Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

²And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,

³and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁶For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

⁷And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

⁸And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

⁹And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.

¹¹And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”

¹²And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

¹⁴And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.

¹⁵And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.

¹⁶And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”

¹⁷And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.

¹⁸And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

¹⁹And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”

²⁰And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

²¹And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

²²And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

²⁵And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”

²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

²⁸And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁹And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

³⁰They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,

³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

³²But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

³³And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

³⁴But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

³⁵And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

³⁶And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,

³⁷ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

³⁸John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

³⁹But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.

⁴⁰ For the one who is not against us is for us.

⁴¹For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

⁴² “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

⁴³ And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

⁴⁴

⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

⁴⁶

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

¹Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

²These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.

⁴But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

⁵Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

⁶He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:

⁷Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

¹¹And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

¹²Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”

¹⁴So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”

¹⁶“I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.”

¹⁷And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

¹⁹They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.

²⁰Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

²¹But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”

²²And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him” — that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

²³So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.

²⁴And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

²⁶Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

²⁷Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

²⁸Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes

³⁰and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?”

³¹Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

³²And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.”

³³And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.”

³⁴Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

³⁶Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

¹For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

²For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,

³if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.

⁴For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened — not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,

⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight.

⁸Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

¹¹Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.

¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

¹⁵and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

¹⁸All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

²He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

³And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

⁴Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

⁵but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:

⁶whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

⁷Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

⁸At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

⁹Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

¹⁰Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.

¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹²I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.

¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

¹⁴I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world.

¹⁷And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

¹⁸Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

²⁰But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

²¹I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

²²Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

²³No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

²⁴Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.

²⁵And this is the promise that he made to us — eternal life.

²⁶I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

²⁷But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie — just as it has taught you, abide in him.

²⁸And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

²⁹If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

¹“At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place.

²Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

³Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.

⁴After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.

⁵God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

⁶For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.

⁷He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it.

⁸Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.

⁹From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.

¹⁰By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.

¹¹He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning.

¹²They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world.

¹³Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.

¹⁴“Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God.

¹⁵Do you know how God lays his command upon them and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?

¹⁶Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,

¹⁷you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind?

¹⁸Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?

¹⁹Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.

²⁰Shall it be told him that I would speak? Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?

²¹“And now no one looks on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.

²²Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty.

²³The Almighty — we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

²⁴Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”

¹Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

²For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

⁶He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

⁷Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

⁹For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

¹⁰In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish — like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

²²for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

²⁴though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

²⁶He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

³²The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.

³³The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

³⁴Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.

³⁶But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

³⁸But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

¹My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger,

²if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth,

³then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.

⁴Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;

⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

⁷Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,

⁸she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

⁹How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?

¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

¹¹and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,

¹³winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,

¹⁴with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;

¹⁵therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

¹⁶There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,

¹⁹a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

²⁰My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.

²¹Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

²³For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

²⁴to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

²⁵Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

²⁶for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life.

²⁷Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?

²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.

³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

³¹but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.

³²He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.

³³He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

³⁴For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

¹And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

²There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.

³And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

⁴Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,

⁵for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁶Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,

⁷but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

⁸Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.”

⁹And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.

¹⁰So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.”

¹¹And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.”

¹²And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?”

¹³And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

¹⁴She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

¹⁵Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.”

¹⁶And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.)

¹⁷And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?”

¹⁸And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

¹⁹So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.

²⁰And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.

²²And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

²³But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”

²⁴And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him.

²⁵And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD.

²And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.

³They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.

⁴It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

⁵When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah,

⁶Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me.

⁷Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’”

⁸The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

⁹Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “He has set out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

¹⁰“Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

¹¹Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered?

¹²Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

¹³Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

¹⁴Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:

¹⁶“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.

¹⁷Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.

¹⁸Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,

¹⁹and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.

²⁰So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.”

²¹Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,

²²this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: “‘She despises you, she scorns you — the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you — the daughter of Jerusalem.

²³“‘Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel!

²⁴By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon, to cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, to come to its remotest height, its most fruitful forest.

²⁵I dug wells and drank waters, to dry up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt.

²⁶“‘Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins,

²⁷while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown.

²⁸“‘I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me.

²⁹Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.’

³⁰“And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

³¹And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

³²For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

³³“Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.

³⁴By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD.

³⁵For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

³⁶And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

³⁷Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh.

³⁸And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

¹But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.

⁴And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

⁵And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

⁶But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

⁸Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,

¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

¹⁴And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

¹⁶For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

¹⁷So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;

¹⁹and taking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.

²⁰And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

²¹And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”

²²But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

²³When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,

²⁴but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,

²⁵but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

²⁶And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.

³⁰And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

³²Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed.

³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose.

³⁵And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.

³⁷In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.”

³⁹So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.

⁴⁰But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

⁴¹And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

⁴²And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.