Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

²They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

³So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

⁵The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?

⁶He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,

⁷that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

⁸Then they remembered that he had said this.

⁹So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples — and everyone else — what had happened.

¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.

¹¹But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.

¹²However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.

¹³That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.

¹⁴As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened.

¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.

¹⁶But God kept them from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.

¹⁸Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

¹⁹“What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people.

²⁰But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him.

²¹We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

²²“Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report.

²³They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive!

²⁴Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

²⁵Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.

²⁶Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”

²⁷Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on,

²⁹but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them.

³⁰As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.

³¹Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

³²They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

³³And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them,

³⁴who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter. ”

³⁵Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

³⁶And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

³⁷But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

³⁸“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?

³⁹Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”

⁴⁰As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

⁴¹Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

⁴³and he ate it as they watched.

⁴⁴Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.

⁴⁷It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’

⁴⁸You are witnesses of all these things.

⁴⁹“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

⁵⁰Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.

⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.

⁵²So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.

⁵³And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

¹Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially about how the LORD had rescued them from Egypt.

²Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in.

³(Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for Moses had said when the boy was born, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

⁴His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”)

⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God.

⁶Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.”

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent.

⁸Moses told his father-in-law everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the LORD had rescued his people from all their troubles.

⁹Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰“Praise the LORD,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt!

¹¹I know now that the LORD is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.”

¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.

¹³The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.

¹⁴When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.

¹⁶When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”

¹⁷“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.

¹⁸“You’re going to wear yourself out — and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.

¹⁹Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.

²⁰Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.

²¹But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

²²They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.

²³If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.

²⁵He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

²⁶These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.

²⁷Soon after this, Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, who returned to his own land.

¹And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.

²For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house.

³But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself.

⁴For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.

⁵Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.

⁶But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

⁷That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice,

⁸don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.

⁹There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

¹⁰So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’

¹¹So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

¹²Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

¹³You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

¹⁴For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

¹⁵Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”

¹⁶And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt?

¹⁷And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness?

¹⁸And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him?

¹⁹So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

¹Then Job spoke again:

²“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales,

³they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke impulsively.

⁴For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God’s terrors are lined up against me.

⁵Don’t I have a right to complain? Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?

⁶Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?

⁷My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!

⁸“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.

⁹I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.

¹⁰At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹But I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.

¹²Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze?

¹³No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.

¹⁴“One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring

¹⁶when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.

¹⁷But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat.

¹⁸The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing to drink, so they die.

¹⁹The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.

²⁰They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.

²¹You, too, have given no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.

²²But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?

²³Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies, or to save me from ruthless people?

²⁴Teach me, and I will keep quiet. Show me what I have done wrong.

²⁵Honest words can be painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?

²⁶Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation?

²⁷You would even send an orphan into slavery or sell a friend.

²⁸Look at me! Would I lie to your face?

²⁹Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.

³⁰Do you think I am lying? Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?

¹Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies. Let those who hate God run for their lives.

²Blow them away like smoke. Melt them like wax in a fire. Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.

³But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy.

⁴Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the LORD — rejoice in his presence!

⁵Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

⁶God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷O God, when you led your people out from Egypt, when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude

⁸the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain before you, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.

⁹You sent abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary land.

¹⁰There your people finally settled, and with a bountiful harvest, O God, you provided for your needy people.

¹¹The Lord gives the word, and a great army brings the good news.

¹²Enemy kings and their armies flee, while the women of Israel divide the plunder.

¹³Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures — doves with wings of silver and feathers of gold.

¹⁴The Almighty scattered the enemy kings like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵The mountains of Bashan are majestic, with many peaks stretching high into the sky.

¹⁶Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains, at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live, where the LORD himself will live forever?

¹⁷Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots, the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.

¹⁸When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you. Now the LORD God will live among us there.

¹⁹Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude

²⁰Our God is a God who saves! The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death.

²¹But God will smash the heads of his enemies, crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.

²²The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan; I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.

²³You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood, and even your dogs will get their share!”

²⁴Your procession has come into view, O God — the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.

²⁵Singers are in front, musicians behind; between them are young women playing tambourines.

