Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus left there and came to His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him.

²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

³Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?" And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah].

⁴Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor (respect) except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household."

⁵And He could not do a miracle there at all [because of their unbelief] except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

⁶He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around in the villages teaching.

⁷And He called the twelve [disciples] and began to send them out [as His special messengers] two by two, and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits.

⁸He told them to take nothing for the journey except a mere walking stick—no bread, no [traveler's] bag, no money in their belts—

⁹but to wear sandals; and [He told them] not to wear two tunics.

¹⁰And He told them, "Wherever you go into a house, stay there until you leave that town.

¹¹Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them [breaking all ties with them because they rejected My message]."

¹²So they went out and preached that men should repent [that is, think differently, recognize sin, turn away from it, and live changed lives].

¹³And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

¹⁴King Herod [Antipas] heard about this, for Jesus' name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him."

¹⁵But others were saying, "He is Elijah!" And others were saying, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets [of old]."

¹⁶But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen [from the dead]!"

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent [guards] and had John arrested and shackled in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his [half-] brother Philip, because he (Herod) had married her.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful [under Mosaic Law] for you to have your brother's wife."

¹⁹Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not,

²⁰because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he continually kept him safe. When he heard John [speak], he was very perplexed; but he enjoyed listening to him.

²¹But an opportune time [finally] came [for Herodias]. Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his officials (nobles, courtiers) and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

²²Now [Salome] the daughter of Herodias came in and danced [for the men]. She pleased and beguiled Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you."

²³And he swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom."

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And Herodias replied, "The head of John the Baptist!"

²⁵And she rushed back to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter!"

²⁶The king was deeply grieved, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests [who might have regarded him as weak], he was unwilling to [break his word and] refuse her.

²⁷So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John's head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison,

²⁸and brought back his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John's body and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles [who had been sent out on a mission] gathered together with Jesus and told Him everything that they had done and taught.

³¹He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while"—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat.

³²And they went away by themselves in the boat to a secluded place.

³³Many [people] saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the [surrounding] cities, and got there ahead of them.

³⁴When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd [waiting], and He was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd [lacking guidance]; and He began to teach them many things.

³⁵When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is an isolated place, and it is already late;

³⁶send the crowds away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

³⁷But He replied, "You give them something to eat!" And they asked Him, "Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

³⁸He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five [loaves], and two fish."

³⁹Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots].

⁴¹Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. Then He broke the loaves and [repeatedly] gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all.

⁴²They all ate and were satisfied.

⁴³And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish.

⁴⁴Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men [not counting the women and children].

⁴⁵Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd.

⁴⁶And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷Now when evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land.

⁴⁸Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them.

⁴⁹But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, "Take courage! It is I (I Am)! Stop being afraid."

⁵¹Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed,

⁵²because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works].

⁵³When they had crossed over [the sea], they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore.

⁵⁴They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him,

⁵⁵and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was.

⁵⁶And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him [to allow them] just to touch the fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.

¹Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out [unescorted] to visit the girls of the land.

²When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her].

³But his soul longed for and clung to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke comfortingly to her young heart's wishes.

⁴So Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this young woman as a wife."

⁵Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled (violated) Dinah his daughter; but his sons were in the field with his livestock, so Jacob said nothing until they came in.

⁶But Shechem's father Hamor went to Jacob to talk with him.

⁷Now when Jacob's sons heard of it they came in from the field; they were deeply grieved, and they were very angry, for Shechem had done a disgraceful thing to Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing is not to be done.

⁸But Hamor conferred with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem [deeply] longs for your daughter [and sister]. Please give her to him as his wife.

⁹And [beyond that] intermarry with us; give your daughters to us [as wives] and take our daughters for yourselves.

¹⁰In this way you shall live with us; the country will be open to you; live and do business in it and acquire property and possessions in it."

¹¹Shechem also said to Dinah's father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give you whatever you ask of me.

¹²Demand of me a very large bridal payment and gift [as compensation for giving up your daughter and sister], and I will give you whatever you tell me; only give me the girl to be my wife."

¹³Jacob's sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because Shechem had defiled and disgraced their sister Dinah.

¹⁴They said to them, "We cannot do this thing and give our sister [in marriage] to one who is not circumcised, because that would be a disgrace to us.

¹⁵But we will consent to you only on this condition: if you will become like us, in that every male among you consents to be circumcised,

¹⁶then we will give our daughters to you [in marriage], and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people.

¹⁷But if you do not listen to us and refuse to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter [Dinah] and go."

¹⁸Their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and his son Shechem,

¹⁹and the young man did not hesitate to do the [required] thing, for he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was more respected and honored than all [others] in the household of his father.

