Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

²Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

³Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

⁴So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

⁵And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.

⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,

⁷and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

⁸Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

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

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

¹¹But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.

¹²And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

¹³Then 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 have laid Him.”

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

¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

¹⁹Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

²⁰When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

²¹So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! 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, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

²⁴Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

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

²⁶And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

²⁷Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

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

²⁹Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

³¹but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that 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 form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release.

³Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,

⁴except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—

⁵only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.

⁶For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

⁷“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,

⁸but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.

⁹Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you.

¹⁰You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

¹¹For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

¹²“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

¹³And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;

¹⁴you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him.

¹⁵You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.

¹⁶And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you,

¹⁷then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.

¹⁸It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

¹⁹“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall sanctify to the LORD your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

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

²¹But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

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

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

¹Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me.

²For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

³But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

⁴For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!

⁵For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.

⁶Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.

⁷Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

⁸I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.

⁹And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself.

¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.

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

¹²But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.

¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

¹⁶I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little.

¹⁷What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

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

¹⁹For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise!

²⁰For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face.

²¹To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also.

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

²³Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

²⁴From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

²⁶in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

²⁸besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

³⁰If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

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

³²In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;

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

¹Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,

²when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.

³Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—

⁴rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

⁵For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,

⁶as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

⁷Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

⁹not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.

¹¹Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.

¹²For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

¹³And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”

¹⁵But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

¹⁶having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

¹⁷For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

¹⁹by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,

²⁰who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

²¹There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

¹To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;

³A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break 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 cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

⁷A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

⁸A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.

⁹What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

¹⁰I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹²I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

¹⁵That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.

¹⁶Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.”

¹⁹For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.

²⁰All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

²¹Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?

²²So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

¹To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David. [1] Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.

²Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,

³Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me.

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

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

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

⁷Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah

⁸I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.”

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

¹⁰Day and night they go around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.

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

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

¹³But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance.

¹⁴We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

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

¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.

¹⁸He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.

¹⁹God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old. Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God.

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

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

²²Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

²³But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You.

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

²He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

³In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

⁵A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

⁷Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit.

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

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

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

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

¹³Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of mirth may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.

¹⁵The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.

¹⁶A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident.

¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

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

²⁰The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, But the rich has many friends.

²¹He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

²³In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.

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

²⁵A true witness delivers souls, But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

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

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s honor, But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

²⁹He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.

³⁰A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.

³¹He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

³²The wicked is banished in his wickedness, But the righteous has a refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known.

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

³⁵The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

¹Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying:

²“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.

³And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;

⁴that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

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

⁶Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.

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

⁸“And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

⁹Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”

¹⁰So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David.

¹¹The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned 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 peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.”

¹⁴Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.”

¹⁵Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the LORD.

¹⁶Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.”

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

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

¹⁹Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so she sat at his right hand.

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

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

²²And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my older brother—for him, and 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 also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!

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

²⁵So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.

²⁶And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death; 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 every time my father was afflicted.”

²⁷So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.

²⁸Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and took hold of the horns of the altar.

²⁹And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.”

³⁰So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”

³¹Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed.

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

³³Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.”

³⁴So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

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

³⁶Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere.

³⁷For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.”

³⁸And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!”

⁴⁰So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.

⁴¹And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.

⁴²Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely 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 commandment that I gave you?”

⁴⁴The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will return your wickedness on your own head.

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

⁴⁶So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

¹In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.

²In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated.

³Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.

⁴So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain.

⁵But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.

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

⁷Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon.

⁸And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁹Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained.

¹⁰But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

¹¹Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,

¹²“Take him and look after him, and do him no harm; but do to him just as he says to you.”

¹³So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers;

¹⁴then they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.

¹⁵Meanwhile the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

¹⁶“Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.

¹⁷But I will deliver you in that day,” says the LORD, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.

¹⁸For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the LORD.’ ”

¹And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

²he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

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

⁴Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

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

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

⁷Now the men were about twelve in all.

⁸And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

¹⁰And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

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

¹³Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

¹⁴Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

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

¹⁸And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

¹⁹Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

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

²²So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

²³And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.

²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

²⁵He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

²⁶Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.

²⁷So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.

³⁰And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him.

³¹Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

³²Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

³⁶Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.

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

³⁸Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.”

⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.