Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

²She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb.

⁴They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

⁵He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.

⁶Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,

⁷while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

⁸Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed —

⁹for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.

¹⁰Then they went home.

¹¹Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in.

¹²She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.

¹³“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

¹⁴She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.

¹⁵“Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

¹⁶“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

¹⁷“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

¹⁹That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.

²⁰As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!

²¹Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

²²Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

²³If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

²⁴One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.

²⁵They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

²⁶Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

²⁸“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

³⁰The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.

³¹But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

¹“At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money.

²This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the LORD’s time of release has arrived.

³This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites — not to the foreigners living among you.

⁴“There should be no poor among you, for the LORD your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession.

⁵You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today.

⁶The LORD your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.

⁷“But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them.

⁸Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need.

⁹Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the LORD, you will be considered guilty of sin.

¹⁰Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

¹¹There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.

¹²“If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.

¹³“When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed.

¹⁴Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the LORD your God has blessed you.

¹⁵Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.

¹⁶“But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you.

¹⁷In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.

¹⁸“You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servants. Remember that for six years they have given you services worth double the wages of hired workers, and the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

¹⁹“You must set aside for the LORD your God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks.

²⁰Instead, you and your family must eat these animals in the presence of the LORD your God each year at the place he chooses.

²¹But if this firstborn animal has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or if anything else is wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

²²Instead, use it for food for your family in your hometown. Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer.

²³But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.

¹I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me.

²For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband — Christ.

³But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

⁴You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

⁵But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

⁶I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

⁷Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return?

⁸I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.

⁹And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.

¹⁰As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this.

¹¹Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.

¹²But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours.

¹³These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

¹⁵So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

¹⁶Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little.

¹⁷Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool.

¹⁸And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.

¹⁹After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!

²⁰You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.

²¹I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about — I’m talking like a fool again — I dare to boast about it, too.

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 know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.

²⁴Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

²⁶I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

²⁷I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

²⁸Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

³⁰If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

³¹God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.

³²When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.

³³I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

¹In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over

²by observing your pure and reverent lives.

³Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.

⁴You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

⁵This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.

⁶For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.

⁷In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

⁹Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.

¹⁰For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.

¹¹Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

¹²The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.”

¹³Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?

¹⁴But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.

¹⁵Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

¹⁶But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

¹⁷Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

¹⁸Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

¹⁹So he went and preached to the spirits in prison —

²⁰those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.

²¹And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

²²Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.

¹For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

²A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

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

⁴A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

⁵A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

⁶A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.

⁷A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

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

⁹What do people really get for all their hard work?

¹⁰I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.

¹¹Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

¹²So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.

¹³And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

¹⁴And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.

¹⁵What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

¹⁶I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!

¹⁷I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”

¹⁸I also thought about the human condition — how God proves to people that they are like animals.

¹⁹For people and animals share the same fate — both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!

²⁰Both go to the same place — they came from dust and they return to dust.

²¹For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth?

²²So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die.

¹Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!

²Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

³My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down.

⁴My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me.

⁵Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.

⁶Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!

⁷I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude

⁸How quickly I would escape — far from this wild storm of hatred.

⁹Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.

¹⁰Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.

¹¹Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.

¹²It is not an enemy who taunts me — I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me — I could have hidden from them.

¹³Instead, it is you — my equal, my companion and close friend.

¹⁴What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.

¹⁵Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.

¹⁶But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.

¹⁸He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.

¹⁹God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.

²⁰As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.

²¹His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!

²²Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

²³But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.

¹A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

²Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise him.

³A fool’s proud talk becomes a rod that beats him, but the words of the wise keep them safe.

⁴Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

⁵An honest witness does not lie; a false witness breathes lies.

⁶A mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it, but knowledge comes easily to those with understanding.

⁷Stay away from fools, for you won’t find knowledge on their lips.

⁸The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.

⁹Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.

¹⁰Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the godly will flourish.

¹²There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

¹³Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.

¹⁴Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.

¹⁵Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.

¹⁶The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.

¹⁷Short-tempered people do foolish things, and schemers are hated.

¹⁸Simpletons are clothed with foolishness, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹Evil people will bow before good people; the wicked will bow at the gates of the godly.

²⁰The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many “friends.”

²¹It is a sin to belittle one’s neighbor; blessed are those who help the poor.

²²If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness.

²³Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty!

²⁴Wealth is a crown for the wise; the effort of fools yields only foolishness.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.

²⁶Those who fear the LORD are secure; he will be a refuge for their children.

²⁷Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death.

²⁸A growing population is a king’s glory; a prince without subjects has nothing.

²⁹People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.

³⁰A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.

³¹Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.

³²The wicked are crushed by disaster, but the godly have a refuge when they die.

³³Wisdom is enshrined in an understanding heart; wisdom is not found among fools.

³⁴Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵A king rejoices in wise servants but is angry with those who disgrace him.

¹As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

²“I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man.

³Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.

⁴If you do this, then the LORD will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

⁵“And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood.

⁶Do with him what you think best, but don’t let him grow old and go to his grave in peace.

⁷“Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them permanent guests at your table, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

⁸“And remember Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the LORD that I would not kill him.

⁹But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him. ”

¹⁰Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.

