Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

²And a leper came up to Him and bowed down before Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You are able to make me clean (well)."

³Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

⁴And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest [for inspection] and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony (evidence) to them [of your healing]."

⁵As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help],

⁶and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, with intense and terrible, tormenting pain."

⁷Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

⁸But the centurion replied to Him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

⁹For I also am a man subject to authority [of a higher rank], with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following Him, "I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with anyone in Israel.

¹¹I say to you that many [Gentiles] will come from east and west, and will sit down [to feast at the table, and enjoy God's promises] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [because they accepted Me as Savior],

¹²while the sons and heirs of the kingdom [the descendants of Abraham who will not recognize Me as Messiah] will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place [which is farthest removed from the kingdom] there will be weeping [in sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [in distress and anger]."

¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it will be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was restored to health at that very hour.

¹⁴When Jesus went into Peter's house [in Capernaum], He saw Peter's mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.

¹⁵He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she got up and served Him.

¹⁶When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons; and He cast out the evil spirits with a word, and restored to health all who were sick [exhibiting His authority as Messiah],

¹⁷so that He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He Himself took our infirmities [upon Himself] and carried away our diseases."

¹⁸Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to cast off for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

¹⁹Then [on His way to board the boat] a scribe [who was a respected and authoritative interpreter of the Law] came and said to Him, "Master, I will accompany You [as Your student] wherever You go."

²⁰Jesus replied to him, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

²¹Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father (collect my inheritance)."

²²But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me [believing in Me as Master and Teacher], and allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead."

²³When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

²⁴And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.

²⁵And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, "Lord, save us, we are going to die!"

²⁶He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness].

²⁷The men wondered in amazement, saying, "What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

²⁸When He arrived at the other side in the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs met Him. They were so extremely fierce and violent that no one could pass by that way.

²⁹And they screamed out, " What business do we have [in common] with each other, Son of God? Have You come to torment us before the appointed time [of judgment]?"

³⁰Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was grazing.

³¹The demons began begging Him, "If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

³²And He said to them, "Go!" So they came out [of the men] and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the water.

³³The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons.

³⁴And the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

¹"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she loses his favor because he has found something indecent or unacceptable about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house,

²and after she leaves his house, she goes and becomes another man's wife,

³and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,

⁴then her former husband who [first] sent her away may not take her again as his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an outrage before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

⁵"When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out [to fight] with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

⁶"No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone [used to grind grain into bread] as security [for a debt], for he would be taking a [person's] life in pledge.

⁷"If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen from the sons of Israel, and he treats him violently or sells him [as a slave], then that thief shall die. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

⁸"Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; just as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do.

⁹Remember [with thoughtful concern] what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the road as you came out of Egypt.

¹⁰"When you lend your neighbor anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge (security deposit).

¹¹You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you.

¹²If the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight.

¹³You shall certainly restore the pledge (security deposit) to him at sunset, so that he may sleep in his garment and bless you; and it will be credited to you as righteousness (right standing) before the LORD your God.

¹⁴"You shall not take advantage of a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether [he is] one of your countrymen or one of the strangers (resident aliens, foreigners) who is in your land inside your cities.

¹⁵You shall give him his wages on the day that he earns them before the sun sets—for he is poor and is counting on it—so that he does not cry out to the LORD against you, and it becomes a sin for you.

¹⁶"The fathers shall not be put to death for [the sins of] their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; [only] for his own sin shall anyone be put to death.

¹⁷"You shall not pervert the justice due a stranger or an orphan, nor seize (impound) a widow's garment as security [for a loan].

¹⁸But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

¹⁹" When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf [of grain] in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

²⁰When you beat [the olives off of] your olive tree, do not search through the branches again; [whatever is left] shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.

²¹"When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.

²²You shall [thoughtfully] remember [the fact] that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

¹Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed), by the will of God [that is, by His purpose and choice], To the saints (God's people) who are at Ephesus and are faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus:

²Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed and worthy of praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ,

⁴just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is, consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight. In love

⁵He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will—

⁶to the praise of His glorious grace and favor, which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved [His Son, Jesus Christ].

