Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged (flogged, whipped).

²And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him;

³and they kept coming up to Him, saying [mockingly], "Hail, King of the Jews [Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews]!" And they slapped Him in the face.

⁴Then Pilate came out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation]."

⁵So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, "Look! The Man!"

⁶When the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify [Him]! Crucify [Him]!" Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation]."

⁷The Jews answered him, "We have a law [regarding blasphemy], and according to that law He should die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God."

⁸So when Pilate heard this said, he was [even] more alarmed and afraid.

⁹He went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus did not answer him.

¹⁰So Pilate said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?"

¹¹Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me at all if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the one who handed Me over to you is greater [than your own]."

¹²As a result of this, Pilate kept making efforts to release Him, but the Jews kept screaming, " If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who makes himself out [to be] a king opposes Caesar [and rebels against the emperor]!"

¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

¹⁴Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover [week], and it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Look, your King!"

¹⁵But they shouted, "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"

¹⁶Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified.

¹⁷So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.

¹⁸There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

¹⁹Pilate also wrote an inscription [on a placard] and put it on the cross. And it was written: "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS."

²⁰And many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

²¹Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but, 'He said, "I am King of the Jews."'"

²²Pilate replied, "What I have written I have written [and it remains written]."

²³Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout.

²⁴So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be." This was to fulfill the Scripture, "They divided My outer clothing among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."

²⁵So the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother's sister [ Salome], Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

²⁶So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, "[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!"

²⁷Then He said to the disciple (John), "Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!" From that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, "I am thirsty."

²⁹A jar full of sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth.

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] gave up His spirit.

³¹Since it was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs broken [to hasten death] and the bodies taken away.

³²So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.

³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came [flowing] out.

³⁵And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe.

³⁶For these things took place to fulfill the Scripture, "Not a bone of His shall be broken."

³⁷And again another Scripture says, "They shall look at Him whom they have pierced."

³⁸And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body.

³⁹Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred [Roman] pounds.

⁴⁰So they took Jesus' body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

⁴¹Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb [cut out of solid rock] in which no one had yet been laid.

⁴²Therefore, because of the Jewish day of Preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

¹"You are the sons of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead,

²for you are a holy people [set apart] to the LORD your God; and the LORD has chosen you out of all the peoples who are on the earth to be a people for His own possession.

³"You shall not eat anything that is detestable [to the LORD and forbidden by Him].

⁴These are the animals that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,

⁵the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.

⁶Among the animals, you may eat any animal that has the divided hoof [that is, a hoof] split into two parts [especially at its distal extremity] and that chews the cud.

⁷However, you are not to eat any of these [animals] among those which chew the cud, or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel, the hare and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not split the hoof; they are unclean for you.

⁸The swine, because it has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses.

⁹"Of all [creatures] that are in the waters, you may eat these: anything that has fins and scales you may eat,

¹⁰but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you.

¹¹"You may eat any clean bird.

¹²But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, and the black buzzard,

¹³and the red kite, the falcon, and the birds of prey of any variety,

¹⁴and every raven of any variety,

¹⁵and the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the hawk of any variety,

¹⁶the little owl, the great owl, the long-eared owl,

¹⁷the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant,

¹⁸the stork, and the heron of any variety, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

¹⁹And all flying insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.

²⁰You may eat any clean bird.

²¹"You shall not eat anything that dies on its own. You may give it to the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) who is in your [city] gates, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner [since they are not under God's law], but you are a people holy (set apart) to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat or a lamb in its mother's milk.

²²"Every year you shall certainly tithe [a tenth] of all the yield of your seed which is produced by your field.

²³You shall eat the tithe (tenth) of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock before the LORD your God in the place where He chooses to establish His Name (Presence), so that you may learn to fear [and worship] the LORD your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] always.

²⁴If the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His Name (Presence) is a great distance from you and you are not able to carry your tithe, because the LORD your God has blessed you [with such an abundance],

²⁵then you shall exchange your tithe for money, and take the money in your hand and go to the place [of worship] which the LORD your God chooses.

²⁶You may spend the money for anything your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or [other] strong drink, or anything else you want. You shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.

²⁷Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your [city] gates, for he does not have a share [of land] or an inheritance among you.