²⁰Then Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their [walled] city [where the leading men would meet] and spoke with the men of the city, saying,

²¹"These men are peaceful and friendly with us; so let them live in the land and do business in it, for the land is large enough [for us and] for them; let us take their daughters for wives and let us give them our daughters [in marriage].

²²But only on this condition will the men consent to our request that they live among us and become one people: that every male among us become circumcised just as they are circumcised.

²³Will not their cattle and their possessions and all their animals be ours [if we do this]? Let us consent [to do as they ask], and they will live here with us."

²⁴And every [Canaanite] man who went out of the city gate listened and considered what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male who was a resident of that city was circumcised.

²⁵Now on the third day [after the circumcision], when all the men were [terribly] sore and in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without anyone suspecting them of evil intent], and they killed every male.

²⁶They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house [where she was staying], and left.

²⁷Then Jacob's [other] sons came upon those who were killed and looted the town, because their sister had been defiled and disgraced.

²⁸They took the Canaanites' flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field;

²⁹they looted all their wealth, and [took captive] all their children and their wives, even everything that was in the houses.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have ruined me, making me a stench to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! My men are few in number, and the men of the land will band together against me and attack me; I shall be destroyed, I and my household."

³¹But they said, "Should he [be permitted to] treat our sister as a prostitute?"

¹But I made up my mind not to grieve you with another painful visit.

²For if I cause you grief [by a well-deserved rebuke], who then provides me enjoyment but the very one whom I have made sad?

³And I wrote this same thing to you, so that when I came, I would not be filled with sorrow by those who ought to make me glad, for I trusted in you and felt confident that my joy would be shared by all of you.

⁴For I wrote to you out of great distress and with an anguished heart, and with many tears, not to cause you sorrow but to make you realize the [overflowing] love which I have especially for you.

⁵But if someone has caused [all this] sorrow, he has caused it not to me, but in some degree—not to put it too severely—[he has distressed and grieved] all of you.

⁶For such a one this punishment by the majority is sufficient,

⁷so instead [of further rebuke, now] you should rather [graciously] forgive and comfort and encourage him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

⁸Therefore I urge you to reinstate him in your affections and reaffirm your love for him.

⁹For this was my purpose in writing, to see if you would stand the test, whether you are obedient and committed to following my instruction in all things.

¹⁰If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive [that one]; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of [and with the approval of] Christ,

¹¹to keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹²Now when I arrived at Troas to preach the good news of Christ, even though a door [of opportunity] opened for me in the Lord,

¹³my spirit could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there; so saying goodbye to them, I left for Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

¹⁵For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

¹⁶to the latter one an aroma from death to death [a fatal, offensive odor], but to the other an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is adequate and sufficiently qualified for these things?

¹⁷For we are not like many, [acting like merchants] peddling God's word [shortchanging and adulterating God's message]; but from pure [uncompromised] motives, as [commissioned and sent] from God, we speak [His message] in Christ in the sight of God.

¹But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

²Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned.

³And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].

⁴For if God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but threw them into hell and sent them to pits of gloom to be kept [there] for judgment;

⁵and if He did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought [the judgment of] a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

⁶and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;

⁷and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was tormented by the immoral conduct of unprincipled and ungodly men

⁸(for that just man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by what he saw and heard of their lawless acts),

⁹then [in light of the fact that all this is true, be sure that] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and how to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

¹⁰and especially those who indulge in the corrupt passions of the sin nature, and despise authority. Presumptuous and reckless, self-willed and arrogant [creatures, despising the majesty of the Lord], they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

¹¹whereas even angels who are superior in might and power do not bring a reviling (defaming) accusation against them before the Lord.

¹²But these [false teachers], like unreasoning animals, [mere] creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed, reviling things they do not understand, will also perish in their own corruption [in their destroying they will be destroyed],

¹³suffering wrong [destined for punishment] as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime [living luxuriously]. They are stains and blemishes [on mankind], reveling in their deceptions even as they feast with you.

¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse.

¹⁵Abandoning the straight road [that is, the right way to live], they have gone astray; they have followed the way of [the false teacher] Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness;

¹⁶but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a mute donkey spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These [false teachers] are springs without water and mists driven by a tempest, for whom is reserved the gloom of black darkness.

¹⁸For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.

¹⁹They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity—for by whatever anyone is defeated and overcome, to that [person, thing, philosophy, or concept] he is continually enslaved.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world by [personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition has become worse for them than the first.

²¹For it would have been better for them not to have [personally] known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to have turned back from the holy commandment [verbally] handed on to them.

