Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching.

²The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

³Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples,

⁴and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them.

⁵They were delighted, and they promised to give him money.

⁶So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.

⁷Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed.

⁸Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”

⁹“Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.

¹⁰He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters,

¹¹say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’

¹²He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.”

¹³They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

¹⁴When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table.

¹⁵Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.

¹⁶For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”

¹⁷Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves.

¹⁸For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

¹⁹He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people — an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

²¹“But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me.

²²For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.”

²³The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.

²⁴Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.

²⁵Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’

²⁶But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.

²⁷Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

²⁸“You have stayed with me in my time of trial.

²⁹And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right

³⁰to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.

³²But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

³³Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”

³⁴But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

³⁵Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or an extra pair of sandals, did you need anything?” “No,” they replied.

³⁶“But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!

³⁷For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the rebels.’ Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.”

³⁸“Look, Lord,” they replied, “we have two swords among us.” “That’s enough,” he said.

³⁹Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.

⁴⁰There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

⁴¹He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,

⁴²“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.

⁴⁴He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

⁴⁵At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief.

⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”

⁴⁷But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss.

⁴⁸But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight? We brought the swords!”

⁵⁰And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple guard, and the elders who had come for him. “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,” he asked, “that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me?

⁵³Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day. But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”

⁵⁴So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance.

⁵⁵The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there.

⁵⁶A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

⁵⁷But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”

⁵⁸After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!” “No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted.

⁵⁹About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.”

⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

⁶¹At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

⁶²And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

⁶³The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him.

⁶⁴They blindfolded him and said, “Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?”

⁶⁵And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him.

⁶⁶At daybreak all the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. Jesus was led before this high council,

⁶⁷and they said, “Tell us, are you the Messiah?” But he replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me.

⁶⁸And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer.

⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand. ”

⁷⁰They all shouted, “So, are you claiming to be the Son of God?” And he replied, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹“Why do we need other witnesses?” they said. “We ourselves heard him say it.”

¹Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.

²There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.

³“If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

⁵On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

⁷In the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?”

⁸Then Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the LORD, not against us.”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.’”

¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the LORD in the cloud.

¹¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹²“I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”

¹³That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew.

¹⁴When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.

¹⁵The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the food the LORD has given you to eat.

¹⁶These are the LORD’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.”

¹⁷So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little.

¹⁸But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

¹⁹Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.”

²⁰But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.

²¹After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared.

²²On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual — four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation.

²³He told them, “This is what the LORD commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the LORD. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”

²⁴So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor.

²⁵Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the LORD. There will be no food on the ground today.

²⁶You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.”

²⁷Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food.

²⁸The LORD asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions?

²⁹They must realize that the Sabbath is the LORD’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.”

³⁰So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.

³¹The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.

³²Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt.”

³³Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for all future generations.”

³⁴Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant — in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.

³⁵So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

³⁶The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two quarts.

¹Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.

²And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.

³The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

⁴This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

⁵For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. ” God also said, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”

⁶And when he brought his supreme Son into the world, God said, “Let all of God’s angels worship him.”

⁷Regarding the angels, he says, “He sends his angels like the winds, his servants like flames of fire.”

⁸But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.

⁹You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”

¹⁰He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing.

¹²You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.”

¹³And God never said to any of the angels, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

¹⁴Therefore, angels are only servants — spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:

²“Will you be patient and let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out?

³“In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak.

⁴Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees.

⁵But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you.

⁶Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

⁷“Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed?

⁸My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.

⁹A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.

¹⁰The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.

¹¹The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

¹²“This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear.

¹³It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep.

¹⁴Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled.

¹⁵A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end.

¹⁶The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say,

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

¹⁸“If God does not trust his own angels and has charged his messengers with foolishness,

¹⁹how much less will he trust people made of clay! They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.

²⁰They are alive in the morning but dead by evening, gone forever without a trace.

²¹Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses, and they die in ignorance.

¹Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!

²Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is.

³Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.

⁴Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude

⁵Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people!

⁶He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him.

⁷For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

⁸Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises.

⁹Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.

¹⁰You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.

¹¹You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.

¹²Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

¹³Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you —

¹⁴yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble.

¹⁵That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you — the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.

¹⁷For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke.

¹⁸If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.

²⁰Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

¹My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment,

²for I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions.

³For I, too, was once my father’s son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.

⁴My father taught me, “Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live.

⁵Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.

⁶Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.

⁷Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.

⁸If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you.

⁹She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

¹⁰My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.

