Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.

²“But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume?

⁵It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

⁷The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.

⁸She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.

⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.

¹¹They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

¹²On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹³So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.

¹⁴Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’

¹⁵He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.

¹⁸While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

²⁰“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me.

²¹The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.

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

²⁶When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

²⁹Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

³⁰“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

³¹But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

³²They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

³³He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.

³⁴“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.

³⁶“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

³⁷Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?

³⁸Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.

⁴⁰When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

⁴³Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

⁴⁴Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”

⁴⁵Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁴⁶The men seized Jesus and arrested him.

⁴⁷Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁴⁸“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?

⁴⁹Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰Then everyone deserted him and fled.

⁵¹A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him,

⁵²he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

⁵³They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together.

⁵⁴Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.

⁵⁶Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

⁵⁷Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him:

⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’ ”

⁵⁹Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”

⁶¹But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked.

⁶⁴“You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.

⁶⁵Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

⁶⁶While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by.

⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.

⁶⁸But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.

⁶⁹When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”

⁷⁰Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

⁷¹He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

⁷²Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

¹When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?”

²He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

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

⁴But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.

⁵So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

⁶Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

⁷As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

⁸Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

⁹Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

¹⁰“No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food.

¹¹We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

¹²“No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

¹³But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

¹⁴Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies!

¹⁵And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

¹⁶Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

¹⁷And he put them all in custody for three days.

¹⁸On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:

¹⁹If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.

²⁰But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.

²¹They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

²²Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”

²³They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

²⁴He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

²⁵Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them,

²⁶they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

²⁷At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.

²⁸“My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said,

³⁰“The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land.

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

³²We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

³³“Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go.

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

³⁵As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.

³⁶Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

³⁷Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”

³⁸But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

¹By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!

²I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.

³For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

⁶And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

⁷You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

⁸So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

⁹I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.

¹⁰For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”

¹¹Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

¹²We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

¹³We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.

¹⁴We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.

¹⁵Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,

¹⁶so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.

¹⁷But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

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

¹The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

²Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

³It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

⁵Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you.

⁶They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.

⁷It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.

⁸We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

⁹I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.

¹⁰So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

¹¹Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

¹²Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink.

¹⁴I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

¹Then Job replied to the LORD:

²“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

³You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

⁴“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’

⁵My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

⁶Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

⁷After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.

⁸So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

¹¹All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

¹²The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

¹³And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

¹⁴The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.

¹⁵Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

¹⁶After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

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

¹For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

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

⁴These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

⁵Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

⁶My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

⁸By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”

¹⁰My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

¹¹Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

¹The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.

²When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

⁴Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

⁷Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.

⁸The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.

¹⁰When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

¹¹Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

¹²Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.

¹³A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.

¹⁴For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.

¹⁵Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.

¹⁶A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

¹⁸A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death.

²⁰The LORD detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

²¹Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

²⁴One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

²⁶People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

²⁷Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.

²⁸Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

²⁹Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.

³¹If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

¹In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

²So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.” So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

³When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

⁴He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.”

⁵Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”

⁶The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD’s approval.”

⁷So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

⁸When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, “How did you find things?”

⁹They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over.

¹⁰When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.”

¹¹Then six hundred men of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹²On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day.

¹³From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

¹⁴Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, some household gods and an image overlaid with silver? Now you know what to do.”

¹⁵So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him.

¹⁶The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate.

¹⁷The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate.

¹⁸When the five men went into Micah’s house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?”

²⁰The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.

²¹Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.

²²When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites.

²³As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”

²⁴He replied, “You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’ ”

²⁵The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

²⁶So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.

²⁷Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city.

²⁸There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there.

²⁹They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish.

³⁰There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land.

³¹They continued to use the idol Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.

¹“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

²He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.

³A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

⁴he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

⁵This is what God the LORD says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

⁶“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

⁷to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

⁸“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

⁹See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

¹⁰Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

¹¹Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.

¹²Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.

¹³The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.

¹⁴“For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.

¹⁵I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.

¹⁶I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

¹⁷But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

¹⁸“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!

¹⁹Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD?

²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”

²¹It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.

²²But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.”

²³Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?

²⁴Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.

²⁵So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

¹At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

²But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

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

⁵There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.

⁶But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,

⁷where they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.

⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed

¹⁰and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.

¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

¹⁶In the past, he let all nations go their own way.

¹⁷Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

¹⁸Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

²⁰But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

²¹They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,

²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

²⁴After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,

²⁵and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

²⁷On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.