Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,

²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,

³it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

⁴that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

⁸Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

¹¹And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

¹⁵for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

¹⁷and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

¹⁹And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.

²²And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.

²³And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,

²⁵“Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

²⁹But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God.

³⁶And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”

³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,

⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,

⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”

⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”

⁶²And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered.

⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

⁶⁵And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea,

⁶⁶and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people

⁶⁹and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

⁷¹that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

⁷⁴that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

¹Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

²And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.

³And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

⁴So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

⁵And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

⁶For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

⁷And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.

⁸So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

⁹Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry.

¹⁰You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.

¹¹There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’

¹²And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.

¹³You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”

¹⁴Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

¹⁵And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.

¹⁷And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan,

¹⁸and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’

¹⁹And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

²⁰Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.

²²To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes.

²³To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey.

²⁴Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”

²⁵So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.

²⁶And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them.

²⁷But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

²⁸And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

²I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them —

³since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.

⁴For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

⁵Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

⁷But we pray to God that you may not do wrong — not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

⁹For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.

¹⁰For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss.

¹³All the saints greet you.

¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

¹“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

⁹“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.

¹⁵So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

¹⁶Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

¹⁹ “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.

²⁰But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

²¹I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

²²Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,

²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

²⁴But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.

²⁵Only hold fast what you have until I come.

²⁶ The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,

²⁷and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

²⁸And I will give him the morning star.

²⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

²a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

³a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

⁹What gain has the worker from his toil?

¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

¹²I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;

¹³also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil — this is God's gift to man.

¹⁴I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

¹⁶Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

¹⁷I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

¹⁸I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.

¹⁹For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.

²⁰All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.

²¹Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

²²So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

¹My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

²You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.

³Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!

⁴In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!

⁵Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.

⁶Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

⁷you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

⁸your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;

⁹daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house,

¹¹and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.

¹²The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.

¹³All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.

¹⁴In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.

¹⁵With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.

¹⁷I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

¹The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

²Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.

³By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

⁵A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

⁷Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.

⁹Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

¹⁵The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

¹⁶One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.

¹⁷A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends.

²¹Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil? Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.

²³In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined.

²⁹Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

³⁰A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

³¹Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.”

²And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

³And they said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?”

⁴And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵And the people of Israel said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

⁶And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day.

⁷What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?”

⁸And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.

⁹For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.

¹⁰So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest men there and commanded them, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones.

¹¹This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.”

¹²And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³Then the whole congregation sent word to the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them.

¹⁴And Benjamin returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, but they were not enough for them.

¹⁵And the people had compassion on Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”

¹⁷And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.

¹⁸Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people of Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

¹⁹So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

²⁰And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards

²¹and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’”

²³And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.

²⁴And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

¹Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:

²“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,

³I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.

⁵I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,

⁶that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

⁷I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

⁸“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.

⁹“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

¹¹Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: “Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?

¹²I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

¹³I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.

¹⁴Thus says the LORD: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’”

¹⁵Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

¹⁶All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.

¹⁷But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

¹⁸For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

¹⁹I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

²⁰“Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

²¹Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

²²“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

²³By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

²⁴“Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

²⁵In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”

¹Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

⁴And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

⁵But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.

⁶And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

⁷and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

⁸And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.

⁹And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

¹²Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

¹⁴Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

¹⁶Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

¹⁷So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

¹⁸Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities” — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

²⁰For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”

²¹Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

²²So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.

²³For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

²⁶And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

²⁷that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

²⁸for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

²⁹Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

³⁰The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

³²Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

³³So Paul went out from their midst.

³⁴But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.