Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

²And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

³And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

⁴But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ”

⁵Then the devil *took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

⁶and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their hands they will lift YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ ”

⁷Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ ”

⁸Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;

⁹and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, ANDSERVE HIM ONLY.’ ”

¹¹Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.

¹²Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

¹³and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

¹⁴This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

¹⁵“THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES—

¹⁶THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heavenis at hand.”

¹⁸Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁹And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.”

²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

²¹Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them.

²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

²³Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

²⁴And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them.

²⁵Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

¹“When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.

²When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people.

³He shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or be terrified by them,

⁴for the LORD your God is the One who is going with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

⁵The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house but has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it.

⁶And who is the man that has planted a vineyard but has not put it to use? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would put it to use.

⁷And who is the man that is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would marry her.’

⁸Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that he does not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart!’

⁹And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.

¹⁰“When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace.

¹¹And if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and serve you.

¹²However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.

¹³When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴However, the women, the children, the animals, and everything that is in the city, all of its spoils, you shall take as plunder for yourself; and you shall use the spoils of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁵This is what you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby.

¹⁶Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave anything that breathes alive.

¹⁷Instead, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you,

¹⁸so that they will not teach you to do all the same detestable practices of theirs which they have done for their gods, by which you would sin against the LORD your God.

¹⁹“When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a human, that it should be besieged by you?

²⁰Only the trees that you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, so that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war against you until it falls.

¹You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

²This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

³Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

⁴Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

⁵So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

⁶Just as Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

⁷Therefore, recognize that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

⁸The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”

⁹So then, those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

¹⁰For all who are of works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written: “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THE THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM.”

¹¹Now, that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.”

¹²However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “THE PERSON WHO PERFORMS THEM WILL LIVE BY THEM.”

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”—

¹⁴in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

¹⁵Brothers and sisters, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.

¹⁶Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.

¹⁷What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

¹⁸For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

¹⁹Why the Law then? It was added on account of the violations, having been ordered through angels at the hand of a mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

²⁰Now a mediator is not for one party only; but God is only one.

²¹Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Far from it! For if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.

²²But the Scripture has confined everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed.

²⁴Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

¹Beloved, this is now the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of a reminder,

²to remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

³Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.”

⁵For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

⁶through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water.

⁷But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.

⁸But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

⁹The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered.

¹¹Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

¹²looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

¹³But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace,

¹⁵and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

¹⁶as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unscrupulous people and lose your own firm commitment,

¹⁸but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

¹Who is like the wise person and who knows the meaning of a matter? A person’s wisdom illuminates his face and makes his stern face brighten up.

²I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.

³Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.”

⁴Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵One who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure.

⁶For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a person’s trouble is heavy upon him.

⁷If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?

⁸No one has authority over the wind to restrain the wind, nor authority over the day of death; and there is no military discharge in the time of war, and evil will not save those who practice it.

⁹All this I have seen, and have applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun at a time when one person has exercised authority over another person to his detriment.

¹⁰So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did such things. This too is futility.

¹¹Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of mankind among them are fully given to do evil.

¹²Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will go well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.

¹³But it will not go well for the evil person and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

¹⁴There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility.

¹⁵So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a person under the sun except to eat, drink, and be joyful, and this will stand by him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶When I devoted my mind to know wisdom and to see the business which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night),

¹⁷and I saw every work of God, I concluded that one cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though a person laboriously seeks, he will not discover; and even if the wise person claims to know, he cannot discover.

¹God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!

²You have made the land quake, You have split it open; Heal its cracks, for it sways.

³You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger.

⁴You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah

⁵That Your beloved may be rescued, Save us with Your right hand, and answer us!

⁶God has spoken in His holiness: “I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem, and measure out the Valley of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.

⁸Moab is My washbowl; I will throw My sandal over Edom; Shout loud, Philistia, because of Me!”

⁹Who will bring me into the besieged city? Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰Have You Yourself not rejected us, God? And will You not go out with our armies, God?

¹¹Oh give us help against the enemy, For rescue by man is worthless.

¹²Through God we will do valiantly, And it is He who will trample down our enemies.

¹Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity Than a person who is perverse in speech and is a fool.

²Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And one who hurries his footsteps errs.

³The foolishness of a person ruins his way, And his heart rages against the LORD.

⁴Wealth adds many friends, But a poor person is separated from his friend.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, And one who declares lies will not escape.

⁶Many will seek the favor of a generous person, And every person is a friend to him who gives gifts.

⁷All the brothers of a poor person hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

⁸One who gets wisdom loves his own soul; One who keeps understanding will find good.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, And one who declares lies will perish.

¹⁰Luxury is not fitting for a fool; Much less for a slave to rule over princes.

¹¹A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook an offense.

¹²A king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish son is destruction to his father, And the quarrels of a wife are a constant dripping.

¹⁴House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD.

¹⁵Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And a lazy person will suffer hunger.

¹⁶One who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But one who is careless of conduct will die.

¹⁷One who is gracious to a poor person lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.

¹⁸Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.

¹⁹A person of great anger will suffer the penalty, For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.

²⁰Listen to advice and accept discipline, So that you may be wise the rest of your days.

²¹Many plans are in a person’s heart, But the advice of the LORD will stand.

