Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us,

²just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,

³I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

⁴so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

⁵In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.

⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

⁸Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty,

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

¹⁰Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.

¹¹Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him.

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

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

¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

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

¹⁸Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”

¹⁹The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

²¹Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary.

²²When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak.

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

²⁴After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said,

²⁵“This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

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

²⁹But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

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

³¹And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him 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 ancestor David.

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

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

³⁵The angel said to 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 holy; he will be called Son of God.

³⁶And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”

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

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,

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

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

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

⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?

⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.

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

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

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

⁵⁰His 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 powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;

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

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

⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

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

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

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

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.

⁶⁰But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.”

⁶¹They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.”

⁶²Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him.

⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed.

⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God.

⁶⁵Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

⁶⁹He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,

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

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

⁷²Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,

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

⁷⁴that we, being rescued from the hands 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 by the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,

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

⁸⁰The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

¹Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

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

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

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. 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 five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

⁷God 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 delay.

¹⁰You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.

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

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

¹³You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”

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

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

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

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

¹⁸Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I may give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you may enjoy the fat of the land.’

¹⁹You are further charged 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.

²⁰Give no thought to your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

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

²²To each one of them he gave a set of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments.

²³To his father he sent the following: 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 on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Do not quarrel along the way.”

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

²⁶And they told him, “Joseph is still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt.” He was stunned; he could not believe them.

²⁷But when they told him all the words of Joseph that 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.

²⁸Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go and see him before I die.”

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. “Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

²I warned those who sinned previously 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 be lenient —

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

⁴For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we 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 living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize 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.

⁷But we pray to God that you may not do anything 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 rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may become perfect.

¹⁰So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, 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. All the saints greet you.

¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

¹“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are 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. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false.

³I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary.

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

⁵Remember then from what 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 is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the first and the last, who was dead and came to life:

⁹“I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part 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. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death.

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

¹³“I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.

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

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

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

¹⁷Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are 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, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.

²⁰But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

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

²²Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings;

²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.

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 to what you have until I come.

²⁶To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end, I will give authority over the nations;

²⁷to rule them with an iron rod, as when clay pots are shattered —

²⁸even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star.

²⁹Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying 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 throw 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 throw 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 have the workers from their toil?

¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.

¹¹He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live;

¹³moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.

¹⁴I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him.

¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.

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

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

¹⁸I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals.

¹⁹For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity.

²⁰All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.

²¹Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?

²²So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?

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

²You are the most handsome 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 glory and majesty.

⁴In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.

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

⁶Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;

⁷you love righteousness and hate 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, 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

¹³with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;

¹⁴in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.

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

¹⁶In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.

¹⁷I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

¹The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

²Those who walk uprightly fear the LORD, but one who is devious in conduct despises him.

³The talk of fools is a rod for their backs, but the lips of the wise preserve them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, there is no grain; 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 one who understands.

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

⁸It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go, but the folly of fools misleads.

⁹Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy God’s favor.

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

¹¹The house of the wicked is destroyed, but the tent of the upright flourishes.

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

¹³Even in laughter the heart is sad, and the end of joy is grief.

¹⁴The perverse get what their ways deserve, and the good, what their deeds deserve.

¹⁵The simple believe everything, but the clever consider their steps.

¹⁶The wise are cautious and turn away from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is careless.

¹⁷One who is quick-tempered acts foolishly, and the schemer is hated.

¹⁸The simple are adorned with folly, but the clever are crowned with knowledge.

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

²⁰The poor are disliked even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.

²¹Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor.

²²Do they not err that plan evil? Those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

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

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wisdom, but folly is the garland of fools.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is a betrayer.

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

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, so that one may avoid the snares of death.

²⁸The glory of a king is a multitude of people; without people a prince is ruined.

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

³⁰A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh, but passion makes the bones rot.

³¹Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.

³²The wicked are overthrown by their evildoing, but the righteous find a refuge in their integrity.

³³Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding, but it is not known in the heart 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 Israelites 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 until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

³They said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, why has it come to pass that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?”

⁴On the next day, the people got up early, and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being.

⁵Then the Israelites said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For a solemn oath had been taken concerning whoever did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, “That one shall be put to death.”

⁶But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin, 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 as wives?”

⁸Then they said, “Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly.

⁹For when the roll was called among the people, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.

¹⁰So the congregation sent twelve thousand soldiers there and commanded them, “Go, put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, including 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 four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man and brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

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

¹⁴Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they did not suffice for them.

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

¹⁶So the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since there are no women left in Benjamin?”

¹⁷And they said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, in order that a tribe may not be blotted out from Israel.

¹⁸Yet we cannot give any of our daughters to them as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

¹⁹So they said, “Look, the yearly festival of the LORD is taking place 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 instructed the Benjaminites, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

²¹and watch; when the young women of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and each of you carry off a wife for himself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²Then if their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Be generous and allow us to have them; because we did not capture in battle a wife for each man. But neither did you incur guilt by giving your daughters to them.’”

²³The Benjaminites did so; they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they abducted. Then they went and returned to their territory, and rebuilt the towns, and lived in them.

²⁴So the Israelites departed from there at that time by tribes and families, and they went out from there to their own territories.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.

¹Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him — and the gates shall not be closed:

²I will go before you and level the mountains, 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 riches hidden in secret places, so 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 surname you, though you do not know me.

⁵I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me,

⁶so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

⁷I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the LORD do all these things.

⁸Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the LORD have created it.

⁹Woe to you who strive with your Maker, earthen vessels with the potter! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”? or “Your work has no handles”?

¹⁰Woe to anyone 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 its Maker: Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?

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

¹³I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his paths straight; 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 Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, tall 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 make supplication to you, saying, “God is with you alone, and there is no other; there is 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 a chaos, 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 chaos.” I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right.

²⁰Assemble yourselves and come together, draw near, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge — those 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? There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is no one besides me.

²²Turn 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 forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

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

²⁵In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory.

¹After Paul and Silas 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 argued with them from the scriptures,

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

⁴Some 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 became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house.

⁶When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also,

⁷and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.”

⁸The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this,

⁹and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹⁰That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and when they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so.

¹²Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men of high standing.

¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea as well, they came there too, to stir up and incite the crowds.

¹⁴Then the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind.

¹⁵Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him.

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

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

¹⁸Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)

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

²⁰It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.”

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

²²Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.

²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,

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

²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live,

²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is 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 too are his offspring.’

²⁹Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.

³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

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

³²When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

³³At that point Paul left them.

³⁴But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.