Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and *saw the stone already removed from the tomb.

²So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.”

³So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb.

⁴The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first;

⁵and he stooped to look in, and *saw the linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go in.

⁶So Simon Peter also *came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he *looked at the linen wrappings lying there,

⁷and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself.

⁸So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed.

⁹For they did not yet understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.

¹⁰So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

¹¹But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb;

¹²and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

¹³And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him.”

¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene *came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

¹⁹Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “Peace be to you.”

²⁰And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

²²And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

²³If you forgive the sins of any, their sinshave been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

²⁵So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be to you.”

²⁷Then He *said to Thomas, “Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief, but be a believer.”

²⁸Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

³⁰So then, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

³¹but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.

¹“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.

²And this is the regulation for the release of debts: every creditor is to forgive what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not require it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’S release has been proclaimed.

³From a foreigner you may require it, but your hand shall forgive whatever of yours is with your brother.

⁴However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will certainly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess,

⁵if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to follow carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today.

⁶For the LORD your God will have blessed you just as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

⁷“If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother;

⁸but you shall fully open your hand to him, and generously lend him enough for his need in whatever he lacks.

⁹Be careful that there is no mean-spirited thought in your heart, such as, ‘The seventh year, the year of release of debts, is near,’ and your eye is malicious toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry out to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you.

¹⁰You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work, and in all your undertakings.

¹¹For the poor will not cease to exist in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall fully open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

¹²“If your fellow countryman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free.

¹³And when you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed.

¹⁴You shall give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.

¹⁵And you are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding this of you today.

¹⁶But it shall come about, if he says to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is doing well with you,

¹⁷then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant permanently. You shall also do the same to your female slave.

¹⁸“It shall not seem difficult for you when you set him free, because he has given you six years with double the service of a hired worker; so the LORD your God will bless you in whatever you do.

¹⁹“You shall consecrate to the LORD your God all the firstborn males that are born in your herd and in your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

²⁰You and your household shall eat it every year before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses.

²¹But if it has any impairment, such as a limp, or blindness, or any serious impairment, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

²²You shall eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as a gazelle or a deer.

²³Only you shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.

¹I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.

²For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

³But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

⁴For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, this you tolerate very well!

⁵For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.

⁶But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.

⁷Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?

⁸I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you;

⁹and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brothers came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.

¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.

¹¹Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

¹²But what I am doing I will also continue to do, so that I may eliminate the opportunity from those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

¹⁵Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

¹⁶Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little.

¹⁷What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.

¹⁸Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also.

¹⁹For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly.

²⁰For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, if anyone devours you, if anyone takes advantage of you, if anyone exalts himself, if anyone hits you in the face.

²¹To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else is bold—I am speaking in foolishness—I too am bold.

²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

²³Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea.

²⁶I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers;

²⁷I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

²⁸Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?

³⁰If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

³¹The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

³²In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me,

³³and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

¹In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives,

²as they observe your pure and respectful behavior.

³Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel;

⁴but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

⁵For in this way the holy women of former times, who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands,

⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; and you have proved to be her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

⁷You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble;

⁹not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For, “THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.

¹¹HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.

¹²FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST EVILDOERS.”

¹³And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE IN DREAD,

¹⁵but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect;

¹⁶and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

¹⁷For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

¹⁹in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison,

²⁰who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

²¹Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

¹There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—

²A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

³A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

⁴A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

⁵A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

⁶A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

⁷A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.

⁸A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

¹⁰I have seen the task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to occupy themselves.

¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;

¹³moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will fear Him.

¹⁵That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

¹⁷I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked,” for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.

¹⁸I said to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as animals, they to themselves.”

¹⁹For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility.

²⁰All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

²¹Who knows that the spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth?

²²I have seen that nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

¹Listen to my prayer, God; And do not hide Yourself from my pleading.

²Give Your attention to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and severely distracted,

³Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the pressure of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me And in anger they hold a grudge against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

⁷Behold, I would flee far away, I would spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah

⁸I would hurry to my place of refuge From the stormy wind and heavy gale.”

⁹Confuse them, Lord, divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls, And evil and harm are in her midst.

¹¹Destruction is in her midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.

¹²For it is not an enemy who taunts me, Then I could endure it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my confidant;

¹⁴We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God among the commotion.

¹⁵May death come deceitfully upon them; May they go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me.

¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and moan, And He will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who are aggressive toward me.

¹⁹God will hear and humiliate them— Even the one who sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God.

²⁰He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant.

²¹His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.

²²Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

²³But You, God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

¹The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

²One who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But one who is devious in his ways despises Him.