²⁶Praise God, all you people of Israel; praise the LORD, the source of Israel’s life.

²⁷Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.

²⁸Summon your might, O God. Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.

²⁹The kings of the earth are bringing tribute to your Temple in Jerusalem.

³⁰Rebuke these enemy nations — these wild animals lurking in the reeds, this herd of bulls among the weaker calves. Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute. Scatter the nations that delight in war.

³¹Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals ; let Ethiopia bring tribute to God.

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

³³Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens, his mighty voice thundering from the sky.

³⁴Tell everyone about God’s power. His majesty shines down on Israel; his strength is mighty in the heavens.

³⁵God is awesome in his sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

¹My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger —

²if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said —

³follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.

⁴Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.

⁶Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!

⁷Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,

⁸they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

⁹But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?

¹⁰A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

¹¹then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹²What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars,

¹³signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.

¹⁴Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble.

¹⁵But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

¹⁶There are six things the LORD hates — no, seven things he detests:

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,

¹⁸a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,

¹⁹a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

²⁰My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

²¹Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you.

²³For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.

²⁴It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.

²⁵Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.

²⁶For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.

²⁷Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?

²⁸Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?

²⁹So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.

³⁰Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.

³¹But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house.

³²But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.

³³He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.

³⁴For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.

¹Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David,

²told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.

³I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

⁴The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could.

⁵Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the LORD brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”

⁶So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed.”

⁷Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.

⁸War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.

⁹But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the LORD suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp,

¹⁰Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

¹¹Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.”

¹²So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped.

¹³Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

¹⁴When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.

¹⁵But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!”

¹⁶But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

¹⁷“Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal. “I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”

¹⁸So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. Then Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth.

¹⁹When the report reached Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah,

²⁰he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy.

²¹When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other troops, but they, too, prophesied! The same thing happened a third time.

²²Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded. “They are at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him.

²³But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth!

²⁴He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?”

¹The LORD gave me another message. He said,

²“Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.

³In those days Israel was holy to the LORD, the first of his children. All who harmed his people were declared guilty, and disaster fell on them. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

⁴Listen to the word of the LORD, people of Jacob — all you families of Israel!

⁵This is what the LORD says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.

⁶They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness — a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’

⁷“And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you.

⁸The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.

⁹Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the LORD. “I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come.

¹⁰“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus ; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?

¹¹Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!

¹²The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the LORD.

¹³“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me — the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

¹⁴“Why has Israel become a slave? Why has he been carried away as plunder?

¹⁵Strong lions have roared against him, and the land has been destroyed. The towns are now in ruins, and no one lives in them anymore.

¹⁶Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes, have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.

¹⁷And you have brought this upon yourselves by rebelling against the LORD your God, even though he was leading you on the way!

¹⁸“What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt and your covenants with Assyria? What good to you are the streams of the Nile or the waters of the Euphrates River?

¹⁹Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the LORD your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

²⁰“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.’ On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.

²¹But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock — the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?

²²No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

²³“You say, ‘That’s not true! I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’ But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel desperately searching for a mate.

²⁴You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. Who can restrain her lust? Those who desire her don’t need to search, for she goes running to them!

²⁵When will you stop running? When will you stop panting after other gods? But you say, ‘Save your breath. I’m in love with these foreign gods, and I can’t stop loving them now!’

²⁶“Israel is like a thief who feels shame only when he gets caught. They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets — all are alike in this.

²⁷To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, ‘You are my father.’ To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say, ‘You are my mother.’ They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me, ‘Come and save us!’

²⁸But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.

²⁹Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,” says the LORD.

³⁰“I have punished your children, but they did not respond to my discipline. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a lion kills its prey.

³¹“O my people, listen to the words of the LORD! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’

³²Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.

³³“How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!

³⁴Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!

³⁵And yet you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn’t angry with me!’ But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.

³⁶First here, then there — you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.

³⁷In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the LORD has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.

¹About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.

²He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.

³When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. )

⁴Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

⁶The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

⁷Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

⁹So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.

¹⁰They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

¹²When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

¹³He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

¹⁵“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

¹⁸At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.

¹⁹Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

²⁰Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant,

²¹and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them.

²²The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

²³Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

²⁴Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.