Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him.

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

³They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?”

⁴And looking up, they *noticed that the stone had been rolled away; for it was extremely large.

⁵And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.

⁶But he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been 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; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’ ”

⁸And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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

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

¹¹And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

¹²Now after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country.

¹³And they went away and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them, either.

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

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

¹⁶The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one 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 with new tongues;

¹⁸they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

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

²⁰And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.]] [[ And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. ]]

¹Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the opening of his sack.

²And put my cup, the silver cup, in the opening of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told him.

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

⁴They had just left the city, and were not far away, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

⁵Is this not that from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this!’ ”

⁶So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.

⁷And they said to him, “Why does my lord say such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!

⁸Behold, the money which we found in the opening of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?

⁹With whomever of your servants it is found, he shall die, and we also shall be my lord’s slaves.”

¹⁰So he said, “Now let it indeed be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be considered innocent.”

¹¹Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.

¹²And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

¹³Then they tore their clothes in grief, and when each man had loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.

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

¹⁵Joseph said to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice divination?”

¹⁶So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What words can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found.”

¹⁷But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

¹⁸Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.

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

²⁰And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’

²¹Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’

²²But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’

²³You said to your servants, however, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’

²⁴So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

²⁵And our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’

²⁶But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

²⁷Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;

²⁸and the one left me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since.

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

³⁰So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since our father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life—

³¹when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow.

³²For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.’

³³So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers.

³⁴For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear that I may see the evil that would overtake my father.”

¹Boasting is necessary, though it is not beneficial; 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, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

³And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows—

⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.

⁵In behalf of such a man I will boast; but in my own behalf I will not boast, except regarding my weaknesses.

⁶For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

⁷Because of the extraordinary greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

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

⁹And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

¹⁰Therefore I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in difficulties, in behalf of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was in no respect inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.

¹²The distinguishing marks of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles.

¹³For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

¹⁶But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, devious person that I am, I took you in by deceit.

¹⁷Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I?

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?

¹⁹All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for building you up, beloved.

²⁰For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, selfishness, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;

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 indecent behavior which they have practiced.

¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

²who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw.

³Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

⁴John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne,

⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

⁶and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory 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 of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and whois to come, the Almighty.”

⁹I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

¹⁰I was in the Spirit 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, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

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

¹³and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash.

¹⁴His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.

¹⁵His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.

¹⁶In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

¹⁸and the living One; and Iwas dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

¹⁹Therefore write the things which you have seen,and the things which are, 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 of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

¹I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

²I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

³I explored with my mind how to refresh my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize foolishness, until I could see what good there is for the sons of mankind to do under heaven for the few years of their lives.

⁴I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself;

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

⁶I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

⁷I bought male and female slaves, and I had slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

⁸I also amassed for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

⁹Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

¹⁰All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.

¹¹So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold, all was futility and striving after wind, and there was no benefit under the sun.

¹²So I turned to consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?

¹³Then I saw that wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness.

¹⁴The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one and the same fate happens to both of them.

¹⁵Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is futility.”

¹⁶For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will soon be forgotten. And how the wise and the fool alike die!

¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

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

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise 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 futility.

²⁰Therefore I completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil.

²²For what does a person get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

²³Because all his days his activity is painful and irritating; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is futility.

²⁴There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God.

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

²⁶For to a person who is good in His sight, He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is futility and striving after wind.

¹God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old.

²You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You let them go free.

³For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.

⁴You are my King, God; Command victories for Jacob.

⁵Through You we will push back our adversaries; 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 adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us.

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

⁹Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor, And do not go out with our armies.

¹⁰You cause us to turn back from the enemy; And those who hate us have taken spoils for themselves.

¹¹You turn us over to be eaten like sheep, And have scattered us among the nations.

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

¹³You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors, Of scoffing and ridicule to those around us.

¹⁴You make us a proverb among the nations, A laughingstock among the peoples.

¹⁵All day long my dishonor is before me And I am covered with my humiliation,

¹⁶Because of the voice of one who taunts and reviles, Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.

¹⁸Our heart has not turned back, And our steps have not deviated from Your way,

¹⁹Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals And covered us with deep darkness.

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

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

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

²³Wake Yourself up, why do You sleep, Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever.