²²The thing spoken of in the true proverb has happened to them, "The dog returns to his own vomit," and, "A sow is washed only to wallow [again] in the mire."

¹Elihu continued his discourse and said,

²"Hear my words, you wise men, And listen to me, you who have [so much] knowledge.

³"For the ear puts words to the test As the palate tastes food.

⁴"Let us choose for ourselves that which is right; Let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵"For Job has said, 'I am righteous [and innocent], But God has taken away my right;

⁶Although I am right, I am accounted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.'

⁷"What man is like Job, Who drinks up derision like water,

⁸Who goes in company with those who do evil And walks with wicked men?

⁹"For he has said, 'It profits a man nothing When he takes delight and is pleased with God and obeys Him.'

¹⁰"Therefore hear me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God that He would do wickedness, And from the Almighty to do wrong.

¹¹"For God pays a man according to his work, And He will make every man find [appropriate] compensation according to his way.

¹²"Surely God will not act wickedly, Nor will the Almighty pervert justice.

¹³"Who put God in charge over the earth? And who has laid on Him the whole world?

¹⁴"If God should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself [that is, withdraw from man] His [life-giving] spirit and His breath,

¹⁵All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.

¹⁶"If you now have understanding, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words.

¹⁷"Shall one who hates justice [and is an enemy of right] govern? And will you condemn Him who is just and mighty?

¹⁸"God who says to a king, 'You are worthless and vile,' Or to princes and nobles, 'You are wicked and evil'?

¹⁹"Who is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich above the poor, For they all are the work of His hands.

²⁰"In a moment they die, even at midnight The people are shaken and pass away, And the powerful are taken away without a [human] hand.

²¹"For God's eyes are on the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps.

²²"There is no darkness nor deep shadow Where the evildoers may hide themselves.

²³"For He sets no appointed time for a man, That he should appear before Him in judgment.

²⁴"He breaks mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place.

²⁵"Therefore He knows of their works, And He overthrows them in the night, So that they are crushed and destroyed.

²⁶"He strikes them like the wicked In a public place,

²⁷Because they turned aside from following Him And would not consider or show regard for any of His ways,

²⁸So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And He heard the cry of the afflicted.

²⁹"When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn? When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him], Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

³⁰So that godless men would not rule Nor be snares for the people.

³¹"For has anyone said to God, 'I have endured my chastisement; I will not offend anymore;

³²Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned]; If I have done wrong (injustice, unrighteousness), I will not do it again'?

³³"Shall God's retribution [for your sins] be on your terms, because you refuse to accept it? For you must do the choosing, and not I; Therefore say what you [truthfully] know.

³⁴"Men of understanding will tell me, Indeed, every wise man who hears me [will agree],

³⁵'Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom and insight.

³⁶'Job ought to be tried to the limit Because he answers like wicked men!

³⁷'For he adds rebellion [in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God] to his [unacknowledged] sin; He claps his hands among us [in open mockery and contempt of God], And he multiplies his words [of accusation] against God.'"

¹A Psalm of David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul makes its boast in the LORD; The humble and downtrodden will hear it and rejoice.

³O magnify the LORD with me, And let us lift up His name together.

⁴I sought the LORD [on the authority of His word], and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

⁵They looked to Him and were radiant; Their faces will never blush in shame or confusion.

⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him And saved him from all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience], And He rescues [each of] them.

⁸O taste and see that the LORD [our God] is good; How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him.

⁹O [reverently] fear the LORD, you His saints (believers, holy ones); For to those who fear Him there is no want.

¹⁰The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry, But they who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.

¹¹Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to fear the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience].

¹²Who is the man who desires life And loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity] And His ears are open to their cry.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷When the righteous cry [for help], the LORD hears And rescues them from all their distress and troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the heartbroken And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).

¹⁹Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous, But the LORD rescues him from them all.

²⁰He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil will cause the death of the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned.

²²The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

¹My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments;

²For length of days and years of life [worth living] And tranquility and prosperity [the wholeness of life's blessings] they will add to you.

³Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you]; Bind them [securely] around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

⁶In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil.

⁸It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth And with the first fruits of all your crops (income);

¹⁰Then your barns will be abundantly filled And your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the LORD [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline]; Nor despise His rebuke,

¹²For those whom the LORD loves He corrects, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is the man who finds [skillful and godly] wisdom, And the man who gains understanding and insight [learning from God's word and life's experiences],

¹⁴For wisdom's profit is better than the profit of silver, And her gain is better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies; And nothing you can wish for compares with her [in value].

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are highways of pleasantness and favor, And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is everyone who holds her tightly.

