Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And Jesus, getting into a boat, crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to [Capernaum] His own city.

²They brought to Him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a stretcher. Seeing their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], Jesus said to the paralytic, "Do not be afraid, son; your sins are forgiven [the penalty is paid, the guilt removed, and you are declared to be in right standing with God]."

³And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man blasphemes [by claiming the rights and prerogatives of God]!"

⁴But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

⁵For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven and the penalty paid,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? [Both are possible for God; both are impossible for man.]

⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority and the power on earth to forgive sins"—then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home."

⁷And he got up and went home [healed and forgiven].

⁸When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God and praised Him, who had given such authority and power to men.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew (Levi) sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk]." And Matthew got up and followed Him.

¹⁰Then as Jesus was reclining at the table in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] came and ate with Him and His disciples.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, "Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹²But when Jesus heard this, He said, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but [only] those who are sick.

¹³Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: 'I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,' for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness]."

¹⁴Then the disciples of John [the Baptist] came to Jesus, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees often fast [as a religious exercise], but Your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁵And Jesus replied to them, "Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶But no one puts a piece of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

¹⁷Nor is new wine put into old wineskins [that have lost their elasticity]; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the [fermenting] wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, so both are preserved."

¹⁸While He was saying these things to them, a ruler (synagogue official) entered [the house] and kneeled down and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just now died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live."

¹⁹Jesus got up and began to accompany the ruler, with His disciples.

²⁰Then a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the [tassel] fringe of His outer robe;

²¹for she had been saying to herself, "If I only touch His outer robe, I will be healed."

²²But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Take courage, daughter; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well." And at once the woman was [completely] healed.

²³When Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players [who were professional, hired mourners] and the [grieving] crowd making an uproar,

²⁴He said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead, but is sleeping." And they laughed and jeered at Him.

²⁵But when the crowd had been sent outside, Jesus went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

²⁶And the news about this spread throughout all that district.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, screaming loudly, "Have mercy and compassion on us, Son of David (Messiah)!"

²⁸When He went into the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe [with a deep, abiding trust] that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."

²⁹Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith [your trust and confidence in My power and My ability to heal] it will be done to you."

³⁰And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: "See that no one knows this!"

³¹But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that whole district.

³²While they were going away, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus.

³³And when the demon was driven out [by Jesus], the mute man spoke; and the crowds wondered in amazement, saying, "Never before has anything like this [miracle] been seen in Israel."

³⁴But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by [the power of] the ruler of demons."

³⁵Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness [His words and His works reflecting His Messiahship].

³⁶When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few.

³⁸So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

¹"If there is a controversy between men, and they go to court, and the judges decide [the issue] between them, and they judge in favor of the innocent and condemn the guilty,

²then it shall be that if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with a [certain] number of stripes in proportion to his offense.

³He may have him beaten forty times, but no more. He is not to be beaten with more stripes than these and he is not to be degraded [that is, treated like an animal] in your sight.

⁴"You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing [to prevent him from eating any of the grain].

⁵"If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall be intimate with her after taking her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.

⁶It shall be that her firstborn [son] will be given the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out of Israel.

⁷But if the man does not want to marry his brother's [widowed] wife, then she shall go up to the gate [of the city, where court is held] to the elders, and say, 'My brother-in-law refuses to continue his brother's name in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband's brother.'

⁸Then the elders of his city will summon him and speak to him. And if he stands firm and says, 'I do not want to marry her,'

⁹then his brother's widow shall approach him in the presence of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, 'So it is done to that man who does not build up his brother's household.'

¹⁰In Israel his [family] name shall be, 'The house of him whose sandal was removed.'

¹¹"If [two] men, a man and his countryman, are fighting and the wife of one approaches to rescue her husband from the man who is striking him, and she reaches out with her hand and grabs the aggressor's genitals,

¹²then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity [for her].

¹³"You shall not have in your bag inaccurate weights, a heavy and a light [so you can cheat others].

¹⁴You shall not have in your house inaccurate measures, a large and a small.

¹⁵You shall have a perfect (full) and just weight, and a perfect and just measure, so that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

¹⁶For everyone who does such things, everyone who acts unjustly [without personal integrity] is utterly repulsive to the LORD your God.

¹⁷"Remember what Amalek did to you along the road when you came from Egypt,

¹⁸how he met you along the road and attacked all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.

¹⁹Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

¹And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins,

²in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].

³Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God's] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].

⁴But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us,

⁵even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God's judgment).

