Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing;

⁵and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?

⁶He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,

⁷saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.”

⁸And they remembered His words,

⁹and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.

¹⁰Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

¹¹But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe the women.

¹²Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped and looked in, he *saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

¹³And behold, on that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.

¹⁴And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.

¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

¹⁶But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.

¹⁷And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they came to a stop, looking sad.

¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?”

¹⁹And He said to them, “What sort of things?” And they said to Him, “Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

²⁰and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him.

²¹But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

²²But also some women among us left us bewildered. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,

²³and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.

²⁴And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

²⁵And then He said to them, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

²⁶Was it not necessary for theChrist to suffer these things and to come into His glory?”

²⁷Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸And they approached the village where they were going, and He gave the impression that He was going farther.

²⁹And so they strongly urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.

³⁰And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them.

³¹And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³²They said to one another, “Were our hearts not burning within us when He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

³³And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them,

³⁴saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon!”

³⁵They began to relate their experiences on the road, and how He was recognized by them at the breaking of the bread.

³⁶Now while they were telling these things, Jesus Himself suddenly stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.”

³⁷But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at a spirit.

³⁸And He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in yourhearts?

³⁹See My hands and My feet, thatit is I Myself; touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.”

⁴⁰And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

⁴¹While they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

⁴²They served Him a piece of broiled fish;

⁴³and He took it and ate it in front of them.

⁴⁴Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

⁴⁶and He said to them, “So it is written, that theChrist would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

⁴⁷and that repentancefor forgiveness of sins would be proclaimedin His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

⁵¹While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

⁵²And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

⁵³and were continually in the temple praising God.

¹Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

²And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took in Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away,

³and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

⁴And the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God.

⁶And he sent word to Moses: “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

⁷Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and went into the tent.

⁸Moses told his father-in-law everything that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had confronted them on the journey, and how the LORD had rescued them.

⁹And Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done for Israel, in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰So Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

¹¹Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently against the people.”

¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening.

¹⁴Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

¹⁶When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between someone and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law then said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good.

¹⁸You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.

¹⁹Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God,

²⁰then admonish them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.

²¹Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

²²Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you.

²³If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their places in peace.”

²⁴So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said.

²⁵Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

²⁶Then they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves.

²⁷Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went his way to his own land.

¹Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus;

²He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.

³For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.

⁴For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

⁵Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;

⁶but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the boast of our hope.

⁷Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,

⁸DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS ON THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,

⁹WHERE YOUR FATHERS PUT ME to the test, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.

¹⁰THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’;

¹¹AS I SWORE IN MY ANGER, ‘THEY CERTAINLY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’ ”

¹²Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

¹³But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end,

¹⁵while it is said, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.”

¹⁶For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

¹⁷And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?

¹⁸And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?

¹⁹And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

¹Then Job responded,

²“Oh if only my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my disaster!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; For that reason my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God line up against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his feed?

⁶Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the juice of an alkanet plant?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh, that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my hope!

⁹Oh, that God would decide to crush me, That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰But it is still my comfort, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is it that my help is not within me, And that a good outcome is driven away from me?

¹⁴“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not abandon the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which drain away,

¹⁶Which are darkened because of ice, And into which the snow melts.

¹⁷When they dry up, they vanish; When it is hot, they disappear from their place.

¹⁸The paths of their course wind along, They go up into wasteland and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema looked, The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

²⁰They were put to shame, for they had trusted, They came there and were humiliated.

²¹Indeed, you have now become such, You see terrors and are afraid.

²²Have I said, ‘Give me something,’ Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’ Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have done wrong.

²⁵How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?

²⁶Do you intend to rebuke my words, When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

²⁷You would even cast lots for the orphans, And barter over your friend.

²⁸Now please look at me, And see if I am lying to your face.

²⁹Please turn away, let there be no injustice; Turn away, my righteousness is still in it.

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Does my palate not discern disasters?

¹May God arise, may His enemies be scattered, And may those who hate Him flee from His presence.

²As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before a fire, So the wicked will perish before God.

³But the righteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God; Yes, they will rejoice with gladness.

⁴Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Exalt Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the LORD, and be jubilant before Him.

⁵A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy dwelling.

⁶God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious live in parched lands.

⁷God, when You went forth before Your people, When You marched through the desert, Selah

⁸The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹You made plentiful rain fall, God; You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched.

¹⁰Your creatures settled in it; In Your kindness You provided for the poor, God.

¹¹The Lord gives the command; The women who proclaim good news are a great army:

¹²“Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home will divide the spoils!”

¹³When you lie down among the sheepfolds, You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And its pinions with glistening gold.

¹⁴When the Almighty scattered the kings there, It was snowing in Zalmon.

¹⁵The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of God; The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.

¹⁶Why do you look with envy, you mountains of many peaks, At the mountain God has desired as His dwelling? Indeed, the LORD will dwell there forever.

¹⁷The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.

¹⁸You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among people, Even among the rebellious as well, that the LORD God may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. Selah

²⁰God is to us a God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong ways of escape from death.

²¹God certainly will shatter the heads of His enemies, The hairy head of one who goes about in his guilt.

²²The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

²³So that your foot may shatter them in blood, And the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

²⁴They have seen Your procession, God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.

²⁵The singers went on, the musicians after them, In the midst of the young women beating tambourines.

²⁶Bless God in the congregations, Even the LORD, you who are of the fountain of Israel.

²⁷Benjamin, the youngest, is there, ruling them, The leaders of Judah in their company, The leaders of Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.

²⁸Your God has commanded your strength; Show Yourself strong, God, You who acted in our behalf.

