Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased [sweet-smelling] spices, so that they might go and anoint Him.

²Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

³And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"

⁴Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, though it was extremely large.

⁵Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a [long, stately] white robe; and they were amazed and bewildered.

⁶And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See, [here is] the place where they laid Him.

⁷But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there, just as He told you.'"

⁸They went out and fled from the tomb, for they were seized with trembling and astonishment; and they said nothing [about it] to anyone, because they were afraid.

⁹[Now Jesus, having risen [from death] early on the first day of the week, appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

¹⁰She went and reported it to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

¹¹When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.

¹²After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking along the way to the country.

¹³They returned [to Jerusalem] and told the others, but they did not believe them either.

¹⁴Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven [disciples] themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He called them to account for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen [from death].

¹⁵And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

¹⁶He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God's wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned.

¹⁷These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues;

¹⁸they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well."

¹⁹So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

²⁰And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord was working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed.]

¹And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's [grain] money in the mouth of the sack.

²Put my [personal] cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his grain money." And the steward did as Joseph had told him.

³As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.

⁴When they had left the city, and were not yet far away, Joseph said to his steward, "Get up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil [to us] for good [paid to you]?

⁵Is this not my lord's drinking cup and the one which he uses for divination? You have done [a great and unforgivable] wrong in doing this.'"

⁶So the steward overtook them and he said these words to them.

⁷They said to him, "Why does my lord speak these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!

⁸Please remember, the money which we found in the mouths of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Is it likely then that we would steal silver or gold from your master's house?

⁹With whomever of your servants your master's cup is found, let him die, and the rest of us will be my lord's slaves."

¹⁰And the steward said, "Now let it be as you say; he with whom the cup is found will be my slave, but the rest of you shall be blameless."

¹¹Then every man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and each man opened his sack [confident the cup would not be found among them].

¹²The steward searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

¹³Then they tore their clothes [in grief]; and after each man had loaded his donkey again, they returned to the city.

¹⁴When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him.

¹⁵Joseph spoke harshly to them, "What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?"

¹⁶So Judah said, "What can we say to my lord? What can we reply? Or how can we clear ourselves, since God has exposed the sin and guilt of your servants? Behold, we are my lord's slaves, the rest of us as well as he with whom the cup is found."

¹⁷But Joseph said, "Far be it from me that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he will be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, get up and go in peace to your father."

¹⁸Then Judah approached him, and said, "O my lord, please let your servant say a word to you in private, and do not let your anger blaze against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh [so I speak as if directly to him].

¹⁹My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?'

²⁰We said to my lord, 'We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.'

²¹Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may actually see him.'

²²But we said to my lord, 'The young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'

²³You said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you shall not see my face again.'

²⁴So when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.

²⁵Our father said, 'Go back [to Egypt], and buy us a little food.'

²⁶But we said, 'We cannot go down [to Egypt]. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down [there]; for we [were sternly told that we] cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'

²⁷Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me [only] two sons.

²⁸And one [son] went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn to pieces," and I have not seen him since.

²⁹If you take this one also from me, and harm or an accident happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.'

³⁰Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since his life is bound up in the young man's life,

³¹when he sees that the young man is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in [great] sorrow.

³²For your servant became security for the young man to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.'

³³Now, therefore, please let your servant (Judah) remain here instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his brothers.

³⁴How can I go up to my father if the young man is not with me—for fear that I would see the tragedy that would overtake my [elderly] father [if Benjamin does not return]?"

¹It is necessary to boast, though nothing is gained by it; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, [only] God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

³And I know that such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, [only] God knows—

⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words which man is not permitted to speak [words too sacred to tell].

⁵On behalf of such a man [and his experiences] I will boast; but in my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.

⁶If I wish to boast, I will not be foolish, because I will be speaking the truth. But I abstain [from it], so that no one will credit me with more than [is justified by what] he sees in me or hears from me.

⁷Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me—to keep me from exalting myself!

⁸Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me;

⁹but He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness." Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.

¹⁰So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God's strength].

¹¹Now I have become foolish; you have forced me [by questioning my apostleship]. Actually I should have been commended by you [instead of being treated disdainfully], for I was not inferior to those super-apostles, even if I am nobody.

¹²The signs that indicate a genuine apostle were performed among you fully and most patiently—signs and wonders and miracles.