⁶And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus,

⁷[and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption].

⁸For it is by grace [God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;

⁹not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].

¹⁰For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

¹¹Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, who are called "Uncircumcision" by those who called themselves "Circumcision," [itself a mere mark] which is made in the flesh by human hands—

¹²remember that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God's agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God.

¹³But now [at this very moment] in Christ Jesus you who once were [so very] far away [from God] have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity. He who made both groups—[Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us],

¹⁵by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace.

¹⁶And [that He] might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile, united] in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility.

¹⁷And He came and preached the good news of peace to you [Gentiles] who were far away, and peace to those [Jews] who were near.

¹⁸For it is through Him that we both have a [direct] way of approach in one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God's people), and are [members] of God's household,

²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone,

²¹in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].

²²In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

¹Everyone who believes [with a deep, abiding trust in the fact] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him.

²By this we know [without any doubt] that we love the children of God: [expressing that love] when we love God and obey His commandments.

³For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey].

⁴For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].

⁵Who is the one who is victorious and overcomes the world? It is the one who believes and recognizes the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶This is He who came through water and blood [His baptism and death], Jesus Christ—not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. It is the [Holy] Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. [He is the essence and origin of truth itself.]

⁷For there are three witnesses:

⁸the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three are in agreement [their testimony is perfectly consistent].

⁹If we accept [as we do] the testimony of men [that is, if we are willing to take the sworn statements of fallible humans as evidence], the testimony of God is greater [far more authoritative]; for this is the testimony of God, that He has testified regarding His Son.

¹⁰The one who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies confidently on Him as Savior] has the testimony within himself [because he can speak authoritatively about Christ from his own personal experience]. The one who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him [out to be] a liar, because he has not believed in the evidence that God has given regarding His Son.

¹¹And the testimony is this: God has given us eternal life [we already possess it], and this life is in His Son [resulting in our spiritual completeness, and eternal companionship with Him].

¹²He who has the Son [by accepting Him as Lord and Savior] has the life [that is eternal]; he who does not have the Son of God [by personal faith] does not have the life.

¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God [which represents all that Jesus Christ is and does], so that you will know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have eternal life.

¹⁴This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he will pray and ask [on the believer's behalf] and God will for him give life to those whose sin is not leading to death. There is a sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for this [kind of sin].

¹⁷All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death [one can repent of it and be forgiven].

¹⁸We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know [for a fact] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] lies in the power of the evil one [opposing God and His precepts].

²⁰And we [have seen and] know [by personal experience] that the Son of God has [actually] come [to this world], and has given us understanding and insight so that we may [progressively and personally] know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children (believers, dear ones), guard yourselves from idols—[false teachings, moral compromises, and anything that would take God's place in your heart].

¹The Song of Songs [the best of songs], which is Solomon's.

²(The Shulammite Bride) "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!" [Solomon arrives, she turns to him, saying,] "For your love is better than wine.

³"The aroma of your oils is fragrant and pleasing; Your name is perfume poured out; Therefore the maidens love you.

⁴"Draw me away with you and let us run together! Let the king bring me into his chambers." (The Chorus) "We will rejoice and be glad in you; We will remember and extol your love more [sweet and fragrant] than wine. Rightly do they love you."

⁵(The Shulammite Bride) "I am deeply tanned but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, [I am dark] like the tents of [the Bedouins of] Kedar, Like the [beautiful] curtains of Solomon.

⁶"Do not gaze at me because I am deeply tanned, [I have worked in] the sun; it has left its mark on me. My mother's sons were angry with me; They made me keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard (my complexion) I have not kept."

⁷"Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock, Where do you make it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who is veiled Beside the flocks of your companions?"

⁸(The Bridegroom) "If you do not know [where your lover is], O you fairest among women, Run along, follow the tracks of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds.

⁹"To me, my love, you are like My [favorite] mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

¹⁰"Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with strings of jewels."

¹¹(The Chorus) "We will make for you chains and ornaments of gold, [Studded] with beads of silver."

¹²(The Shulammite Bride) "While the king was at his table, My perfume (Solomon) sent forth [his] fragrance [surrounding me].

¹³"My beloved is to me like a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts.

¹⁴"My beloved is to me a cluster of henna flowers In the [fragrant] vineyards of Engedi."

¹⁵(The Bridegroom) "Behold, how beautiful you are, my darling, Behold, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are dove's eyes."