¹⁹The LORD by His wisdom has founded the earth; By His understanding He has established the heavens.

²⁰By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the clouds drip with dew.

²¹My son, let them not escape from your sight, But keep sound wisdom and discretion,

²²And they will be life to your soul (your inner self) And a gracious adornment to your neck (your outer self).

²³Then you will walk on your way [of life] securely And your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the storm of the wicked when it comes [since you will be blameless];

²⁶For the LORD will be your confidence, firm and strong, And will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap].

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due [its rightful recipients], When it is in your power to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor, Who lives securely beside you.

³⁰Do not quarrel with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways.

³²For the devious are repulsive to the LORD; But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

³³The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just and righteous.

³⁴Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners, Yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance].

³⁵The wise will inherit honor and glory, But dishonor and shame is conferred on fools.

¹After Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.

²Tola judged Israel for twenty-three years; then he died and was buried in Shamir.

³After him, Jair the Gileadite arose, and he judged Israel for twenty-two years.

⁴He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair (towns of Jair) to this day.

⁵And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

⁶Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; they served the Baals, the Ashtaroth (female deities), the gods of Aram (Syria), the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. They abandoned the LORD and did not serve Him.

⁷So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,

⁸and they oppressed and crushed Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

⁹The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

¹⁰Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD [for help], saying, "We have sinned against You, because we have abandoned (rejected) our God and have served the Baals."

¹¹The LORD said to the Israelites, "Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines?

¹²Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed and crushed you, you cried out to Me, and I rescued you from their hands.

¹³Yet you have abandoned (rejected) Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer rescue you.

¹⁴Go, cry out to the gods you have chosen; let them rescue you in your time of distress."

¹⁵The Israelites said to the LORD, "We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please rescue us this day."

¹⁶So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were assembled together and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel assembled and camped at Mizpah.

¹⁸The people, the leaders of Gilead (Israel) said to one another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

¹Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all that is in it hear, and the world and all that comes forth from it.

²For the LORD is angry at all the nations, And His wrath is against all their armies; He has utterly doomed them, He has given them over to slaughter.

³So their slain will be thrown out, And the stench of their corpses will rise, And the mountains will flow with their blood.

⁴All the host of heaven will be dissolved, And the skies will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts [the stars and the planets] will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, And as a fig withers from the fig tree.

⁵For My sword is satiated [with blood] in heaven; Indeed, it will come down for judgment on Edom And on the people whom I have doomed for destruction.

⁶The sword of the LORD is filled with blood [from sacrifices], It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah (Edom's capital city) And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

⁷Wild oxen will also fall with them And the young bulls with the strong bulls; And their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust made greasy with fat.

⁸For the LORD has a day of vengeance, A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.

⁹The streams [of Edom] will be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.

¹⁰The burning will not be quenched night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will lie in ruins; No one will ever again pass through it.

¹¹But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it; The owl and the raven will dwell in it. And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.

¹²Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its princes will be nothing.

¹³Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities; It will be a haunt for jackals, An abode for ostriches.

¹⁴The creatures of the desert will encounter jackals And the hairy goat will call to its kind; Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle there And find herself a place of rest.

¹⁵There the arrow snake will make her nest and lay her eggs, And hatch them and gather her young under her protection; Indeed, the birds of prey will be gathered there [to breed], Every one with its own kind.

¹⁶Seek from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these [creatures] will be missing; None will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them.

¹⁷The LORD has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided and apportioned Edom to the wild beasts by measuring-line. They will possess it forever; From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

¹Now about this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, a complaint was made by the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) against the [ native] Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

²So the Twelve called the disciples together and said, "It is not appropriate for us to neglect [teaching] the word of God in order to serve tables and manage the distribution of food.

³Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

⁴But we will [continue to] devote ourselves [steadfastly] to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

⁵The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch.

⁶They brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them [to dedicate and commission them for this service].

⁷And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].

⁸Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people.

⁹However, some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and [the province of] Asia, rose up and questioned and argued with Stephen.

¹⁰But they were not able to successfully withstand and cope with the wisdom and the intelligence [and the power and inspiration] of the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹Then [to attack him another way] they secretly instructed men to say, "We have heard this man [Stephen] speak blasphemous (slanderous, sacrilegious, abusive) words against Moses and against God."

¹²And they provoked and incited the people, as well as the elders and the scribes, and they came up to Stephen and seized him and brought him before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court).

¹³They presented false witnesses who said, "This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law [of Moses];

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will tear down this place and will change the traditions and customs which Moses handed down to us."

¹⁵Then all those who were sitting in the Council, stared [intently] at him, and they saw that Stephen's face was like the face of an angel.