¹¹I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths.

¹²When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.

¹³Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.

¹⁴Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers.

¹⁵Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.

¹⁶For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.

¹⁷They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!

¹⁸The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

²⁰My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words.

²¹Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart,

²²for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

²³Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

²⁴Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.

²⁵Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

²⁶Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.

²⁷Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

¹The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.

²Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah.

³So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

⁴Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!

⁵He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.

⁶He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder.

⁷The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.

⁸Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me!

⁹If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!

¹⁰I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”

¹¹When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

¹²Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons.

¹³Jesse’s three oldest sons — Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea — had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines.

¹⁴David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army,

¹⁵but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.

¹⁶For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.

¹⁷One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers.

¹⁸And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing. ”

¹⁹David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.

²⁰So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.

²¹Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army.

²²David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers.

²³As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.

²⁴As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.

²⁵“Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

²⁶David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”

²⁸But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

²⁹“What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”

³⁰He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.

³¹Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

³²“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

³³“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

³⁴But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,

³⁵I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.

³⁶I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!

³⁷The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the LORD be with you!”

³⁸Then Saul gave David his own armor — a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.

³⁹David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.

⁴⁰He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

⁴¹Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him,

⁴²sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.

⁴³“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.

⁴⁴“Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

⁴⁵David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies — the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!

⁴⁷And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

⁴⁸As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.

⁴⁹Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

⁵⁰So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.

⁵¹Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. Israel Routs the Philistines When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

⁵²Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.

⁵³Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.

⁵⁴(David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)

⁵⁵As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “I really don’t know,” Abner declared.

⁵⁶“Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.

⁵⁷As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.

⁵⁸“Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said. And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”

¹This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place?

²My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.

³But those who choose their own ways — delighting in their detestable sins — will not have their offerings accepted. When such people sacrifice a bull, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb, it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog! When they bring an offering of grain, they might as well offer the blood of a pig. When they burn frankincense, it’s as if they had blessed an idol.

⁴I will send them great trouble — all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned before my very eyes and chose to do what they know I despise.”

⁵Hear this message from the LORD, all you who tremble at his words: “Your own people hate you and throw you out for being loyal to my name. ‘Let the LORD be honored!’ they scoff. ‘Be joyful in him!’ But they will be put to shame.

⁶What is all the commotion in the city? What is that terrible noise from the Temple? It is the voice of the LORD taking vengeance against his enemies.

⁷“Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son.

⁸Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born.

⁹Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?” asks the LORD. “No! I would never keep this nation from being born,” says your God.

¹⁰“Rejoice with Jerusalem! Be glad with her, all you who love her and all you who mourn for her.

¹¹Drink deeply of her glory even as an infant drinks at its mother’s comforting breasts.”

¹²This is what the LORD says: “I will give Jerusalem a river of peace and prosperity. The wealth of the nations will flow to her. Her children will be nursed at her breasts, carried in her arms, and held on her lap.

¹³I will comfort you there in Jerusalem as a mother comforts her child.”

¹⁴When you see these things, your heart will rejoice. You will flourish like the grass! Everyone will see the LORD’s hand of blessing on his servants — and his anger against his enemies.

¹⁵See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind. He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.

¹⁶The LORD will punish the world by fire and by his sword. He will judge the earth, and many will be killed by him.

¹⁷“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center — feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats — will come to a terrible end,” says the LORD.

¹⁸“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory.

¹⁹I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations — to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations.

²⁰They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the LORD.

²¹“And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the LORD, have spoken!

²²“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain, so will you always be my people, with a name that will never disappear,” says the LORD.

²³“All humanity will come to worship me from week to week and from month to month.

²⁴And as they go out, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me. For the worms that devour them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never go out. All who pass by will view them with utter horror.”

¹In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

³One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

⁴Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!

⁵Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.

⁶He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

⁷As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants.

⁸He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

⁹The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

¹⁰and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.

¹²In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.

¹³Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

¹⁴“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean. ”

¹⁵But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

¹⁶The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

¹⁷Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate,

¹⁸they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

²¹So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²²They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”

²³So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

²⁴They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!”

²⁷So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

²⁸Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

²⁹So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.

³¹He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!

³²Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”

³⁴Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

³⁵In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.

³⁶This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel — that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

³⁷You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism.

³⁸And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross,

⁴⁰but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear,

⁴¹not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all — the living and the dead.

⁴³He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

⁴⁴Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked,

⁴⁷“Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”

⁴⁸So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.