Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

²The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe.

³And they kept coming up to him and saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and were slapping his face.

⁴Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I’m bringing him out to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging him.”

⁵Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶When the chief priests and the temple servants saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate responded, “Take him and crucify him yourselves, since I find no grounds for charging him.”

⁷“We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”

⁸When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever.

⁹He went back into the headquarters and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer.

¹⁰So Pilate said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you?”

¹¹“You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

¹²From that moment Pilate kept trying to release him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”

¹³When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic, Gabbatha).

¹⁴It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about noon. Then he told the Jews, “Here is your king!”

¹⁵They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?” “We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶Then he handed him over to be crucified. Then they took Jesus away.

¹⁷Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

¹⁸There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹Pilate also had a sign made and put on the cross. It said: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.

²¹So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”

²²Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.

²⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.

²⁵Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.”

²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

²⁸After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.”

²⁹A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth.

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

³¹Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away.

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

³³When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead.

³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.

³⁵He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth.

³⁶For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken.

³⁷Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the one they pierced.

³⁸After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus — but secretly because of his fear of the Jews — asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and took his body away.

³⁹Nicodemus (who had previously come to him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes.

⁴⁰They took Jesus’s body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews.

⁴¹There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it.

⁴²They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.

¹“You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head on behalf of the dead,

²for you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

³“You must not eat any detestable thing.

⁴These are the animals you may eat: oxen, sheep, goats,

⁵deer, gazelles, roe deer, wild goats, ibexes, antelopes, and mountain sheep.

⁶You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud.

⁷But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these: camels, hares, and hyraxes, though they chew the cud, they do not have hooves — they are unclean for you;

⁸and pigs, though they have hooves, they do not chew the cud — they are unclean for you. Do not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.

⁹“You may eat everything from the water that has fins and scales,

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

¹¹“You may eat every clean bird,

¹²but these are the ones you may not eat: eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,

¹³the kites, any kind of falcon,

¹⁴every kind of raven,

¹⁵ostriches, short-eared owls, gulls, any kind of hawk,

¹⁶little owls, long-eared owls, barn owls,

¹⁷eagle owls, ospreys, cormorants,

¹⁸storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, and bats.

¹⁹All winged insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten.

²⁰But you may eat every clean flying creature.

²¹“You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a resident alien within your city gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²²“Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields.

²³You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place where he chooses to have his name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God.

²⁴But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you and since the LORD your God has blessed you,

²⁵then exchange it for silver, take the silver in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God chooses.

²⁶You may spend the silver on anything you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your family.

²⁷Do not neglect the Levite within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

²⁸“At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your city gates.

²⁹Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

¹Now I Paul, myself, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ — I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent.

²I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving according to the flesh.

³For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh,

⁴since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments

⁵and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

⁶And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

⁷Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, let him remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we.

⁸For if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be put to shame.

⁹I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters.

¹⁰For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing.”

¹¹Let such a person consider this: What we are in our letters, when we are absent, we will also be in our actions when we are present.

¹²For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding.

¹³We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you.

¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ.

¹⁵We are not boasting beyond measure about other people’s labors. On the contrary, we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged,

¹⁶so that we may preach the gospel to the regions beyond you without boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry.

¹⁷So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

¹⁸For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.

¹Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

²Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation,

³if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, a living stone — rejected by people but chosen and honored by God —

⁵you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.

⁷So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected — this one has become the cornerstone,

⁸and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

¹²Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

¹³Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority

¹⁴or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.

¹⁵For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

¹⁶Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

¹⁷Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

¹⁸Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.

¹⁹For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

²¹For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²²He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth;

²³when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

¹I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

²I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

³I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body — my mind still guiding me with wisdom — and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

⁴I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

⁵I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them.

⁶I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.

⁷I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock — large herds and flocks — more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.

⁸I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men.

⁹So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me.

¹⁰All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

¹¹When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

¹²Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor be like? He will do what has already been done.

¹³And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

¹⁴The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

¹⁵So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

¹⁶For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool?

¹⁷Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁸I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

²⁰So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun.

²¹When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

²²For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

²³For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

²⁴There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

²⁵because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him?

²⁶For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?” [1] God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might!

²God, hear my prayer; listen to the words from my mouth.

³For strangers rise up against me, and violent men intend to kill me. They do not let God guide them. Selah

⁴God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my life.

⁵He will repay my adversaries for their evil. Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them.

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you. I will praise your name, LORD, because it is good.

⁷For he has rescued me from every trouble, and my eye has looked down on my enemies.

¹A wise son responds to his father’s discipline, but a mocker doesn’t listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of his mouth, a person will enjoy good things, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.

³The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

⁴The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.

⁵The righteous hate lying, but the wicked bring disgust and shame.

⁶Righteousness guards people of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.

⁷One person pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has abundant wealth.

⁸Riches are a ransom for a person’s life, but a poor person hears no threat.

⁹The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is put out.

¹⁰Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice.

¹¹Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.

¹²Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.

¹⁴A wise person’s instruction is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous never changes.

¹⁶Every sensible person acts knowledgeably, but a fool displays his stupidity.

¹⁷A wicked envoy falls into trouble, but a trustworthy courier brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace come to those who ignore discipline, but the one who accepts correction will be honored.

¹⁹Desire fulfilled is sweet to the taste, but to turn from evil is detestable to fools.

²⁰The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Disaster pursues sinners, but good rewards the righteous.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

²³The uncultivated field of the poor yields abundant food, but without justice, it is swept away.