¹³For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except [for the fact] that I did not burden you [with my financial support]? Forgive me [for doing you] this injustice!

¹⁴Now for the third time I am ready to visit you. I will not burden you [financially], because I do not want what is yours [not your money or your possessions], but you. For children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵But I will very gladly spend [my own resources] and be utterly spent for your souls. If I love you greatly, am I to be loved less [by you]?

¹⁶But be that as it may, I did not burden you [with my support]. But [some say that] I was sly and took you by trickery.

¹⁷Did I take advantage of you or make any money off you through any of the messengers I sent you? [Certainly not!]

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? [No!] Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps? [Of course!]

¹⁹All this time you have been thinking that we are [merely] defending ourselves to you. It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking [as one] in Christ; and everything, dearly beloved, is to strengthen you [spiritually].

²⁰For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you not to be as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder;

²¹I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality and decadence which they formerly practiced.

¹This is the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries], which God [the Father] gave to Him to show to His bond-servants (believers) the things which must soon take place [in their entirety]; and He sent and communicated it by His angel (divine messenger) to His bond-servant John,

²who testified and gave supporting evidence to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to everything that he saw [in his visions].

³Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the things which are written in it [heeding them and taking them to heart]; for the time [of fulfillment] is near.

⁴John, to the seven churches that are in [the province of] Asia: Grace [be granted] to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being], from Him Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before His throne,

⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who [always] loves us and who [has once for all] freed us [or washed us] from our sins by His own blood (His sacrificial death)—

⁶and formed us into a kingdom [as His subjects], priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath]. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸"I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End]," says the Lord God, "Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all]."

⁹I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰I was in the Spirit [in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ] on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,

¹¹saying, "Write on a scroll what you see [in this revelation], and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands;

¹³and in the midst of the lampstands I saw someone like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching to His feet, and with a golden sash wrapped around His chest.

¹⁴His head and His hair were white like white wool, [glistening white] like snow; and His [all-seeing] eyes were [flashing] like a flame of fire [piercing into my being].

¹⁵His feet were like burnished [white-hot] bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was [powerful] like the sound of many waters.

¹⁶In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword [of judgment]; and His face [reflecting His majesty and the Shekinah glory] was like the sun shining in [all] its power [at midday].

¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. And He placed His right hand on me and said, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God],

¹⁸and the Ever-living One [living in and beyond all time and space]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of [absolute control and victory over] death and of Hades (the realm of the dead).

¹⁹So write the things which you have seen [in the vision], and the things which are [now happening], and the things which will take place after these things.

²⁰As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels ( divine messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

¹I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time." But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness).

²I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

³I explored with my mind how to gratify myself with wine while [at the same time] having my mind remain steady and guide me wisely; and how to take control of foolishness, until I could see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made great works: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself;

⁵I made gardens and orchards for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

⁶I made pools of water for myself from which to water the forest and make the trees bud.

⁷I bought male and female slaves and had slaves born in my house. I also possessed herds and flocks larger than any who preceded me in Jerusalem.

⁸Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights and pleasures of men— many concubines.

⁹So I became great and excelled more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me.

¹⁰Whatever my eyes looked at with desire I did not refuse them. I did not withhold from my heart any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.

¹¹Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.

¹²So I turned to consider [secular] wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except what has already been done.

¹³Then I saw that [even secular] wisdom [that brings sorrow] is better than [the pleasures of] folly and self-indulgence as light excels darkness.

¹⁴The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I know that [in the end] one fate happens to them both.

¹⁵Then I said to myself, "As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?" Then I said in my heart, "This too is vanity (meaningless)."

¹⁶For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool!

¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.

¹⁸So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).

²⁰So I turned aside and let my heart despair over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹For there is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, yet gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it. This too is vanity and a great evil.

²²For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

²³For all his days his work is painful and sorrowful; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity (worthless).

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

²⁶For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who pleases God. This too is vanity and chasing after the wind.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us The work You did in their days, In the days of old.

²You drove out the [pagan] nations with Your own hand; Then you planted and established them (Israel); [It was by Your power that] You uprooted the [pagan] peoples, Then You spread them abroad.

³For our fathers did not possess the land [of Canaan] by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, Because You favored and delighted in them.

⁴You are my King, O God; Command victories and deliverance for Jacob (Israel).