²²What is desirable in a person is his kindness, And it is better to be a poor person than a liar.

²³The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

²⁴The lazy one buries his hand in the dish, But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

²⁵Strike a scoffer and the naive may become clever, But rebuke one who has understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

²⁶He who assaults his father and drives his mother away Is a shameful and disgraceful son.

²⁷Stop listening, my son, to discipline, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A worthless witness makes a mockery of justice, And the mouth of the wicked swallows wrongdoing.

²⁹Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.

¹Now Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house.

²He built the house of the timber from Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars.

³And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.

⁴There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window at three intervals.

⁵And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window at three intervals.

⁶Then he made the hall of pillars; its length was fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a threshold in front of them.

⁷And he made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

⁸And his house where he was to live, the other courtyard inward from the hall, was of this same workmanship. He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married.

⁹All of these were made of valuable stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the large courtyard.

¹⁰And the foundation was of valuable stones, large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.

¹¹And above were valuable stones, cut according to measure, and cedar.

¹²So the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the LORD, and the porch of the house.

¹³Now King Solomon sent word and had Hiram brought from Tyre.

¹⁴He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, an artisan in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom, skill, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

¹⁵He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of each pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both.

¹⁶He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits.

¹⁷There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital.

¹⁸So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital.

¹⁹The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits.

²⁰So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around both capitals.

²¹And he set up the pillars at the porch of the main room: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.

²²On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

²³He also he made the Sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape, and its height was five cubits, and it was thirty cubits in circumference.

²⁴Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest.

²⁵It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward.

²⁶And it was a hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.

²⁷Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height was three cubits.

²⁸This was the design of the stands: they had borders, that is, borders between the crossbars,

²⁹and on the borders which were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.

³⁰Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side.

³¹And its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and on its opening also there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round.

³²The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.

³³The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.

³⁴Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself.

³⁵And on the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it.

³⁶And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was clear space on each, with wreaths all around.

³⁷He made the ten stands like this: all of them had the same casting, same measure, and same form.

³⁸And he made ten basins of bronze, each holding forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin.

³⁹Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

⁴⁰Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

⁴¹the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two lattices to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars;

⁴²and the four hundred pomegranates for the two lattices, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars;

⁴³and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands;

⁴⁴and the one Sea and the twelve oxen under the Sea;

⁴⁵and the buckets, the shovels, and the bowls; indeed, all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were of polished bronze.

⁴⁶The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

⁴⁷However, Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸Solomon also made all the furniture that was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was set the bread of the Presence;

⁴⁹and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary; and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;

⁵⁰also the cups, the shears, the bowls, the ladles, and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the house, that is, for the main room, of gold.

⁵¹So all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the offerings vowed by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying,

²“This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them,

³because of their wickedness which they committed to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers.

⁴Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing which I hate.”

⁵But they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods.

⁶Therefore My wrath and My anger gushed out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become ruins and a desolation as it is this day.

⁷Now then, this is what the LORD God of armies, the God of Israel says: “Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, to eliminate from yourselves man and woman, child and infant from among Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant,

⁸provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you are entering to reside, so that you may be eliminated and become a curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth?

⁹Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁰Yet they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in My Law or My statutes, which I placed before you and before your fathers.” ’

¹¹“Therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to set My face against you for a disaster, even to eliminate all Judah.

¹²And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their minds on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or meet their end by famine. From the small to the great, they will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a disgrace.

¹³And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with plague.

¹⁴So there will be no survivor or refugee for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return to live; for none will return except a few refugees.’ ”

¹⁵Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying,

¹⁶“As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you!

¹⁷But we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune.

¹⁸But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and have met our end by the sword and by famine.”

¹⁹“And,” said the women, “when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?”

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying,

²¹“As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land, did the LORD not remember them, and did all of this not come into His mind?

²²So the LORD was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; so your land has become a place of ruins, an object of horror, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.

²³Since you have burned sacrifices and have sinned against the LORD and not obeyed the voice of the LORD nor walked in His Law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this disaster has happened to you, as it has this day.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!

²⁵This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!’

²⁶In return, hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord GOD lives.”

²⁷Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword or by famine until they are completely gone.

²⁸Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs.

²⁹And this will be the sign to you,’ declares the LORD, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.’

³⁰This is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’ ”

¹Now after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges against Paul to the governor.

²After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began accusing him, saying to the governor, “Since we have attained great peace through you, and since reforms are being carried out for this nation by your foresight,

³we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴But, that I may not weary you further, I beg you to grant us a brief hearing, by your kindness.

⁵For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶And he even tried to desecrate the temple, so indeed we arrested him.

⁷

⁸By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we are accusing him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And neither in the temple did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself.

¹³Nor can they prove to you the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;

¹⁵having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶In view of this I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always.

¹⁷Now after several years I came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings,

¹⁸in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—

¹⁹who ought to have been present before you and to have been bringing charges, if they should have anything against me.

²⁰Or else have these men themselves declare what violation they discovered when I stood before the Council,

²¹other than in regard to this one declaration which I shouted while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today!’ ”

²²But Felix, having quite accurate knowledge about the Way, adjourned them, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³He gave orders to the centurion for Paul to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.”

²⁶At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him.

²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul imprisoned.