⁷In Him we have redemption [that is, our deliverance and salvation] through His blood, [which paid the penalty for our sin and resulted in] the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin, in accordance with the riches of His grace

⁸which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding [with practical insight]

⁹He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ,

¹⁰with regard to the fulfillment of the times [that is, the end of history, the climax of the ages]—to bring all things together in Christ, [both] things in the heavens and things on the earth.

¹¹In Him also we have received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will,

¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him as our Lord and Savior] would exist to the praise of His glory.

¹³In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God].

¹⁴The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God's own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people,

¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers;

¹⁷[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son].

¹⁸And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God's people),

¹⁹and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength

²⁰which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come.

²²And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under Christ's feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all things in the church,

²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills and completes all things in all [believers].

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.

²By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source];

³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son's true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].

⁵They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them.

⁶We [who teach God's word] are from God [energized by the Holy Spirit], and whoever knows God [through personal experience] listens to us [and has a deeper understanding of Him]. Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know [without any doubt] the spirit of truth [motivated by God] and the spirit of error [motivated by Satan].

⁷Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience].

⁸The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

⁹By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him.

¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God's requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath].

¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us [in this incredible way], we also ought to love one another.

¹²No one has seen God at any time. But if we love one another [with unselfish concern], God abides in us, and His love [the love that is His essence abides in us and] is completed and perfected in us.

¹³By this we know [with confident assurance] that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given to us His [Holy] Spirit.

¹⁴We [who were with Him in person] have seen and testify [as eye-witnesses] that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵Whoever confesses and acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

¹⁶We have come to know [by personal observation and experience], and have believed [with deep, consistent faith] the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him.

¹⁷In this [union and fellowship with Him], love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him]; because as He is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God's judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God's love].

¹⁹We love, because He first loved us.

²⁰If anyone says, "I love God," and hates (works against) his [Christian] brother he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²¹And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should also [unselfishly] love his brother and seek the best for him.

¹Remember [thoughtfully] also your Creator in the days of your youth [for you are not your own, but His], before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], "I have no enjoyment and delight in them";

²before the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars are darkened [by impaired vision], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears];

³in the day when the keepers of the house (hands, arms) tremble, and the strong men (feet, knees) bow themselves, and the grinders (molar teeth) cease because they are few, and those (eyes) who look through the windows grow dim;

⁴when the doors (lips) are shut in the streets and the sound of the grinding [of the teeth] is low, and one rises at the sound of a bird and the crowing of a rooster, and all the daughters of music (voice, ears) sing softly.

⁵Furthermore, they are afraid of a high place and of dangers on the road; the almond tree (hair) blossoms [white], and the grasshopper (a little thing) is a burden, and the caperberry (desire, appetite) fails. For man goes to his eternal home and the mourners go about the streets and market places.

⁶Earnestly remember your Creator before the silver cord [of life] is broken, or the golden bowl is crushed, or the pitcher at the fountain is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

⁷then the dust [out of which God made man's body] will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

⁸"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher. "All [that is done without God's guidance] is vanity (futility)."

⁹Furthermore, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered and searched out and arranged many proverbs.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find delightful words, even to write correctly words of truth.

¹¹The words of the wise are like [prodding] goads, and these collected sayings are [firmly fixed in the mind] like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

¹²But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.

¹³When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person.

¹⁴For God will bring every act to judgment, every hidden and secret thing, whether it is good or evil.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

²Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly, From the scheming of those who do wrong,

³Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword. They aim venomous words as arrows,

⁴To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one]; Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.

⁵They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, "Who will discover us?"

⁶They devise acts of injustice, saying, "We are ready with a well-conceived plan." For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep (mysterious, unsearchable).

⁷But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded.

⁸So they will be caused to stumble; Their own tongue is against them; All who gaze at them will shake the head [in scorn].

⁹Then all men will fear [God's judgment]; They will declare the work of God, And they will consider and wisely acknowledge what He has done.

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in Him; All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.

¹When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is [set] before you;

²For you will put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite.

³Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food [offered to you with questionable motives].

⁴Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth; Cease from your own understanding of it.

⁵When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies to the heavens.

⁶Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;

⁷For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates]. He says to you, "Eat and drink," Yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost].

⁸The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, And you will waste your compliments.

⁹Do not speak in the ears of a fool, For he will despise the [godly] wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not move the ancient landmark [at the boundary of the property] And do not go into the fields of the fatherless [to take what is theirs],

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong and mighty; He will plead their case against you.