²⁸"At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce for that year, and shall store it up within your [city] gates.

²⁹The Levite, because he has no share [of land] or an inheritance among you, and the stranger, and the orphan and the widow who are within your [city] gates, shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

¹Now I, Paul, urge you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am meek [so they say] when with you face to face, but bold [outspoken and fearless] toward you when absent!

²I ask that when I do come I will not be driven to the boldness that I intend to show toward those few who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh [like men without the Spirit].

³For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man.

⁴The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

⁵We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,

⁶being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete.

⁷You are looking [only] at the outward appearance of things. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, he should reflect and consider this, that just as he is Christ's, so too are we.

⁸For even though I boast rather freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed [of the truth],

⁹nor do I want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters;

¹⁰for they say, "His letters are weighty and forceful and impressive, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible [of no account]."

¹¹Let such people realize that what we say by word in letters when we are absent, is the same as what we are in action when present.

¹²We do not have the audacity to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with some who [supply testimonials to] commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they lack wisdom and behave like fools.

¹³We, on the other hand, will not boast beyond our proper limit, but [will keep] within the limits of our commission (territory, authority) which God has granted to us as a measure, which reaches and includes even you.

¹⁴We are not overstepping the limits of our province, as if we did not [legitimately] reach to you, for we were the [very] first to come even as far as you with the good news of Christ.

¹⁵We do not go beyond our proper limit, boasting in the work of other men, but we have the hope that as your faith [in Christ and His divine power] continues to grow, our field among you may be greatly expanded [but still within the limits of our commission],

¹⁶so that we may preach the gospel even in the lands beyond you, but not to boast in work already accomplished in another one's field of activity.

¹⁷However, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

¹⁸For it is not he who commends and praises himself who is approved [by God], but it is the one whom the Lord commends and praises.

¹So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech;

²like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment],

³if in fact you have [already] tasted the goodness and gracious kindness of the Lord.

⁴Come to Him [the risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God.

⁵You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For this is contained in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honored) Cornerstone, And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations]."

⁷This precious value, then, is for you who believe [in Him as God's only Son—the Source of salvation]; but for those who disbelieve, "The [very] stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief Cornerstone,"

⁸and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"; for they stumble because they disobey the word [of God], and to this they [who reject Him as Savior] were also appointed.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

¹⁰Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul.

¹²Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

¹³Submit yourselves to [the authority of] every human institution for the sake of the Lord [to honor His name], whether it is to a king as one in a position of power,

¹⁴or to governors as sent by him to bring punishment to those who do wrong, and to praise and encourage those who do right.

¹⁵For it is the will of God that by doing right you may silence (muzzle, gag) the [culpable] ignorance and irresponsible criticisms of foolish people.

¹⁶Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover or pretext for evil, but [use it and live] as bond-servants of God.

¹⁷Show respect for all people [treat them honorably], love the brotherhood [of believers], fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸Servants, be submissive to your masters with all [proper] respect, not only to those who are good and kind, but also to those who are unreasonable.

¹⁹For this finds favor, if a person endures the sorrow of suffering unjustly because of an awareness of [the will of] God.

²⁰After all, what kind of credit is there if, when you do wrong and are punished for it, you endure it patiently? But if when you do what is right and patiently bear [undeserved] suffering, this finds favor with God.

²¹For [as a believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps.

²²He committed no sin, nor was deceit ever found in His mouth.

²³While being reviled and insulted, He did not revile or insult in return; while suffering, He made no threats [of vengeance], but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges fairly.

²⁴He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.

²⁵For you were continually wandering like [so many] sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

¹I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time." But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness).

²I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

³I explored with my mind how to gratify myself with wine while [at the same time] having my mind remain steady and guide me wisely; and how to take control of foolishness, until I could see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made great works: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself;

⁵I made gardens and orchards for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

⁶I made pools of water for myself from which to water the forest and make the trees bud.

⁷I bought male and female slaves and had slaves born in my house. I also possessed herds and flocks larger than any who preceded me in Jerusalem.

⁸Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights and pleasures of men— many concubines.

⁹So I became great and excelled more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me.

¹⁰Whatever my eyes looked at with desire I did not refuse them. I did not withhold from my heart any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.

¹¹Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.

