Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him;

²for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.”

³While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head.

⁴But there were some indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?

⁵For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.

⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me.

⁷For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.

⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

⁹Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.

¹¹They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

¹²On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹³And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him;

¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’

¹⁵And he himself will show you a large upstairs room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.”

¹⁶The disciples left and came to the city, and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When it was evening He *came with the twelve.

¹⁸And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you willbetray Me—one who is eating with Me.”

¹⁹They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?”

²⁰But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl.

²¹For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that manby whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been goodfor that man if he had not been born.”

²²While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”

²³And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many.

²⁵Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷And Jesus *said to them, “You will allfall away, because it is written: ‘I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP WILL BE SCATTERED.’

²⁸But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

²⁹But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all fall away, yet I will not!”

³⁰And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, thatthis very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.”

³¹But Peter repeatedly said insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.

³²They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.”

³³And He *took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.

³⁴And He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here andkeep watch.”

³⁵And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began praying that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by.

³⁶And He was saying, “Abba!Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

³⁷And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you notkeep watch for one hour?

³⁸Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words.

⁴⁰And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him.

⁴¹And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough. The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is beingbetrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”

⁴³And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs who were from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.

⁴⁴Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.”

⁴⁵And after coming, Judas immediately went to Him and *said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁴⁶And they laid hands on Him and arrested Him.

⁴⁷But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a man inciting a revolt?

⁴⁹Every day I was with you within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me; but this has taken place so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰And His disciples all left Him and fled.

⁵¹A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him.

⁵²But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

⁵³They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together.

⁵⁴And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the officers and warming himself at the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the entire Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any.

⁵⁶For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent.

⁵⁷And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying,

⁵⁸“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’ ”

⁵⁹And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent.

⁶⁰And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?”

⁶¹But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.

⁶⁵And some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him and slapped Him in the face.

⁶⁶And while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came,

⁶⁷and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene as well.”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out onto the porch.

⁶⁹The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!”

⁷⁰But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, for you are a Galilean as well.”

⁷¹But he began to curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!”

⁷²And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he hurried on and began to weep.

¹Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

²Then he said, “Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.”

³So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may happen to him.”

⁵So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, because the famine was also in the land of Canaan.

⁶Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

⁷When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

⁸But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.

⁹And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.”

¹⁰And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.

¹¹We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.”

¹²Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!”

¹³But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”

¹⁴Yet Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies;

¹⁵by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here!

¹⁶Send one of you and have him get your brother, while you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, you are certainly spies!”

¹⁷So he put them all together in prison for three days.

¹⁸Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:

¹⁹if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households,

²⁰and bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.

²¹Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.”

²²Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now justice for his blood is required.”

²³They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them.

²⁴Then he turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

²⁵Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, but also to return every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And that is what was done for them.

²⁶So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there.

²⁷But when one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the overnight campsite, he saw his money; and behold, it was in the opening of his sack!

²⁸So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and look, it is right in my sack!” Then their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying,

³⁰“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country.

³¹But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.

³²We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

³³But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.

³⁴But bring your youngest brother to me so that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”

³⁵Now it came about, as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, every man’s bag of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they were afraid.

³⁶And their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.”

³⁷Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”

³⁸But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

¹Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!

²I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I intend to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh.

³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh,

⁴for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

⁵We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

⁶and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

⁷You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, have him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so too are we.

⁸For if I boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame,

⁹for I do not want to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.

¹⁰For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.”

¹¹Have such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.

¹²For we do not presume to rank or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they have no understanding.

¹³But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the domain which God assigned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you.

¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ;

¹⁵not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other people’s labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our domain, enlarged even more by you,

¹⁶so as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you, and not to boast in what has been accomplished in the domain of another.

¹⁷But THE ONE WHO BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN THE LORD.

¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

¹The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

²Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

³For I was overjoyed when brothers came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.

⁴I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

⁵Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brothers and sisters, and especially when they are strangers;

⁶and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

⁷For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

⁸Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may prove to be fellow workers with the truth.

⁹I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.

¹⁰For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with malicious words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does what is good is of God; the one who does what is evil has not seen God.

¹²Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we testify too, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with pen and ink;

¹⁴but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

¹⁵Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

¹Then Job answered the LORD and said,

²“I know that You can do all things, And that no plan is impossible for You.

³‘Who is this who conceals advice without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.

⁴‘Please listen, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’

⁵I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;

⁶Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”

⁷It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.

⁸Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.”

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job.

¹⁰The LORD also restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased double all that Job had.