¹⁶(The Shulammite Bride) "Behold, how fair and handsome you are, my beloved; And so delightful! Our arbor is green and luxuriant.

¹⁷"The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters and panels are cypresses.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. To You belongs silence [the submissive wonder of reverence], and [it bursts into] praise in Zion, O God; And to You the vow shall be performed.

²O You who hear prayer, To You all mankind comes.

³Wickedness and guilt prevail against me; Yet as for our transgressions, You forgive them [removing them from Your sight].

⁴Blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near To dwell in Your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.

⁵By awesome and wondrous things You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust and hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

⁶Who creates the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power,

⁷Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples,

⁸So they who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs [the evidence of Your presence]. You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

⁹You visit the earth and make it overflow [with water]; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You provide their grain, when You have prepared the earth.

¹⁰You water its furrows abundantly, You smooth its ridges; You soften it with showers, You bless its growth.

¹¹You crown the year with Your bounty, And Your paths overflow.

¹²The pastures of the wilderness drip [with dew], And the hills are encircled with joy.

¹³The meadows are clothed with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy and they sing.

¹Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;

²For their minds plot violence, And their lips talk of trouble [for the innocent].

³Through [skillful and godly] wisdom a house [a life, a home, a family] is built, And by understanding it is established [on a sound and good foundation],

⁴And by knowledge its rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.

⁵A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge strengthens his power;

⁶For by wise guidance you can wage your war, And in an abundance of [wise] counselors there is victory and safety.

⁷Wisdom is too exalted for a [hardened, arrogant] fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate [where the city's rulers sit in judgment].

⁸He who plans to do evil Will be called a schemer or deviser of evil.

⁹The devising of folly is sin, And the scoffer is repulsive to men.

¹⁰If you are slack (careless) in the day of distress, Your strength is limited.

¹¹Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who stagger to the slaughter, Oh hold them back [from their doom]!

¹²If you [claim ignorance and] say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs and examines the hearts and their motives? And does He not know it who guards your life and keeps your soul? And will He not repay [you and] every man according to his works?

¹³My son, eat honey, because it is good, And the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know that [skillful and godly] wisdom is [so very good] for your life and soul; If you find wisdom, then there will be a future and a reward, And your hope and expectation will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place;

¹⁶For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse.

¹⁷Do not rejoice and gloat when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad [in self-righteousness] when he stumbles,

¹⁸Or the LORD will see your gloating and be displeased, And turn His anger away from your enemy.

¹⁹Do not get upset because of evildoers, Or be envious of the wicked,

²⁰For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king; And do not associate with those who are given to change [of allegiance, and are revolutionary],

²²For their tragedy will rise suddenly, And who knows the punishment that both [the LORD and the king] will bring on the rebellious?

²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Peoples will curse him, nations will denounce him;

²⁵But to those [honorable judges] who rebuke the wicked, it will go well with them and they will find delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶He kisses the lips [and wins the hearts of people] Who gives a right and straightforward answer.

²⁷Prepare your work outside And get it ready for yourself in the field; Afterward build your house and establish a home.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips [speak neither lies nor half-truths].

²⁹Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for his deed."

³⁰I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;

³¹And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns, And nettles were covering its surface, And its stone wall was broken down.

³²When I saw, I considered it well; I looked and received instruction.

³³"Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],"

³⁴Then your poverty will come as a robber, And your want like an armed man.

¹Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

²Now when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about it, he was living in Egypt (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon).

³So they sent word and called for him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

⁴"Your father made our yoke (burden) heavy; so now lighten the hard labor and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, and we will serve you."

⁵Rehoboam replied to them, "Leave for three days, then come back to me [for my decision]." So the people left.

⁶King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served and advised his father Solomon while he was still alive and said, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"

⁷They spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant their request, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

⁸But he ignored the advice which the elders gave him and consulted the young men who grew up with him and served him.

⁹He said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, 'Lighten the yoke (burden) which your father put on us'?"

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him answered, "This is what you should say to this people who told you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but as for you, make our yoke lighter'—say this to them: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins [and my reign will be even more severe].

¹¹And now, whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

¹²Jeroboam and all the people came back to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had instructed, saying, "Return to me on the third day."

¹³The king answered the people harshly and ignored the advice which the elders had given him,

¹⁴and spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but as for me, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people; for the situation was from the LORD, so that He might fulfill His word which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶So when all [the ten northern tribes of] Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people replied to the king, saying, "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; To your tents, O Israel! Look now after your own house, David!" Then Israel went back to their tents.