²⁴The one who will not use the rod hates his son, but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵A righteous person eats until he is satisfied, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.

¹Now King David was old and advanced in age. Although they covered him with bedclothes, he could not get warm.

²So his servants said to him: “Let us search for a young virgin for my lord the king. She is to attend the king and be his caregiver. She is to lie by your side so that my lord the king will get warm.”

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

⁴The girl was of unsurpassed beauty, and she became the king’s caregiver. She attended to him, but he was not intimate with her.

⁵Adonijah son of Haggith kept exalting himself, saying, “I will be king!” He prepared chariots, cavalry, and fifty men to run ahead of him.

⁶But his father had never once infuriated him by asking, “Why did you do that?” In addition, he was quite handsome and was born after Absalom.

⁷He conspired with Joab son of Zeruiah and with the priest Abiathar. They supported Adonijah,

⁸but the priest Zadok, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the prophet Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David’s royal guard did not side with Adonijah.

⁹Adonijah sacrificed sheep, goats, cattle, and fattened cattle near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king,

¹⁰but he did not invite the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the royal guard, or his brother Solomon.

¹¹Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it?

¹²Now please come and let me advise you. Save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³Go, approach King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your servant: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne? So why has Adonijah become king?’

¹⁴At that moment, while you are still there speaking with the king, I’ll come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom. Since the king was very old, Abishag the Shunammite was attending to him.

¹⁶Bathsheba knelt low and paid homage to the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”

¹⁷She replied, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, ‘Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne.’

¹⁸Now look, Adonijah has become king. And, my lord the king, you didn’t know it.

¹⁹He has lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite your servant Solomon.

²⁰Now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

²¹Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be regarded as criminals.”

²²At that moment, while she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan arrived,

²³and it was announced to the king, “The prophet Nathan is here.” He came into the king’s presence and paid homage to him with his face to the ground.

²⁴“My lord the king,” Nathan said, “did you say, ‘Adonijah is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne’?

²⁵For today he went down and lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and the priest Abiathar. And look! They’re eating and drinking in his presence, and they’re saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

²⁶But he did not invite me — me, your servant — or the priest Zadok or Benaiah son of Jehoiada or your servant Solomon.

²⁷I’m certain my lord the king would not have let this happen without letting your servant know who will sit on my lord the king’s throne after him.”

²⁸King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.

²⁹The king swore an oath and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every difficulty,

³⁰just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place, that is exactly what I will do this very day.”

³¹Bathsheba knelt low with her face to the ground, paying homage to the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”

³²King David then said, “Call in the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me.” So they came into the king’s presence.

³³The king said to them, “Take my servants with you, have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.

³⁴There, the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him as king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon! ’

³⁵You are to come up after him, and he is to come in and sit on my throne. He is the one who is to become king in my place; he is the one I have commanded to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶“Amen,” Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied to the king. “May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so affirm it.

³⁷Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down, had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon.

³⁹The priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”

⁴⁰All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.

⁴¹Adonijah and all the invited guests who were with him heard the noise as they finished eating. Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn and said, “Why is the town in such an uproar?”

⁴²He was still speaking when Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest, suddenly arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are an important man, and you must be bringing good news.”

⁴³“Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king.

⁴⁴And with Solomon, the king has sent the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have had him ride on the king’s mule.

⁴⁵The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king in Gihon. They have gone up from there rejoicing. The town has been in an uproar; that’s the noise you heard.

⁴⁶Solomon has even taken his seat on the royal throne.

⁴⁷“The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.

⁴⁸And the king went on to say this: ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel! Today he has provided one to sit on my throne, and I am a witness.’”

⁴⁹Then all of Adonijah’s guests got up trembling and went their separate ways.

⁵⁰Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.

⁵¹It was reported to Solomon: “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”

⁵²Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, he dies.”

⁵³So King Solomon sent for him, and they took him down from the altar. He came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”

¹Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:

²“This is what the LORD says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will retain his life like the spoils of war and will live.’

³This is what the LORD says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon’s army, and he will capture it.’”

⁴The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not pursuing the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

⁵King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.”

⁶So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

⁷But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,

⁸Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king:

⁹“My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”

¹⁰So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here thirty men under your authority and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

¹²Ebed-melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did this.

¹³They pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he remained in the guard’s courtyard.

¹⁴King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the LORD’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”

¹⁵Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won’t you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway.”

¹⁶King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private, “As the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who intend to take your life.”

¹⁷Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive.

¹⁸But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.’”

¹⁹But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”

²⁰“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the LORD in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live.

²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that the LORD has shown me:

²²‘All the women who remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say to you, “Your trusted friends misled you and overcame you. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.”

²³All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.’”

²⁴Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation or you will die.

²⁵The officials may hear that I have spoken with you and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don’t hide anything from us and we won’t kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?’

²⁶If they do, tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”

²⁷All the officials did come to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. He reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard.

²⁸Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.

¹After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth,

²where he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them,

³and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked.

⁴He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

⁶When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

⁹The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent.

¹⁰For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”

¹¹He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal.

¹³“This man,” they said, “is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

¹⁴As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews.

¹⁵But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”

¹⁶So he drove them from the tribunal.

¹⁷And they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.

¹⁸After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

¹⁹When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews.

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

²¹but he said farewell and added, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²²On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch.

²³After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.

²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism.

²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

²⁷When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

²⁸For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.