¹²So I turned to consider [secular] wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except what has already been done.

¹³Then I saw that [even secular] wisdom [that brings sorrow] is better than [the pleasures of] folly and self-indulgence as light excels darkness.

¹⁴The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I know that [in the end] one fate happens to them both.

¹⁵Then I said to myself, "As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?" Then I said in my heart, "This too is vanity (meaningless)."

¹⁶For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool!

¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.

¹⁸So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).

²⁰So I turned aside and let my heart despair over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹For there is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, yet gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it. This too is vanity and a great evil.

²²For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

²³For all his days his work is painful and sorrowful; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity (worthless).

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

²⁶For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who pleases God. This too is vanity and chasing after the wind.

¹To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, "David is hiding among us." Save me, O God, by Your name; And vindicate me by Your [wondrous] power.

²Hear my prayer, O God; Listen to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen against me And violent men have sought my life; They have not set God before them. Selah.

⁴Behold, God is my helper and ally; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul [my upholder].

⁵He will pay back the evil to my enemies; In Your faithfulness destroy them.

⁶With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks and praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.

⁷For He has rescued me from every trouble, And my eye has looked with satisfaction (triumph) on my enemies.

¹A wise son heeds and accepts [and is the result of] his father's discipline and instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to reprimand and does not learn from his errors.

²From the fruit of his mouth a [wise] man enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is for violence.

³The one who guards his mouth [thinking before he speaks] protects his life; The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin.

⁴The soul (appetite) of the lazy person craves and gets nothing [for lethargy overcomes ambition], But the soul (appetite) of the diligent [who works willingly] is rich and abundantly supplied.

⁵A righteous man hates lies, But a wicked man is loathsome, and he acts shamefully.

⁶Righteousness (being in right standing with God) guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness undermines and overthrows the sinner.

⁷There is one who pretends to be rich, yet has nothing at all; Another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

⁸The ransom for a man's life is his wealth, But the poor man does not even have to listen to a rebuke or threats [from the envious].

⁹The light of the righteous [within him—grows brighter and] rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked [is a temporary light and] goes out.

¹⁰Through pride and presumption come nothing but strife, But [skillful and godly] wisdom is with those who welcome [well-advised] counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But he who gathers gradually by [honest] labor will increase [his riches].

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

¹³Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, But he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain and source of life, So that one may avoid the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding wins favor [from others], But the way of the unfaithful is hard [like barren, dry soil].

¹⁶Every prudent and self-disciplined man acts with knowledge, But a [closed-minded] fool [who refuses to learn] displays his foolishness [for all to see].

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into hardship, But a faithful ambassador brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to him who refuses instruction and discipline, But he who accepts and learns from reproof or censure is honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul; But it is detestable to fools to turn away from evil [which they have planned].

²⁰He who walks [as a companion] with wise men will be wise, But the companions of [conceited, dull-witted] fools [are fools themselves and] will experience harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the [consistently] upright will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for [the hands of] the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the fallow (uncultivated) ground of the poor, But [without protection] it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and appropriately [with wisdom and love].

²⁵The [consistently] righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need [of bread].

¹Now King David was old, advanced in years; they covered him with clothes, but he could not get warm.

²So his servants said to him, "Let a young virgin be found for my lord the king and let her attend him and become his nurse; let her lie against your chest, so that my lord the king may feel warm."

³So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

⁴The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king's nurse and served him, but the king was not intimate with her.

⁵Then Adonijah the son of [David's wife] Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I [the eldest living son] will be king." So [following Absalom's example] he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

⁶His father [David] had never rebuked him at any time by asking, "Why have you done this?" Adonijah was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.

⁷He had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah [David's half sister] and with Abiathar the priest; and they followed Adonijah and helped him.

⁸But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's most formidable warriors did not side with Adonijah [in his desire to become king].

⁹Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened steers by the Stone of Zoheleth, which is beside [the well] En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants [to this feast].

¹⁰But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the most formidable warriors, or his brother Solomon.

¹¹Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, "Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know about it?

¹²Come now, please let me advise you and save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³Go at once to King David and say to him, 'Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, "Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?'

¹⁴Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words."

¹⁵So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom. Now the king was very old and weak, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.

