁸At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.

¹⁹Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

²⁰Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant,

²¹and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them.

²²The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

²³Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

²⁴Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.