¹⁷But as for the sons (descendants) of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah [including Benjamin], Rehoboam reigned over them.

¹⁸Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor [to represent him], and all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to escape to Jerusalem.

¹⁹So Israel (the ten northern tribes) has rebelled against the house (royal line) of David to this day (the date of this writing).

²⁰It came about when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. None followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah [including Benjamin].

²¹Now when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled all the [fighting men from the] house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

²²But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

²³"Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house (fighting men) of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people,

²⁴'Thus says the LORD, "You shall not go up and fight against your brothers, the sons of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing has come about from Me."'" So they listened to the word of the LORD and returned to go home, in accordance with the word of the LORD.

²⁵Then Jeroboam built Shechem [as his royal city] in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He went out from there and rebuilt Penuel [as a stronghold].

²⁶Jeroboam [doubted God's promise to him and] said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

²⁷If these people go up to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, then their heart will turn to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."

²⁸So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."

²⁹He set the one [golden calf] in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

³⁰Now this thing became a sin [for Israel]; because the people went to worship before the one [or the other of them] as far as Dan.

³¹And Jeroboam also made houses on high places, and he made priests from all people who were not of the sons (descendants) of Levi.

³²Jeroboam held a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast which is kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

³³So he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart [in defiance of God's commandments]; and he held a feast for the Israelites and he went up to the altar to burn incense [in defiance of God's law.]

¹Concerning the sons (descendants) of Ammon. Thus says the LORD: "Does Israel have no sons [to reclaim Gad from the Ammonites]? Has he no heir? Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad And [why do] his people live in the cities [of Gad]?

²"Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "When I will cause an alarm of war to be heard Against Rabbah of the Ammonites; And it [along with the high ground on which it stands] will become a desolate heap, And its villages will be set on fire. Then will Israel take possession of his possessors," Says the LORD.

³"Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai [in Ammon] has been destroyed! Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Wrap yourselves with sackcloth and lament (cry out in grief), And rush back and forth inside the enclosures; For Malcam [your powerless god] will go into exile Together with his priests and his princes.

⁴"Why do you boast of your valleys? Your valley is flowing away, [O Ammon] rebellious and faithless daughter Who trusts in her treasures, saying, 'Who will come against me?'

⁵"Behold, I am going to bring terror on you," Says the Lord GOD of hosts, "From all who are around you; And each of you will be driven out headlong, And there will be no one to gather the fugitives together.

⁶"But afterward I will reverse The captivity of the children of Ammon and restore their fortunes," Says the LORD.

⁷Concerning Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman? Has good counsel vanished from the intelligent and prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?

⁸"Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths [of the desert to escape the judgment of Edom], O inhabitants of Dedan, For I will bring the destruction of Esau (Edom) upon him When I inspect and punish him.

⁹"If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some ungleaned grapes [on the vines]? If thieves came by night, Would they not destroy [only] what is enough [for them]?

¹⁰"But I have stripped Esau (Edom) bare; I have uncovered his hiding places And he cannot hide himself. His descendants have been destroyed along with his brothers (relatives) and his neighbors; And he is no more.

¹¹"Leave your orphans behind; I will [do what is needed to] keep them alive. And let [those who are] your widows trust and confide in Me."

¹²For thus says the LORD, "Behold, those (Israel) who were not sentenced to drink the cup [of wrath] shall certainly drink it, and are you to remain unpunished? You will not be acquitted and go unpunished, but you will certainly drink [from the cup of wrath and judgment].

¹³For I have sworn [an oath] by Myself," says the LORD, "that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins."

¹⁴I have heard a report from the LORD, And a messenger has been sent to the nations, saying, "Gather together and come against her, And rise up for the battle."

¹⁵"For behold, [Edom] I have made you small among the nations And despised among men.

¹⁶"As for Your terror, The pride and arrogance of your heart have deceived you, O you who live in the clefts of the rock (Sela also called Petra), Who hold and occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there," says the LORD.

¹⁷"Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who goes by it will be astonished and shall hiss [scornfully] at all its plagues and disasters.

¹⁸As [it was] in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with their neighboring cities," says the LORD, "no man will live there, nor will a son of man dwell in it.

¹⁹See, one will come like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Edom] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make him (Edom) run from his land. I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?"

²⁰Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has devised against Edom, and [hear] what He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will be dragged away, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their dwelling place desolate because of them.

²¹The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The sound of its noise has been heard at the Red Sea.