²⁹Because of Your temple at Jerusalem Kings will bring gifts to You.

³⁰Rebuke the animals in the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Trampling the pieces of silver; He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.

³¹Messengers will come from Egypt; Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

³²Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, Sing praises to the Lord, Selah

³³To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; Behold, He speaks with His voice, a mighty voice.

³⁴Ascribe strength to God; His majesty is over Israel, And His strength is in the skies.

³⁵God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!

¹My son, if you have become a guarantor for your neighbor, Or have given a handshake for a stranger,

²If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth, Or caught by the words of your mouth,

³Then do this, my son, and save yourself: Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.

⁴Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, you lazy one, Observe its ways and be wise,

⁷Which, having no chief, Officer, or ruler,

⁸Prepares its food in the summer And gathers its provision in the harvest.

⁹How long will you lie down, you lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep?

¹⁰“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,”

¹¹Then your poverty will come in like a drifter, And your need like an armed man.

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a perverse mouth,

¹³Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers;

¹⁴Who, with perversion in his heart, continually devises evil, Who spreads strife.

¹⁵Therefore his disaster will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

¹⁶There are six things that the LORD hates, Seven that are an abomination to Him:

¹⁷Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,

¹⁹A false witness who declares lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

²⁰My son, comply with the commandment of your father, And do not ignore the teaching of your mother;

²¹Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.

²³For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life

²⁴To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

²⁵Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

²⁶For the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for a precious life.

²⁷Can anyone take fire in his lap And his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Or can a person walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?

²⁹So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

³¹But when he is found, he must repay seven times as much; He must give up all the property of his house.

³²One who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself commits it.

³³He will find wounds and disgrace, And his shame will not be removed.

³⁴For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not have compassion on the day of vengeance.

³⁵He will not accept any settlement, Nor will he be satisfied though you make it a large gift.

¹Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.

²So Jonathan informed David, saying, “My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself.

³And as for me, I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak with my father about you; and whatever I find out, I will tell you.”

⁴Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “May the king not sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you.

⁵For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”

⁶Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the LORD lives, David shall not be put to death.”

⁷Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

⁸When there was war again, David went out and fought the Philistines and defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled from him.

⁹Now there was an evil spirit from the LORD on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.

¹⁰And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, informed him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death!”

¹²So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped.

¹³And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothing.

¹⁴When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

¹⁵Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, so that I may put him to death.”

¹⁶When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head.

¹⁷So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’ ”

¹⁸So David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel at Ramah; and he informed him of everything that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

¹⁹But it was reported to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

²⁰Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied.

²¹When Saul was informed of this, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, yet they prophesied.

²²Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”

²³So he proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

²⁴He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I remember regarding you the devotion of your youth, Your love when you were a bride, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.

³Israel was holy to the LORD, The first of His harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; Evil came upon them,” declares the LORD.’ ”

⁴Hear the word of the LORD, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

⁵This is what the LORD says: “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me, And walked after emptiness and became empty?

⁶They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no person lived?’

⁷I brought you into the fruitful land To eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land, And you made My inheritance an abomination.

⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the Law did not know Me; The rulers also revolted against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that were of no benefit.

⁹“Therefore I will still contend with you,” declares the LORD, “And I will contend with your sons’ sons.

¹⁰For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see, And send to Kedar and observe closely, And see if there has been anything like this!

¹¹Has a nation changed gods, When they were not gods? But My people have exchanged their glory For that which is of no benefit.

¹²Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD.

¹³“For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, The fountain of living waters, To carve out for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That do not hold water.

¹⁴“Is Israel a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home? Why has he become plunder?

¹⁵The young lions have roared at him, They have roared loudly. And they have made his land a waste; His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

¹⁶Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes Have shaved your head.

¹⁷Have you not done this to yourself By your abandoning the LORD your God When He led you in the way?

¹⁸But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt, Except to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?

¹⁹Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will punish you; Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter For you to abandon the LORD your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord GOD of armies.

²⁰“For long ago I broke your yoke And tore off your restraints; But you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every high hill And under every leafy tree You have lain down as a prostitute.

²¹Yet I planted you as a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

²²Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

²³“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel running about senselessly on her ways,

²⁴A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. Who can turn her away in her mating season? None who seek her will grow weary; In her month they will find her.

²⁵Keep your feet from being bare, And your throat from thirst; But you said, ‘It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And I will walk after them.’

²⁶“Like the shame of a thief when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their leaders, Their priests, and their prophets,

²⁷Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’

²⁸But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time of your trouble! For as many as the number of your cities Are your gods, Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with Me? You have all revolted against Me,” declares the LORD.

³⁰“In vain I have struck your sons; They did not accept discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion.

³¹You generation, look to the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You’?

³²Can a virgin forget her jewelry, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me For days without number.

³³How well you prepare your way To seek love! Therefore even to the wicked women You have taught your ways.

³⁴Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things,

³⁵You said, ‘I am innocent; Surely His anger is turned away from me.’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

³⁶Why do you go around so much Changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt, Just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

³⁷From this place as well you will go out With your hands on your head; For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, And you will not prosper with them.”

¹Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm.

²And he had James the brother of John executed with a sword.

³When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were the days of Unleavened Bread.)

⁴When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after the Passover to bring him before the people.

⁵So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God intensely by the church.

⁶On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.

⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands.

⁸And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

⁹And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

¹²And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

¹³When he knocked at the door of the gate, a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.

¹⁵They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”

¹⁶But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.

¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.

¹⁹When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

²⁰Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was supported with grain from the king’s country.

²¹On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them.

²²The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

²³And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned when they had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.