¹²Apply your heart to discipline And your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold discipline from the child; If you swat him with a reed-like rod [applied with godly wisdom], he will not die.

¹⁴You shall swat him with the reed-like rod And rescue his life from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will also be glad;

¹⁶Yes, my heart will rejoice When your lips speak right things.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners [who live godless lives and have no hope of salvation], But [continue to] live in the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the LORD day by day.

¹⁸Surely there is a future [and a reward], And your hope and expectation will not be cut off.

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way [of the LORD].

²⁰Do not associate with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat,

²¹For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.

²²Listen to your father, who sired you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³Buy truth, and do not sell it; Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.

²⁵Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who gave birth to you rejoice [in your wise and godly choices].

²⁶My son, give me your heart And let your eyes delight in my ways,

²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit, And an immoral woman is a narrow well.

²⁸She lurks and lies in wait like a robber [who waits for prey], And she increases the faithless among men.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Whose eyes are red and dim?

³⁰Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.

³¹Do not look at wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the glass, When it goes down smoothly.

³²At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper.

³³Your [drunken] eyes will see strange things And your mind will utter perverse things [untrue things, twisted things].

³⁴And you will be [as unsteady] as one who lies down in the middle of the sea, And [as vulnerable to disaster] as one who lies down on the top of a ship's mast, saying,

³⁵"They struck me, but I was not hurt! They beat me, but I did not feel it! When will I wake up? I will seek more wine."

¹Now king Solomon [defiantly] loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,

²from the very nations of whom the LORD said to the Israelites, "You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for the result will be that they will turn away your hearts to follow their gods." Yet Solomon clung to these in love.

³He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away [from God].

⁴For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not completely devoted to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.

⁵For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the [fertility] goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the horror (detestable idol) of the Ammonites.

⁶Solomon did evil [things] in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as his father David had done.

⁷Then Solomon built a high place for [worshiping] Chemosh the horror (detestable idol) of Moab, on the hill which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the horror (detestable idol) of the sons of Ammon.

⁸And he did the same for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹So the LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

¹⁰and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow other gods; but he did not observe (remember, obey) what the LORD had commanded.

¹¹Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.

¹²However, I will not do it in your lifetime, for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son (Rehoboam).

¹³However, I will not tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe (Judah) to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."

¹⁴Then the LORD stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of royal descent in Edom.

¹⁵For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed [in battle] and had struck down every male in Edom

¹⁶(for Joab and all [the army of] Israel stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom),

¹⁷that Hadad escaped to Egypt, he and some Edomites from his father's servants with him, while Hadad was [still] a little boy.

¹⁸They set out from Midian [south of Edom] and came to Paran, and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave [young] Hadad a house and ordered food and provisions for him and gave him land.

¹⁹Hadad found great favor with Pharaoh, so that he gave Hadad in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

²⁰The sister of Tahpenes gave birth to Genubath, Hadad's son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.

²¹But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David had died and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me leave, so that I may go to my own country."

²²Then Pharaoh said to him, "But what have you lacked with me that now you ask to go to your own country?" He replied, "Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go."

²³God also stirred up another adversary for Solomon, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.

²⁴Rezon gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, after David killed those in Zobah. They went to Damascus and stayed there and they reigned in Damascus.

²⁵So Rezon was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the evil that Hadad inflicted. Rezon hated Israel and reigned over Aram (Syria).

²⁶Jeroboam, Solomon's servant, the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zeredah whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.

²⁷Now this is the reason why he rebelled against the king: Solomon built the Millo (fortification) and he repaired and closed the breach of the city of his father David.

²⁸The man Jeroboam was a brave warrior and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.

²⁹It came about at that time, when Jeroboam left Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. Now Ahijah had covered himself with a new cloak; and the two of them were alone in the field.

³⁰Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.

³¹He said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am going to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes—

³²but he [and his descendants] shall have one tribe (Benjamin was annexed to Judah), for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel—

³³because they have abandoned Me and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways and followed My commandments, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances as did his father David.

³⁴However, I will not take the entire kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes.

³⁵But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and give it to you: ten tribes.

³⁶Yet to his son I will give one tribe, so that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put My Name and Presence.

³⁷I will take you [Jeroboam], and you shall reign over whatever your soul desires; and you shall be king over Israel (the ten northern tribes).

