Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.

²There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.

³He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.

⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

⁶Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.

⁷But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

⁸Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

⁹Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

¹¹The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.

¹²He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return.

¹³Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’

¹⁴But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

¹⁵“After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were.

¹⁶The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

¹⁷“‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

¹⁸“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

¹⁹“‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

²⁰“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe.

²¹I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

²²“‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant,

²³why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁴“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

²⁵“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’

²⁶“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

²⁷And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king — bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

²⁸After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples.

²⁹As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead.

³⁰“Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said.

³³And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

³⁴And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

³⁶As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him.

³⁷When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

³⁸“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

³⁹But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

⁴⁰He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

⁴¹But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.

⁴²“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.

⁴³Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side.

⁴⁴They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you. ”

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices.

⁴⁶He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

⁴⁷After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him.

⁴⁸But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”

³So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever — the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the LORD has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.)

⁴On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free.

⁵You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land — a land flowing with milk and honey.)

⁶For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the LORD.

⁷Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time.

⁸“On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’

⁹This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’

¹⁰So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year.

¹¹“This is what you must do when the LORD fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live,

¹²you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the LORD, for they belong to him.

¹³A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the LORD by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son.

¹⁴“And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery.

¹⁵Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the LORD — except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’

¹⁶This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the LORD’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.”

¹⁷When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

¹⁸So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.

¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.”

²⁰The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

²¹The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.

²²And the LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

¹I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.

²I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.

³In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.

⁵For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.

⁶And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.

⁷Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

⁸Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

⁹For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

¹⁰So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

¹¹When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision — the cutting away of your sinful nature.

¹²For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

¹³You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

¹⁴He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

¹⁵In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

¹⁶So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.

¹⁷For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.

¹⁸Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud,

¹⁹and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

²⁰You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as,

²¹“Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?

²²Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.

²³These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.

²He seized the dragon — that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan — and bound him in chains for a thousand years.

³The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

⁴Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁵This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)

⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

⁷When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.

⁸He will go out to deceive the nations — called Gog and Magog — in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle — a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.

⁹And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

¹⁰Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

¹¹And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.

¹²I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

¹³The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

¹⁴Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

¹⁵And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

¹There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless — a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.

²He had seven sons and three daughters.

³He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.

⁴Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them.

⁵When these celebrations ended — sometimes after several days — Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

⁶One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.

⁷“Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

⁸Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless — a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

⁹Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.

¹⁰You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!

¹¹But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

¹²“All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.

¹³One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house,

¹⁴a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them,

¹⁵when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home.

¹⁹Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

²⁰Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.

²¹He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!”

²²In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

¹O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

²I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.

³Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!

⁴I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

⁵You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.

⁶I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.

⁷Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

⁸I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.

⁹But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin. They will go down into the depths of the earth.

¹⁰They will die by the sword and become the food of jackals.

¹¹But the king will rejoice in God. All who swear to tell the truth will praise him, while liars will be silenced.

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

²Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.

³Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

⁴These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance

⁶by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

⁹What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!

¹¹They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave ; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.

¹³Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.

¹⁴Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”

¹⁵My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths.

¹⁶They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder.

¹⁷If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.

¹⁸But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.

²¹She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:

²²“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?

²³Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

²⁴“I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.

²⁵You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.

²⁶So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you —

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸“When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.

³¹Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.

³²For simpletons turn away from me — to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.

³³But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

¹One day Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to where the Philistines have their outpost.” But Jonathan did not tell his father what he was doing.

²Meanwhile, Saul and his 600 men were camped on the outskirts of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree at Migron.

³Among Saul’s men was Ahijah the priest, who was wearing the ephod, the priestly vest. Ahijah was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD who had served at Shiloh. No one realized that Jonathan had left the Israelite camp.

⁴To reach the Philistine outpost, Jonathan had to go down between two rocky cliffs that were called Bozez and Seneh.

⁵The cliff on the north was in front of Micmash, and the one on the south was in front of Geba.

⁶“Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the LORD will help us, for nothing can hinder the LORD. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”

⁷“Do what you think is best,” the armor bearer replied. “I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.”

⁸“All right, then,” Jonathan told him. “We will cross over and let them see us.

⁹If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you,’ then we will stop and not go up to them.

¹⁰But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,’ then we will go up. That will be the LORD’s sign that he will help us defeat them.”

¹¹When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!”

¹²Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here, and we’ll teach you a lesson!” “Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “for the LORD will help us defeat them!”

¹³So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them.

¹⁴They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.

¹⁵Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.

¹⁶Saul’s lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin saw a strange sight — the vast army of Philistines began to melt away in every direction.

¹⁷“Call the roll and find out who’s missing,” Saul ordered. And when they checked, they found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.

¹⁸Then Saul shouted to Ahijah, “Bring the ephod here!” For at that time Ahijah was wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites.

¹⁹But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!”

²⁰Then Saul and all his men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other. There was terrible confusion everywhere.