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

²⁵For our souls have sunk down into the dust; Our bodies cling to the earth.

²⁶Rise up, be our help, And redeem us because of Your mercy.

¹A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

³One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the lazy one craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made prosperous.

⁵A righteous person hates a false statement, But a wicked person acts disgustingly and shamefully.

⁶Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness brings the sinner to ruin.

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

⁸The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained from nothing dwindles, But one who gathers by labor increases it.

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

¹³One who despises the word will do badly, But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is their own disaster.

¹⁶Every prudent person acts with knowledge, But a fool displays foolishness.

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

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects discipline, But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

²⁰One who walks with wise people will be wise, But a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

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

¹Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one person to the LORD at Mizpah.

²And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.

³(Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?”

⁴So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.

⁵But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they raped my concubine so that she died.

⁶And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel.

⁷Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your response and advice here.”

⁸Then all the people rose up as one person, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us go home.

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

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 supply provisions for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the vile sin that they have committed in Israel.”

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

¹²Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you?

¹³Now then, turn over the men, the worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

¹⁴Instead, the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel.

¹⁵From the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were counted, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were counted, seven hundred choice men.

¹⁶Out of all these people seven hundred choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

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

¹⁸Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.”

¹⁹So the sons of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah.

²⁰The men of Israel went to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle against them at Gibeah.

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

²²But the people, the men of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined themselves up on the first day.

²³And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall we again advance for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.”

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

²⁵And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword.

²⁶Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening. And they 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 in those days,

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

²⁹So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah.

³⁰And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and lined up against Gibeah as at other times.

³¹When the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, they were lured away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the roads (one of which goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah), and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

³²And the sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, like the first time.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let’s flee, so that we may draw them away from the city to the roads.”

³³Then all the men of Israel rose from their place and lined up at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush charged from their place, from Maareh-geba.

³⁴When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.

³⁵And the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who drew the sword.

³⁶So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah,

³⁷the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

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

³⁹Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, “Undoubtedly they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”

⁴⁰But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the entire city was going up in smoke to heaven.

⁴¹Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that disaster was close to them.

⁴²Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel to flee in the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who attacked from the cities were annihilating them in the midst of them.

⁴³They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trampled them down opposite Gibeah toward the east.

⁴⁴So eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all of these were valiant men.

⁴⁵The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but they caught five thousand of them on the roads and overtook them at Gidom, and killed two thousand of them.

⁴⁶So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men.

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

⁴⁸The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

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

²This is what the LORD says, He who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Do not fear, Jacob My servant, And Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land 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 poplars by streams of water.’

⁵This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’S’; And that one will call on the name of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the LORD,’ And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.

⁶“This is what the LORD says, He who is the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of armies: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.

⁷Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; And, let him confront Me Beginning with My establishing of the ancient nation. Then let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place.

⁸Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’ ”

⁹Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.

¹⁰Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no benefit?

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

¹²The craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.

¹³The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of mankind, so that it may sit in a house.

¹⁴He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and bows down before it.

¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.”

¹⁷Yet the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.

¹⁹No one remembers, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I bow down before a block of wood!”

²⁰He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

²¹“Remember these things, Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

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

²³Shout for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains, Forest, and every tree in it; For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And in Israel He shows His glory.

²⁴This is what the LORD says, He who is your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb: “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth alone,

²⁵Causing the omens of diviners to fail, Making fools of fortune-tellers; Causing wise men to turn back And making their knowledge ridiculous,

²⁶Confirming the word of His servant And carrying out the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’ And I will raise her ruins again.

²⁷I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’ And I will make your rivers dry up.

²⁸It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he will carry out all My desire.’ And he says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ”

¹Now Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

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

³Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

⁶They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;

⁷and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

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

⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹So after setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis;

¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city.

¹³And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

¹⁴A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

¹⁵Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

¹⁶It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling.

¹⁷She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.”

¹⁸Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was suddenly gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities,

²⁰and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble,

²¹and they are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are Romans.”

²²The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

²³When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

²⁴and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

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

²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”

²⁹And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas;

³⁰and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

³²And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house.

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

³⁴And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.

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

³⁶And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come in person and lead us out.”

³⁸The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans,

³⁹and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them to leave the city.

⁴⁰They left the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers and sisters, they encouraged them and departed.