¹⁶So Bathsheba bowed down and paid respect to the king. And the king said, " What do you wish?"

¹⁷She said to him, "My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant, saying, 'Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me and he shall sit on my throne.'

¹⁸But now, behold, Adonijah is [acting as] king; and now [as things stand], my lord the king, you do not know it.

¹⁹He has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army [to a feast], but he did not invite your servant Solomon.

²⁰Now as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you [waiting for you] to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

²¹Otherwise it will come about when my lord the king lies down [in death] with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered political enemies."

²²While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

²³The king was told, "Here is Nathan the prophet." And when he came before the king, he bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²⁴Then Nathan said, "My lord the king, have you said, 'Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne'?

²⁵Because he has gone down today [to En-Rogel] and has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest [to this feast]; and [right now] they are eating and drinking in his presence; and they say, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

²⁶But he has not invited me, your servant, nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.

²⁷If this thing has been done by my lord the king, why have you not shown your servants who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?"

²⁸King David answered, "Call Bathsheba to me." And she came into the king's presence and stood before him.

²⁹Then the king swore an oath and said, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul from all distress,

³⁰even as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, 'Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place'; I will indeed do so this very day."

³¹Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, and laid herself face down before the king and said, "May my lord King David live forever!"

³²Then King David said, "Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada to me." And they came before the king.

³³The king told them, "Take the servants of your lord with you and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to [the spring at] Gihon [in the Kidron Valley].

³⁴Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'

³⁵Then you shall come up [to Jerusalem] after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and he shall reign as king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah."

³⁶Benaiah [the overseer of the king's bodyguards], the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, "Amen! (So be it!) May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say so too.

³⁷Just as the LORD has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!"

³⁸So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites [the king's bodyguards] went down [from Jerusalem] and had Solomon ride on King David's mule, and brought him to [the spring at] Gihon.

³⁹Zadok the priest took a horn of [olive] oil from the [sacred] tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!"

⁴⁰All the people went up after him, and they were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook and seemed to burst open with their [joyful] sound.

⁴¹Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the trumpet sound, he said, " Why is the city in such an uproar?"

⁴²While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest arrived. And Adonijah said, "Come in, for you are a valiant and trustworthy man and you bring good news."

⁴³But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, "No, on the contrary, our lord King David has made Solomon king!

⁴⁴The king has sent him with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have had him ride on the king's [own royal] mule.

⁴⁵Also, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there celebrating, so the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard.

⁴⁶Besides, Solomon has taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom.

⁴⁷Moreover, the king's servants came to bless (congratulate) our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make the name of Solomon better (more famous) than your name and make his throne greater than your throne.' And the king bowed himself [before God] upon the bed.

⁴⁸The king has also said this: 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has granted one [of my descendants] to sit on my throne today and allowed my eyes to see it.'"

⁴⁹Then all Adonijah's guests were terrified [of being branded as traitors] and stood up and left the feast, and each one went on his way.

⁵⁰And Adonijah feared Solomon, and he got up and went [to the tabernacle on Mt. Zion] and took hold of the horns of the altar [seeking asylum].

⁵¹Now Solomon was told, "Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, and behold, he has grasped the horns of the altar [seeking God's protection], saying, 'King Solomon must swear to me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.'"

⁵²Solomon said, "If he [proves he] is a worthy man, not even one of his hairs shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die."

⁵³So King Solomon sent [soldiers], and they brought Adonijah down from the altar [that was in front of the tabernacle]. And he came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, "Go to your house."

¹Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal (also called Jehucal) the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,

²"So says the LORD, 'He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.'

³Thus says the LORD, 'This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will take it.'"

⁴Therefore the princes (court officials) said to the king, "Please [we implore you] let this man [Jeremiah] be put to death; for [speaking] in this way he discourages and weakens [the will of] the soldiers who remain in this city and he discourages and weakens [the will of] all the people by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but rather their harm."

⁵Then King Zedekiah [fearing the princes] said, "Listen, he is in your hand; for the king is in no position to do anything against you."

⁶So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down [into the cistern] with ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

⁷Now Ebed-melech the Ethiopian (Cushite), one of the eunuchs who was in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern, and while the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin,

⁸Ebed-melech went out of the king's palace and spoke to the king, saying,

⁹"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die [of hunger] where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city."

¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."

¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the palace of the king to a place under the storeroom and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah.

¹²Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Now put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits, then place the ropes under the padding"; and Jeremiah did so.

¹³So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and took him up out of the cistern; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.

¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; hide nothing from me."

¹⁵Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Even if I do give you advice, you will not listen to me."

¹⁶But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives, who made our lives, be assured that I will not put you to death or put you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life."

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If you will go out and surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live and this city will not be burned with fire; and you and your household will live.

¹⁸But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans [of Babylon] and they will set it on fire; and you yourself will not escape from their hand.'"

¹⁹Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews [my former subjects] who have deserted to join the Chaldeans, for the enemy may put me into their hand and they will mock me and abuse me."

²⁰But Jeremiah said, "They will not hand you over [to them]. Please obey [the voice of] the LORD [who speaks to you through me] in what I am saying to you. Then it will go well with you and you will live.

²¹But if you keep refusing to go out and surrender to them, this is the word [and the vision] which the LORD has shown me:

²²'Then behold, all the women who are left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon and those women will say [to you, King Zedekiah], "Your close friends Have prevailed against your better judgment and have overpowered and deceived you; While your feet were sunk in the mire [of trouble], They turned back."

²³Also, all your wives and your children will be brought out to the Chaldeans; and you yourself will not escape from their hand, but you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city [Jerusalem] will be burned down with fire.'"

²⁴Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no man know about this conversation and you will not die.

²⁵But if the princes (court officials) hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say, 'Tell us now what you said to the king and what he said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not execute you,'

²⁶then you are to say to them, 'I was presenting my [humble] petition and plea to the king so that he would not send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'"

²⁷Then all the princes (court officials) came to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he reported to them in accordance with all that the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, since the conversation [with the king] had not been overheard.

²⁸So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured [by the Chaldeans of Babylon].

¹After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

²There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, because [the Roman Emperor] Claudius had issued an edict that all the Jews were to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,

³and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them; and they worked together for they were tent-makers.

⁴And he reasoned and debated in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks;

⁵but when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia (northern Greece), Paul began devoting himself completely to [preaching] the word, and solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

⁶But since the Jews kept resisting and opposing him, and blaspheming [God], he shook out his robe and said to them, "Your blood (damnation) be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

⁷Then he moved on from there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household [joyfully acknowledging Him as Messiah and Savior]; and many of the Corinthians who heard [Paul's message] were believing and being baptized.

⁹One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, "Do not be afraid anymore, but go on speaking and do not be silent;

¹⁰for I am with you, and no one will attack you in order to hurt you, because I have many people in this city."

¹¹So he settled there for a year and six months, teaching them the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

¹²But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia (southern Greece), the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,

¹³declaring, "This man is persuading people to worship God in violation of the law [of Moses]."

¹⁴But when Paul was about to reply, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of some misdemeanor or serious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to put up with you;

¹⁵but since it is merely a question [of doctrine within your religion] about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am unwilling to judge these matters."

¹⁶And he drove them away from the judgment seat.

¹⁷Then the Greeks all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him right in front of the judgment seat; but Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

¹⁸Paul stayed for a while longer, and then told the brothers and sisters goodbye and sailed for Syria; and he was accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchrea [the southeastern port of Corinth] he had his hair cut, because he was keeping a [Nazirite] vow [of abstention].

¹⁹Then they arrived in Ephesus, and he left the others there; but he entered the synagogue and reasoned and debated with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he refused;

²¹but after telling them goodbye and saying, "I will return again if God is willing," he set sail from Ephesus.

²²When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church [at Jerusalem], and then went down to Antioch.

²³After spending some time there, he left and traveled through the territory of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening and encouraging all the disciples.

²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent and cultured man, and well versed in the [Hebrew] Scriptures.

²⁵This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being spiritually impassioned, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John;

²⁶and he began to speak boldly and fearlessly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained more accurately to him the way of God [and the full story of the life of Christ].

²⁷And when Apollos wanted to go across to Achaia (southern Greece), the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples, [urging them] to welcome him gladly. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who, through grace, had believed and had followed Jesus as Lord and Savior,

²⁸for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public discussions, proving by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).