²¹Even the Hebrews who had previously gone over to the Philistine army revolted and joined in with Saul, Jonathan, and the rest of the Israelites.

²²Likewise, the men of Israel who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim joined the chase when they saw the Philistines running away.

²³So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle continued to rage even beyond Beth-aven.

²⁴Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening — before I have full revenge on my enemies.” So no one ate anything all day,

²⁵even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest.

²⁶They didn’t dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.

²⁷But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed.

²⁸But one of the men saw him and said, “Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.”

²⁹“My father has made trouble for us all!” Jonathan exclaimed. “A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey.

³⁰If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!”

³¹They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint.

³²That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood.

³³Someone reported to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the LORD by eating meat that still has blood in it.” “That is very wrong,” Saul said. “Find a large stone and roll it over here.

³⁴Then go out among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.’” So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there.

³⁵Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first of the altars he built to the LORD.

³⁶Then Saul said, “Let’s chase the Philistines all night and plunder them until sunrise. Let’s destroy every last one of them.” His men replied, “We’ll do whatever you think is best.” But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”

³⁷So Saul asked God, “Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But God made no reply that day.

³⁸Then Saul said to the leaders, “Something’s wrong! I want all my army commanders to come here. We must find out what sin was committed today.

³⁹I vow by the name of the LORD who rescued Israel that the sinner will surely die, even if it is my own son Jonathan!” But no one would tell him what the trouble was.

⁴⁰Then Saul said, “Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there.” And the people responded to Saul, “Whatever you think is best.”

⁴¹Then Saul prayed, “O LORD, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent. ” Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.

⁴²Then Saul said, “Now cast lots again and choose between me and Jonathan.” And Jonathan was shown to be the guilty one.

⁴³“Tell me what you have done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan. “I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?”

⁴⁴“Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”

⁴⁵But the people broke in and said to Saul, “Jonathan has won this great victory for Israel. Should he die? Far from it! As surely as the LORD lives, not one hair on his head will be touched, for God helped him do a great deed today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.

⁴⁶Then Saul called back the army from chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines returned home.

⁴⁷Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel’s throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction — against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was victorious.

⁴⁸He performed great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them.

⁴⁹Saul’s sons included Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malkishua. He also had two daughters: Merab, who was older, and Michal.

⁵⁰Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of Saul’s army was Abner, the son of Saul’s uncle Ner.

⁵¹Saul’s father, Kish, and Abner’s father, Ner, were both sons of Abiel.

⁵²The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul’s lifetime. So whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army.

¹Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in his great strength? “It is I, the LORD, announcing your salvation! It is I, the LORD, who has the power to save!”

²Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes?

³“I have been treading the winepress alone; no one was there to help me. In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. Their blood has stained my clothes.

⁴For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors.

⁵I was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So I myself stepped in to save them with my strong arm, and my wrath sustained me.

⁶I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground, spilling their blood upon the earth.”

⁷I will tell of the LORD’s unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.

⁸He said, “They are my very own people. Surely they will not betray me again.” And he became their Savior.

⁹In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

¹⁰But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.

¹¹Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, “Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people?

¹²Where is the one whose power was displayed when Moses lifted up his hand — the one who divided the sea before them, making himself famous forever?

¹³Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling.

¹⁴As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led your people, LORD, and gained a magnificent reputation.”

¹⁵LORD, look down from heaven; look from your holy, glorious home, and see us. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now?

¹⁶Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, LORD, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past.

¹⁷LORD, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you? Return and help us, for we are your servants, the tribes that are your special possession.

¹⁸How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place, and now our enemies have destroyed it.

¹⁹Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you, as though we had never been known as your people.

¹Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”

²This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran.

³God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’

⁴So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.

⁵“But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants — even though he had no children yet.

⁶God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

⁷‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’

⁸“God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

⁹“These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.

¹¹“But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food.

¹²Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons — our ancestors — to buy some.

¹³The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all.

¹⁵So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors.

¹⁶Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.

¹⁷“As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.

¹⁸But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph.

¹⁹This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.

²⁰“At that time Moses was born — a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months.

²¹When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son.

²²Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.

²³“One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel.

²⁴He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian.

²⁵Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.

²⁶“The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’

²⁷“But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked.

²⁸‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’

²⁹When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.

³⁰“Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the LORD called out to him,

³²‘I am the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.

³³“Then the LORD said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

³⁴I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’

³⁵“So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior.

³⁶And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷“Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’

³⁸Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.

³⁹“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.

⁴⁰They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’

⁴¹So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made.

⁴²Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?

⁴³No, you carried your pagan gods — the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.’

⁴⁴“Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.

⁴⁵Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

⁴⁶“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who actually built it.

⁴⁸However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

⁴⁹‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the LORD. ‘Could you build me such a resting place?

⁵⁰Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’

⁵¹“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!

⁵²Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One — the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered.

⁵³You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

⁵⁴The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

⁵⁶And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

⁵⁷Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him

⁵⁸and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.