³In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back, But the lips of the wise will protect them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean; But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

⁵A trustworthy witness will not lie, But a false witness declares lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But knowledge is easy for one who has understanding.

⁷Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is goodwill.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, But the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, And the end of joy may be grief.

¹⁴One with a wayward heart will have his fill of his own ways, But a good person will be satisfied with his.

¹⁵The naive believes everything, But the sensible person considers his steps.

¹⁶A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless.

¹⁷A quick-tempered person acts foolishly, And a person of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The naive inherit foolishness, But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil will bow down before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many.

²¹One who despises his neighbor sins, But one who is gracious to the poor is blessed.

²²Will they who devise evil not go astray? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

²³In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is simply foolishness.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, But one who declares lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, By which one may avoid the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s glory, But in the scarcity of people is a prince’s ruin.

²⁹One who is slow to anger has great understanding; But one who is quick-tempered exalts foolishness.

³⁰A tranquil heart is life to the body, But jealousy is rottenness to the bones.

³¹One who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But one who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

³²The wicked is thrust down by his own wrongdoing, But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, But among fools it is made known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.

¹As David’s time to die drew near, he commanded his son Solomon, saying,

²“I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong, and prove yourself a man.

³Do your duty to the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,

⁴so that the LORD may fulfill His promise which He spoke regarding me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful about their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and all their soul, you shall not be deprived of a man to occupy the throne of Israel.’

⁵“Now you yourself also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt that was on his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.

⁶So act as your wisdom dictates, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.

⁷However, show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

⁸And behold, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjaminite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a painful curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

⁹But now do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.”

¹⁰Then David lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David.

¹¹Now the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: in Hebron he reigned for seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years.

¹²Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

¹³Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.”

¹⁴Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.”

¹⁵So he said, “You yourself know that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel intended for me to be king; however, the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, for it was his from the LORD.

¹⁶So now I am making one request of you; do not refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king—for he will not refuse you—that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

¹⁸And Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king stood to meet her, bowed to her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set up for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.

²⁰Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

²¹So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”

²²But King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Request for him the kingdom as well—since he is my older brother—for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!”

²³Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “May God do so to me and more so, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!

²⁴Now then, as the LORD lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and has made me a house just as He promised, Adonijah certainly shall be put to death today!”

²⁵Then King Solomon sent the order by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him so that he died.

²⁶Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.”

²⁷So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, to fulfill the word of the LORD, which He had spoken regarding the house of Eli in Shiloh.

²⁸Now the news came to Joab because Joab had followed Adonijah, though he had not followed Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.

²⁹And it was reported to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD, and was beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, execute him.”

³⁰So Benaiah came to the tent of the LORD and said to him, “This is what the king has said: ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” So Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “This is what Joab spoke, and so he answered me.”

³¹And the king said to him, “Do just as he has spoken, and execute him and bury him, so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without justification.

³²The LORD will return his blood on his own head, because he struck two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know about it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

³³So their blood shall return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but for David and his descendants, and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the LORD forever.”

³⁴Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.

³⁵And the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar.

³⁶Now the king sent men and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not leave there for any other place.

³⁷For on the day you leave and cross the brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you will assuredly die; your blood will be on your own head.”

³⁸Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. Just as my lord the king has spoken, so your servant shall do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.

³⁹But it came about at the end of three years, that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And others told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”

⁴⁰Then Shimei got up and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to search for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

⁴¹And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.

⁴²So the king sent men and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall assuredly die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’

⁴³Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the command which I imposed on you?”

⁴⁴The king also said to Shimei, “You yourself know all the evil that you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will return your evil on your own head.

⁴⁵But King Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before the LORD forever.”

⁴⁶So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

¹Now when Jerusalem was captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it;

²in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was breached.

³Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.

⁵But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

⁶Then the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.

⁷He then blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in shackles of bronze to bring him to Babylon.

⁸The Chaldeans also burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁹And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon.

¹⁰But some of the poorest people, who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

¹¹Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying,

¹²“Take him and look after him, and do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.”

¹³So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;

¹⁴they even sent word and took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

¹⁵Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying,

¹⁶“Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.

¹⁷But I will save you on that day,” declares the LORD, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid.

¹⁸For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as plunder, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the LORD.’ ”

¹Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

²He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.”

³And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took the disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

¹³But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Now there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

¹⁸Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

¹⁹And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of the books and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily.

²¹Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

²²And after he sent into Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time a major disturbance occurred in regard to the Way.

²⁴For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing considerable business to the craftsmen;

²⁵he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.

²⁷Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

²⁸When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s Macedonian traveling companions.

³⁰And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

³¹Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.

³²So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from the sky?

³⁶So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.”

⁴¹After saying this he dismissed the assembly.