⁵Through You we will gore our enemies [like a bull]; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.

⁶For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me.

⁷But You have saved us from our enemies, And You have put them to shame and humiliated those who hate us.

⁸In God we have boasted all the day long, And we will praise and give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.

⁹But now You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor, And You do not go out with our armies [to lead us to victory].

¹⁰You make us turn back from the enemy, And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

¹¹You have made us like sheep to be eaten [as mutton] And have scattered us [in exile] among the nations.

¹²You sell Your people cheaply, And have not increased Your wealth by their sale.

¹³You have made us the reproach and taunt of our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to those around us.

¹⁴You make us a byword among the nations, A laughingstock among the people.

¹⁵My dishonor is before me all day long, And humiliation has covered my face,

¹⁶Because of the voice of the taunter and reviler, Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You, Nor have we been false to Your covenant [which You made with our fathers].

¹⁸Our heart has not turned back, Nor have our steps wandered from Your path,

¹⁹Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackals And covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God Or stretched out our hands to a strange god,

²¹Would not God discover this? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

²²But for Your sake we are killed all the day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

²³Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Awaken, do not reject us forever.

²⁴Why do You hide Your face And forget our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵For our life has melted away into the dust; Our body clings to the ground.

²⁶Rise up! Come be our help, And ransom us for the sake of Your steadfast love.

¹A wise son heeds and accepts [and is the result of] his father's discipline and instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to reprimand and does not learn from his errors.

²From the fruit of his mouth a [wise] man enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is for violence.

³The one who guards his mouth [thinking before he speaks] protects his life; The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin.

⁴The soul (appetite) of the lazy person craves and gets nothing [for lethargy overcomes ambition], But the soul (appetite) of the diligent [who works willingly] is rich and abundantly supplied.

⁵A righteous man hates lies, But a wicked man is loathsome, and he acts shamefully.

⁶Righteousness (being in right standing with God) guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness undermines and overthrows the sinner.

⁷There is one who pretends to be rich, yet has nothing at all; Another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

⁸The ransom for a man's life is his wealth, But the poor man does not even have to listen to a rebuke or threats [from the envious].

⁹The light of the righteous [within him—grows brighter and] rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked [is a temporary light and] goes out.

¹⁰Through pride and presumption come nothing but strife, But [skillful and godly] wisdom is with those who welcome [well-advised] counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But he who gathers gradually by [honest] labor will increase [his riches].

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

¹³Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, But he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain and source of life, So that one may avoid the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding wins favor [from others], But the way of the unfaithful is hard [like barren, dry soil].

¹⁶Every prudent and self-disciplined man acts with knowledge, But a [closed-minded] fool [who refuses to learn] displays his foolishness [for all to see].

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into hardship, But a faithful ambassador brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to him who refuses instruction and discipline, But he who accepts and learns from reproof or censure is honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul; But it is detestable to fools to turn away from evil [which they have planned].

²⁰He who walks [as a companion] with wise men will be wise, But the companions of [conceited, dull-witted] fools [are fools themselves and] will experience harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the [consistently] upright will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for [the hands of] the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the fallow (uncultivated) ground of the poor, But [without protection] it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and appropriately [with wisdom and love].

²⁵The [consistently] righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need [of bread].

¹Then all the sons of Israel from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], including the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah.

²The chiefs of all the people of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand men on foot who drew the sword.

³(Now the Benjamites [in whose territory the crime was committed] heard that the [other tribes of the] sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, "How did this evil thing happen?"

⁴So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, replied, "I had come with my concubine to spend the night in Gibeah, [a town] which belongs to [the tribe of] Benjamin.

⁵But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they raped my concubine [so brutally] that she died.

⁶So I took my concubine and cut her [corpse] in pieces and sent her [body parts] throughout the land of the inheritance of Israel; for the men of Gibeah have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

⁷Now then, all you sons of Israel, all of you, give your advice and counsel here [regarding what should be done]."

⁸Then all the people stood [unified] as one man, saying, "None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his home [until this is settled].

⁹But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it,

¹⁰and we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to bring provisions for the men, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the despicable acts which they have committed in Israel."

¹¹So all the men of Israel assembled against the city, united as one man.

¹²Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this evil thing that has been done among you?

¹³Now therefore, turn over the men [involved], the worthless and wicked men in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

¹⁴Then the [tribe of the] sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the [other] sons of Israel.