³⁸Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, keeping and observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

³⁹And in this way I will afflict the descendants of David for this (their sin), but not forever.'"

⁴⁰So Solomon attempted to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam set out and escaped to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

⁴¹The rest of the acts of Solomon—and all that he did, and his wisdom—are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

⁴²The time Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

⁴³And Solomon slept [in death] with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

¹Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Woe (judgment is coming) to [the city of] Nebo, for it has been destroyed! Kiriathaim has been shamed, it has been captured; Misgab [the high fortress] has been shamed, broken down and crushed.

²"The glory of Moab is no more; In Heshbon they planned evil against her, Saying, 'Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!' You also, O [city of] Madmen, shall be silenced; The sword will pursue you.

³"The sound of an outcry from Horonaim, 'Desolation and great destruction!'

⁴"Moab is destroyed; Her little ones have called out a cry of distress [to be heard as far as Zoar].

⁵"For the Ascent of Luhith Will be climbed by [successive groups of] fugitives with continual weeping; For on the descent of Horonaim They have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.

⁶"Run! Save your lives, That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

⁷"For because you have trusted in your works [your hand-made idols] and in your treasures [instead of in God], Even you yourself will be captured; And Chemosh [your disgusting god cannot rescue you, but] will go away into exile [along with the fugitives] Together with his priests and his princes.

⁸"And the destroyer will come upon every city; No city will escape. The [Jordan] valley also will be ruined And the plain will be devastated, As the LORD has said.

⁹"Give a gravestone to Moab, For she will fall into ruins; Her cities (pastures, farms) will be desolate, Without anyone to live in them.

¹⁰"Cursed is the one who does the work of the LORD negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood [in executing the judgment of the LORD].

¹¹"Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has also been undisturbed, and settled like wine on his dregs, And he has not been emptied from one vessel to another, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore his flavor remains in him, And his scent has not changed.

¹²Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will send to Moab those who will tip him over and who will empty his vessels and break his [earthenware] jars in pieces.

¹³And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh [his worthless, disgusting god], as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their [misplaced] confidence.

¹⁴"How can you say, 'We are great warriors And valiant men in war?'

¹⁵"Moab has been made desolate and his cities have gone up [in smoke and flame]; And his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter," Says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

¹⁶"The destruction of Moab will come soon, And his disaster hurries quickly.

¹⁷"Show sympathy for him, all you [nations] who are around him, And all you [distant nations] who know his name; Say, 'How has the mighty scepter [of national power] been broken, And the splendid staff [of glory]!'

¹⁸"Come down from your glory, O Daughter living in Dibon, And sit on the parched ground [among the thirsty]! For the destroyer of Moab has advanced against you; He has destroyed your strongholds.

¹⁹"O inhabitant of Aroer, Stand by the road and keep watch! Ask [of] him who flees and [ask of] her who escapes, Saying, 'What has happened?'

²⁰"Moab is shamed, for she has been broken down and shattered. Wail and cry out! Tell by [the banks of] the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

²¹"Judgment has come on [the land of] the plain—upon Holon, Jahzah, and against Mephaath,

²²against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

²³against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,

²⁴against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

²⁵The horn (strength) of Moab has been cut off and his arm [of authority] is shattered," says the LORD.

²⁶Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant and magnified himself against the LORD [by denying Reuben's occupation of the land the LORD had assigned him]. Moab also will wallow in his vomit, and he too shall become a laughingstock.

²⁷For was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he caught among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head in scorn.

²⁸"You inhabitants of Moab, Leave the cities and live among the rocks, And be like the dove that makes her nest In the walls of the yawning ravine.

²⁹"We have heard of the [giddy] pride of Moab, the extremely proud one— His haughtiness, his arrogance, his conceit, and his self-exaltation.

³⁰"I know his [insolent] wrath," says the LORD, "But it is futile; His idle boasts [in his deeds] have accomplished nothing.

³¹"Therefore I will wail over Moab, And I will cry out for all Moab. I will sigh and mourn over the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth).

³²"O vines of Sibmah, I will weep for you More than the weeping of Jazer [over its ruins and wasted vineyards]. Your tendrils [of influence] stretched across the sea, Reaching [even] to the sea of Jazer. The destroyer has fallen On your summer fruits and your [season's] crop of grapes.