¹¹Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

¹²The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.

¹³He also had seven sons and three daughters.

¹⁴He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.

¹⁵In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances among their brothers.

¹⁶After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.

¹⁷And Job died, an old man and full of days.

¹As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, God.

²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

³My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

⁴I remember these things and pour out my soul within me. For I used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God, With a voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.

⁵Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.

⁶My soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.

⁸The LORD will send His goodness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

¹⁰As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

¹¹Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

²When pride comes, then comes dishonor; But with the humble there is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.

⁴Riches do not benefit on the day of wrath, But righteousness rescues from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will rescue them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.

⁷When a wicked person dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong people perishes.

⁸The righteous is rescued from trouble, But the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be rescued.

¹⁰When things go well for the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.

¹²One who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a person of understanding keeps silent.

¹³One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, But one who is trustworthy conceals a matter.

¹⁴Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in an abundance of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵One who is a guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it, But one who hates being a guarantor is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches.

¹⁷A merciful person does himself good, But the cruel person does himself harm.

¹⁸A wicked person earns deceptive wages, But one who sows righteousness gets a true reward.

¹⁹One who is steadfast in righteousness attains life, But one who pursues evil attains his own death.

²⁰The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their walk are His delight.

²¹Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be rescued.

²²As a ring of gold in a pig’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.

²⁵A generous person will be prosperous, And one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.

²⁶One who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷One who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

²⁸One who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

²⁹One who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And one who is wise gains souls.

³¹If the righteous will be repaid on the earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner!

¹In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.

²So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and stayed overnight there.

³When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?”

⁴He said to them, “Micah has done this and that for me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest.”

⁵Then they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.”

⁶And the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD’S approval.”

⁷So the five men departed and came to Laish, and saw the people who were in it living in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting; for there was no oppressive ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

⁸When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you say?”

⁹And they said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you sit still? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to take possession of the land.

¹⁰When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people with a spacious land; for God has handed it over to you, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

¹¹Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.

¹²They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

¹³And they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod and household idols, and a carved image and a cast metal image? Now then, consider what you should do.”

¹⁵So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him how he was doing.

¹⁶Meanwhile, the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were positioned at the entrance of the gate.

¹⁷Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there; they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

¹⁸When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, household idols, and the cast metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹And they said to him, “Be silent, put your hand over your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

²⁰The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people.

²¹Then they turned and left, and put the children, the livestock, and the valuables in front of them.

²²When they had distanced themselves from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled by command and overtook the sons of Dan.

²³Then they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?”

²⁴And he said, “You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away; what more do I have? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’ ”

²⁵Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else fierce men will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household.”

²⁶So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

²⁷Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire.

²⁸And there was no one to save them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. So they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

²⁹And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was previously Laish.

³⁰The sons of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

¹“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

²He will not cry out nor raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.

³A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

⁴He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice on the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

⁵This is what God the LORD says, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it:

⁶“I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

⁷To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

⁸I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to idols.

⁹Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

¹⁰Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it; You islands, and those who live on them.

¹¹Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, The settlements which Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.

¹²Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands.

¹³The LORD will go out like a warrior, He will stir His zeal like a man of war. He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.

¹⁴“I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant.

¹⁵I will lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.

¹⁶I will lead those who are blind by a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them And uneven land into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.”

¹⁷They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to cast metal images, “You are our gods.”

¹⁸Hear, you who are deaf! And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.

¹⁹Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as one who is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?

²⁰You have seen many things, but you do not retain them; Your ears are open, but no one hears.

²¹The LORD was pleased for His righteousness’ sake To make the Law great and glorious.

²²But this is a people plundered and pillaged; All of them are trapped in caves, Or are hidden away in prisons; They have become plunder, with no one to save them, And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”

²³Who among you will listen to this? Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?

²⁴Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose Law they did not obey?

²⁵So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he paid no attention.

¹In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a way that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brothers.

³Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be performed by their hands.

⁴But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, while others, with the apostles.

⁵And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to treat them abusively and to stone them,

⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region;

⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸In Lystra a man was sitting whose feet were incapacitated. He had been disabled from his mother’s womb, and had never walked.

⁹This man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul looked at him intently and saw that he had faith to be made well,

¹⁰and he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And the man leaped up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us!”

¹²And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.

¹³Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out

¹⁵and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM.

¹⁶In past generations He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;

¹⁷yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

¹⁹But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead.

²⁰But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

²³When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia.

²⁵When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.

²⁷When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all the things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they spent a long time with the disciples.