¹⁵And the Benjamites assembled out of their cities at that time twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who assembled seven hundred chosen men.

¹⁶Out of all these people were seven hundred choice left-handed men; each one could sling stones at [a target no wider than] a hair and not miss.

¹⁷Then the men of Israel, other than Benjamin, assembled four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

¹⁸The men of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and asked of God and said, "Which of us shall take the lead to battle against the sons [tribe] of Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Judah [shall go up] first."

¹⁹Then the [fighting men of the] sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.

²⁰The men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and assembled in battle formation against them at Gibeah.

²¹The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand [fighting] men of Israel.

²²But the people, the [fighting] men of Israel, took courage and strengthened themselves and again set their battle line in the same place where they formed it the first day.

²³The sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked of the LORD, "Shall we advance again to battle against the sons of our brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against them."

²⁴So the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day.

²⁵And [the fighting men from the tribe of] Benjamin went out of Gibeah against them the second day and again struck to the ground the sons of Israel, eighteen thousand men, all of whom were swordsmen.

²⁶Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

²⁷And the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there [at Bethel] in those days,

²⁸and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I quit?" And the LORD said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you."

²⁹So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah.

³⁰The [fighting men of the] sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and placed themselves in battle formation against Gibeah as at other times.

³¹The Benjamites went out against their army and were lured away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country, about thirty men of Israel.

³²And the Benjamites said, "They are defeated before us, as at the first." But the sons of Israel said, "Let us flee and lure them away from the city to the highways."

³³Then all the men of Israel got up from their places and placed themselves in battle formation at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel [who were] in ambush rushed from their place in the plain of Maareh-geba.

³⁴When the ten thousand choice [fighting] men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle was hard and fierce; but the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was about to strike them.

³⁵And the LORD struck down [the tribe of] Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day, all of whom were swordsmen.

³⁶So the Benjamites realized that they were defeated. Then men of Israel gave ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had placed against Gibeah.

³⁷Then the men in ambush quickly rushed and attacked Gibeah; and the men in ambush also deployed and struck the entire city with the edge of the sword.

³⁸Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.

³⁹So the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, "Certainly they are defeated before us as in the first battle!"

⁴⁰But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the entire city went up in smoke to heaven.

⁴¹When the men of Israel turned back again, the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had fallen upon them.

⁴²Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel [and fled] toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle followed and overtook them. As the [fighting men of the] sons of Benjamin ran among them, the Israelites of the cities came out and destroyed them.

⁴³They surrounded [the men of] Benjamin, pursued them relentlessly, and overtook them opposite Gibeah toward the east.

⁴⁴Thus eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of these brave and able warriors.

⁴⁵The survivors [of Benjamin] turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel caught five thousand of them on the roads and overtook them at Gidom and killed two thousand of them.

⁴⁶So all of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword, all of them brave and able warriors.

⁴⁷But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months.

⁴⁸The men of Israel turned back against [the tribe of] the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city [of Gibeah] and the livestock and all that they found. They also set on fire all the [surrounding] towns which they found.

¹"But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen:

²This is what the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you says, 'Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And Jeshurun (Israel, the upright one) whom I have chosen.

³'For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty, And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;

⁴And they will spring up among the grass Like willows by the streams of water.'

⁵"One will say, 'I am the Lord's'; And another will name himself after Jacob; And another will write on his hand, 'I am the Lord's,' And be called by the [honorable] name of Israel.

⁶"For the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts says this, 'I am the First and I am the Last; And there is no God besides Me.

⁷'Who is like Me? Let him proclaim it and declare it; Yes, let him confront Me, Since I established the people of antiquity. And let them [those supposed gods] tell those people [who foolishly follow them] the things to come And the events that are going to take place.

⁸'Do not tremble nor be afraid [of the violent upheavals to come]; Have I not long ago proclaimed it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? There is no other Rock; I know of none.'"

⁹All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.

¹⁰Who has made a god or cast an idol which is profitable for nothing?

¹¹In fact, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble, let them stand up, let them be terrified, let them together be put to shame.

¹²The ironsmith shapes iron and uses a chisel and works it over the coals. He forms the [idol's] core with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also becomes hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows tired.