²²Behold, He will mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread His wings against [the city of] Bozrah; and in that day the heart of the mighty warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.

²³Concerning Damascus [in Syria]. "Hamath and Arpad are perplexed and shamed, For they have heard bad news; They are disheartened; Troubled and anxious like a [storm-tossed] sea Which cannot be calmed.

²⁴"Damascus has become helpless; She has turned away to flee, Terror (panic) has seized her; Anguish and distress have gripped her Like a woman in childbirth.

²⁵"Why has the renowned city not been deserted, The city of My joy!

²⁶"Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets, And all her men of war will be destroyed in that day," says the LORD of hosts.

²⁷"I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, And it will consume the palaces of Ben-hadad."

²⁸Concerning Kedar and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the LORD, "Arise, go up against Kedar And destroy the men of the east.

²⁹"They (the Babylonians) will take away their tents and their flocks; They will carry off for themselves Their tent curtains, all their goods and their camels, And they will call out to one another, 'Terror on every side!'

³⁰"Flee, run far away! Dwell in the depths [of the desert], O inhabitants of Hazor," says the LORD, "For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has planned a course of action against you And devised a scheme against you.

³¹"Arise [Nebuchadnezzar], go up against a nation which is at ease, Which lives securely," says the LORD, "A nation which has neither gates nor bars; They dwell apart and alone.

³²"Their camels will become plunder, And their herds of cattle a spoil; And I will scatter to all the [four] winds those who cut the corners of their hair [as evidence of their idolatry], And I will bring their disaster from every side," says the LORD.

³³"Hazor will become a haunt and dwelling place of jackals, A desolation forever; No one will live there, Nor will a son of man reside in it."

³⁴The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

³⁵"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold (listen carefully), I am going to break the bow of Elam, The finest [weapon] of their strength.

³⁶'And I will bring upon Elam the four winds From the four corners of heaven; And I will scatter them toward all those winds, And there will be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.

³⁷'So I will cause Elam to be shattered (dismayed) before their enemies And before those who seek their lives; And I will bring disaster on them, Even My fierce anger,' says the LORD. 'And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.

³⁸'Then I will set My throne [of judgment] in Elam And I will destroy from there the king and princes,' Says the LORD.

³⁹'But it will be in the last days (the end of days) That I will reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Elam,'" Says the LORD.

¹The first account I made, Theophilus, was [a continuous report] about all the things that Jesus began to do and to teach

²until the day when He ascended to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given instruction to the apostles (special messengers) whom He had chosen.

³To these [men] He also showed Himself alive after His suffering [in Gethsemane and on the cross], by [a series of] many infallible proofs and unquestionable demonstrations, appearing to them over a period of forty days and talking to them about the things concerning the kingdom of God.

⁴While being together and eating with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Of which," He said, "you have heard Me speak.

⁵For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized and empowered and united with the Holy Spirit, not long from now."

⁶So when they had come together, they asked Him repeatedly, "Lord, are You at this time reestablishing the kingdom and restoring it to Israel?"

⁷He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.

⁸But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth."

⁹And after He said these things, He was caught up as they looked on, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight.

¹⁰While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, two men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them,

¹¹who said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This [same] Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

¹²Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet (Olive Grove), which is near Jerusalem, [only] a Sabbath day's journey (less than one mile) away.

¹³When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to the upper room where they were staying [indefinitely]; that is, Peter, and John and [his brother] James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew (Nathanael) and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas (Thaddaeus) the son of James.

¹⁴All these with one mind and one purpose were continually devoting themselves to prayer, [waiting together] along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹⁵Now on one of these days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said,

¹⁶"Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the lips of David [king of Israel] about Judas [Iscariot], who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share [by divine allotment] in this ministry."

¹⁸(Now Judas Iscariot acquired a piece of land [indirectly] with the [money paid him as a] reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out.

¹⁹All the people in Jerusalem learned about this, so in their own dialect—Aramaic—they called the piece of land Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰"For in the book of Psalms it is written, 'Let his place of residence become desolate, And let there be no one to live in it'; and [again], 'Let another take his position as overseer.'

²¹So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus spent with us,

²²beginning with the baptism by John [at the outset of Jesus' ministry] until the day when He was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness with us [to testify] of His resurrection."

²³And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and Matthias.

²⁴They prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know all hearts [their thoughts, motives, desires], show us which one of these two You have chosen

²⁵to occupy this ministry and apostleship which Judas left to go to his own place [of evil]."

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.