³³"So joy and gladness are taken away From the fruitful field and from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine cease from the wine presses; No one treads the grapes with shouting. Their shouting is not joyful shouting [but is instead, a battle cry].

³⁴From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolations.

³⁵Moreover, I will cause to cease in Moab," says the LORD, "the one who ascends and offers sacrifice in the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.

³⁶"Therefore My heart moans and sighs for Moab like flutes, and My heart moans and sighs like flutes for the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth); therefore [the remnant of] the abundant riches they gained has perished.

³⁷For every head is [shaven] bald and every beard cut off; there are cuts (slashes) on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins [all expressions of mourning].

³⁸On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation (expressions of grief for the dead) everywhere, for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which there is no pleasure," says the LORD.

³⁹How it is broken down! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab will become a laughingstock and a [horrifying] terror to all who are around him."

⁴⁰For thus says the LORD: "Behold, one (Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon) will fly swiftly like an eagle And spread out his wings against Moab.

⁴¹"Kerioth [and the cities] has been taken And the strongholds seized; And the hearts of the warriors of Moab in that day Shall be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.

⁴²"Moab will be destroyed from being a nation (people) Because he has become arrogant and magnified himself against the LORD.

⁴³"Terror and pit and snare are before you, O inhabitant of Moab," says the LORD.

⁴⁴"The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who gets up out of the pit Will be taken and caught in the trap; For I shall bring upon it, even upon Moab, The year of their punishment," says the LORD.

⁴⁵"In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand powerless [helpless and without strength], For a fire has gone out from Heshbon, A flame from the midst of Sihon; It has destroyed the forehead of Moab And the crowns of the heads of [the arrogant Moabites] the ones in tumult.

⁴⁶"Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O Moab! The people of [the pagan god called] Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive And your daughters into captivity.

⁴⁷"Yet I will return the captives and restore the fortunes of Moab In the latter days," says the LORD. Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

¹After we were safe [on land], we found out that the island was called Malta.

²And the natives showed us extraordinary kindness and hospitality; for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, since it had begun to rain and was cold.

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper crawled out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

⁴When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [the avenging goddess] has not permitted him to live."

⁵Then Paul [simply] shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

⁶But they stood watching and expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god.

⁷In the vicinity of that place there were estates belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed and entertained us hospitably for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius was sick [in bed] with recurring attacks of fever and dysentery; and Paul went to him, and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹After this occurred, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed.

¹⁰They also gave us many honors [gifts and courtesies expressing respect]; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all the things we needed.

¹¹At the end of three months we set sail on a ship which had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers [Castor and Pollux] as its figurehead.

¹²We landed at Syracuse [on Sicily] and stayed there three days.

¹³From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium [on Italy's southern tip]; and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found some believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵And the brothers and sisters, having heard news about us, came from as far away as the Forum of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

¹⁶When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself [in rented quarters] with the soldier who was guarding him.

¹⁷Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Kinsmen, though I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our fathers, yet I was turned over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸After they had interrogated me, they were ready to release me because I was not guilty of any offense deserving death.

¹⁹But when the Jews objected [to my release], I was forced to appeal to Caesar (Emperor Nero), not because I had any charge to make against my nation.

²⁰For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel (the Messiah, the resurrection) that I am bound with this chain."

²¹They said to him, "We have not received [any] letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the [Jewish] brothers come here and reported or said anything bad about you.

²²But we would like to hear from you what your views are [that is, exactly what you believe]; for in regard to this sect (Christianity), we are fully aware that it is denounced everywhere."

²³When they had set a day for Paul, they came to his lodging in large numbers. And he carefully explained [Christianity] to them from morning until evening, solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and from the [writings of the] Prophets.

²⁴Some were persuaded by what he said, but others would not believe.

²⁵They disagreed among themselves and they began to leave after Paul had made one last statement: "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying,

²⁶'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand, You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

²⁷"For the heart (the understanding, the soul) of this people has become dull (calloused), And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have shut their eyes [to the truth]; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return [to Me], And I would heal them."'

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that [this message of] the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they indeed will listen!"

²⁹[And when he had said these things, the Jews left, arguing among themselves.]

³⁰And Paul lived there for two full years [at his own expense] in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him,

³¹preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness and boldness, unhindered and unrestrained.