¹³The carpenter stretches out a measuring line, he marks out the shape [of the idol] with red chalk; he works it with planes and outlines it with the compass; and he makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, that it may sit in a house.

¹⁴He cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain nourishes it.

¹⁵Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god [from the same wood] and worships it. He makes it into a carved idol [with his own hands] and falls down and worships it!

¹⁶He burns half of the wood in the fire; over this half he [cooks and] eats meat, he roasts meat and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire."

¹⁷But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, "Save me, for you are my god."

¹⁸They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand.

¹⁹No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], "I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!"

²⁰That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, "Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?"

²¹"Remember [the foolishness of] these things, O Jacob And Israel, for you are My servant! I formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

²²"I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."

²³Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout in triumph, you depths of the earth; Break forth into jubilant rejoicing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And He shows His glory in Israel.

²⁴For the LORD, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says this, "I am the LORD, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself,

²⁵Frustrating the signs and confounding the omens of boasters (false prophets), Making fools out of fortune-tellers, Counteracting the wise And making their knowledge ridiculous,

²⁶Confirming the word of His servant And carrying out the plan of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall [again] be inhabited!' And of the cities of Judah, 'They shall [again] be built.' And I will raise up and restore her ruins.

²⁷"It is I who says to the deep, 'Be dried up!' And I will make your rivers dry.

²⁸"It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd (ruler), And he will carry out all that I desire—' Saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall [again] be built,' And of the temple, 'Your foundation shall [again] be laid.'"

¹Now Paul traveled to Derbe and also to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer [in Christ], however, his father was a Greek.

²Timothy was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters who were in Lystra and Iconium.

³Paul wanted Timothy to go with him [as a missionary]; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decrees decided on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for the churches to observe.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they continually increased in number day after day.

⁶Now they passed through the territory of Phrygia and Galatia, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor];

⁷and after they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;

⁸so passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

⁹Then a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man from [the Roman province of] Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

¹⁰And when he had seen the vision, we (including Luke) tried to go on into Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹So setting sail from Troas, we ran a direct course to Samothrace, and the next day [went on] to Neapolis;

¹²and from there [we came] to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed on in this city for several days;

¹³and on the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the bank of the [Gangites] river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had come there.

¹⁴A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple fabrics who was [already] a worshiper of God, listened to us; and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention and to respond to the things said by Paul.

¹⁵And when she was baptized, along with her household, she pleaded with us, saying, "If you have judged me and decided that I am faithful to the Lord [a true believer], come to my house and stay." And she persuaded us.

¹⁶It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling.

¹⁷She followed after Paul and us and kept screaming and shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!"

¹⁸She continued doing this for several days. Then Paul, being greatly annoyed and worn out, turned and said to the spirit [inside her], "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ [as His representative] to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.

¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the market place [where trials were held],

²⁰and when they had brought them before the chief magistrates, they said, "These men, who are Jews, are throwing our city into confusion and causing trouble.

²¹They are publicly teaching customs which are unlawful for us, as Romans, to accept or observe."

²²The crowd also joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and ordered that Paul and Silas be beaten with rods.

²³After striking them many times [with the rods], they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely.

²⁴He, having received such a [strict] command, threw them into the inner prison (dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks [in an agonizing position].

²⁵But about midnight when Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

²⁶suddenly there was a great earthquake, so [powerful] that the very foundations of the prison were shaken and at once all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer, shaken out of sleep, saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted, saying, "Do not hurt yourself, we are all here!"

²⁹Then the jailer called for torches and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,

³⁰and after he brought them out [of the inner prison], he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

³¹And they answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe]."

³²And they spoke the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] to him and to all who were in his house.

³³And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their bloody wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

³⁴Then he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, since he had believed in God with his entire family [accepting with joy what had been made known to them about the Christ].

³⁵Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, "Release those men."

³⁶And the jailer repeated the words to Paul, saying, "The chief magistrates have sent word to release you; so come out now and go in peace."

³⁷But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without a trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now they are sending us out secretly? No! Let them come here themselves and bring us out!"

³⁸The officers reported this message to the chief magistrates, and when they heard that the prisoners were Romans, they were frightened;

³⁹so they came [to the prison] and appealed to them [with apologies], and when they brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.

⁴⁰So they left the prison and went to Lydia's house; and when they had seen the brothers and sisters, they encouraged and comforted them, and left.