¹¹David had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

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

¹³One day Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, came to see Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. “Have you come with peaceful intentions?” she asked him. “Yes,” he said, “I come in peace.

¹⁴In fact, I have a favor to ask of you.” “What is it?” she asked.

¹⁵He replied, “As you know, the kingdom was rightfully mine; all Israel wanted me to be the next king. But the tables were turned, and the kingdom went to my brother instead; for that is the way the LORD wanted it.

¹⁶So now I have just one favor to ask of you. Please don’t turn me down.” “What is it?” she asked.

¹⁷He replied, “Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to let me marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem.”

¹⁸“All right,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah’s behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, the king ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.

²⁰“I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “I hope you won’t turn me down.” “What is it, my mother?” he asked. “You know I won’t refuse you.”

²¹“Then let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem,” she replied.

²²“How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?” King Solomon demanded. “You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side.”

²³Then King Solomon made a vow before the LORD: “May God strike me and even kill me if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request.

²⁴The LORD has confirmed me and placed me on the throne of my father, David; he has established my dynasty as he promised. So as surely as the LORD lives, Adonijah will die this very day!”

²⁵So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Adonijah was put to death.

²⁶Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign LORD for David my father and you shared all his hardships.”

²⁷So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the LORD, thereby fulfilling the prophecy the LORD had given at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli.

²⁸Joab had not joined Absalom’s earlier rebellion, but he had joined Adonijah’s rebellion. So when Joab heard about Adonijah’s death, he ran to the sacred tent of the LORD and grabbed on to the horns of the altar.

²⁹When this was reported to King Solomon, he sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him.

³⁰Benaiah went to the sacred tent of the LORD and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out!” But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah returned to the king and told him what Joab had said.

³¹“Do as he said,” the king replied. “Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of Joab’s senseless murders from me and from my father’s family.

³²The LORD will repay him for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father knew nothing about the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and of Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

³³May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the LORD grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne.”

³⁴So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned to the sacred tent and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the wilderness.

³⁵Then the king appointed Benaiah to command the army in place of Joab, and he installed Zadok the priest to take the place of Abiathar.

³⁶The king then sent for Shimei and told him, “Build a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don’t step outside the city to go anywhere else.

³⁷On the day you so much as cross the Kidron Valley, you will surely die; and your blood will be on your own head.”

³⁸Shimei replied, “Your sentence is fair; I will do whatever my lord the king commands.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.

³⁹But three years later two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When Shimei learned where they were,

⁴⁰he saddled his donkey and went to Gath to search for them. When he found them, he brought them back to Jerusalem.

⁴¹Solomon heard that Shimei had left Jerusalem and had gone to Gath and returned.

⁴²So the king sent for Shimei and demanded, “Didn’t I make you swear by the LORD and warn you not to go anywhere else or you would surely die? And you replied, ‘The sentence is fair; I will do as you say.’

⁴³Then why haven’t you kept your oath to the LORD and obeyed my command?”

⁴⁴The king also said to Shimei, “You certainly remember all the wicked things you did to my father, David. May the LORD now bring that evil on your own head.

⁴⁵But may I, King Solomon, receive the LORD’s blessings, and may one of David’s descendants always sit on this throne in the presence of the LORD.”

⁴⁶Then, at the king’s command, Benaiah son of Jehoiada took Shimei outside and killed him. So the kingdom was now firmly in Solomon’s grip.

¹In January of the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with his entire army to besiege Jerusalem.

²Two and a half years later, on July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, a section of the city wall was broken down.

³All the officers of the Babylonian army came in and sat in triumph at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, and Nebo-sarsekim, a chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer, the king’s adviser, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon.

⁴When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.

⁵But the Babylonian troops chased them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

⁶The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons at Riblah. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.

⁷Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains to lead him away to Babylon.

⁸Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned Jerusalem, including the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they tore down the walls of the city.

⁹Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles to Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had defected to him, and everyone else who remained.

¹⁰But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in the land of Judah, and he assigned them to care for the vineyards and fields.

¹¹King Nebuchadnezzar had told Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to find Jeremiah.

¹²“See that he isn’t hurt,” he said. “Look after him well, and give him anything he wants.”

¹³So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard; Nebushazban, a chief officer; Nergal-sharezer, the king’s adviser; and the other officers of Babylon’s king

¹⁴sent messengers to bring Jeremiah out of the prison. They put him under the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who took him back to his home. So Jeremiah stayed in Judah among his own people.

¹⁵The LORD had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison:

¹⁶“Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction,

¹⁷but I will rescue you from those you fear so much.

¹⁸Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.

²“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³“Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

⁵As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

⁹But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia — both Jews and Greeks — heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.

¹²When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

¹³A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”

¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this.

¹⁵But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

¹⁷The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.

¹⁸Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.

¹⁹A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.

²⁰So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.

²¹Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”

²²He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.

²³About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.

²⁴It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.

²⁵He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.

²⁶But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!

²⁷Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis — this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world — will be robbed of her great prestige!”

²⁸At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

³⁰Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him.

³¹Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

³²Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.

³³The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.

³⁴But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.

³⁶Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

³⁸“If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges.

³⁹And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

⁴¹Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.