Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So then, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John

²(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing; rather, His disciples were),

³He left Judea and went away again to Galilee.

⁴And He had to pass through Samaria.

⁵So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

⁶and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired from His journey, was just sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷A woman of Samaria *came to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

⁸For His disciples had gone away to the city to buy food.

⁹So the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, though You are a Jew, are asking me for a drink, though I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus replied to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹¹She *said to Him, “Sir, You have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do You get this living water?

¹²You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well and drank of it himself, and his sons and his cattle?”

¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again;

¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.”

¹⁶He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”

¹⁷The woman answered and said to Him, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;

¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.”

¹⁹The woman *said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.”

²¹Jesus *said to her, “Believe Me, woman, thata time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.

²³Buta time is coming, andeven now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to beHis worshipers.

²⁴God isspirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

²⁵The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”

²⁶Jesus *said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”

²⁷And at this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What are You seeking?” or, “Why are You speaking with her?”

²⁸So the woman left her waterpot and went into the city, and *said to the people,

²⁹“Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is He?”

³⁰They left the city and were coming to Him.

³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

³³So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”

³⁴Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.

³⁵Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest.

³⁶Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together.

³⁷For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’

³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you havecome into their labor.”

³⁹Now from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.

⁴¹Many more believed because of His word;

⁴²and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.”

⁴³And after the two days, He departed from there for Galilee.

⁴⁴For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

⁴⁵So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

⁴⁶Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.

⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people seesigns and wonders, you simply will not believe.”

⁴⁹The royal official *said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰Jesus *said to him, “Go; your sonis alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.

⁵¹And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive.

⁵²So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”

⁵³So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household.

⁵⁴This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.

¹“If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep—

²If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account.

³If the sun has risen on him, there will be guilt for bloodshed on his account—A thief shall certainly make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

⁴If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.

⁵“If someone lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another person’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶“If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, and stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

⁷“If someone gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the neighbor’s house, if the thief is caught, then the thief shall pay double.

⁸If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor’s property.

⁹For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰“If someone gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is injured or is driven away while no one is looking,

¹¹an oath before the LORD shall be taken by the two of them that he has not laid a hand on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution.

¹²But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.

¹³If it is all torn to pieces, have him bring it as evidence; he shall not be compelled to make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.

¹⁴“And if someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.

¹⁵If its owner is with it, the borrower shall not be compelled to make restitution. If it is hired, it came by its hire.

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and sleeps with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the dowry for virgins.

¹⁸“You shall not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁹“Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

²⁰“He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the LORD alone, shall be utterly destroyed.

²¹“You shall not oppress a stranger nor torment him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

²²You shall not oppress any widow or orphan.

²³If you oppress him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will assuredly hear his cry;

²⁴and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵“If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.

²⁶If you ever seize your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,

²⁷for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else is he to sleep in? And it will come about that when he cries out to Me, I will listen to him, for I am gracious.

²⁸“You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹“You shall not hold back the offering from your entire harvest and your wine. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.

³⁰You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother for seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹“You shall be holy people to Me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

¹For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

²to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.

³Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

⁴Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils.

⁵And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their countrymen, although they are descended from Abraham.

⁶But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.

⁷But without any dispute the lesser person is blessed by the greater.

⁸In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.

⁹And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, has paid tithes,

¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his forefather when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹So if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?

¹²For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.

¹³For the one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.

¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses said nothing concerning priests.

¹⁵And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,

¹⁶who has become a priest not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.

¹⁷For it is attested of Him, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”

¹⁸For, on the one hand, there is the nullification of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness

¹⁹(for the Law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, there is the introduction of a better hope, through which we come near to God.

²⁰And to the extent that it was not without an oath

²¹(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER’ ”);

²²by the same extent Jesus also has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing;

²⁴Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

²⁵Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens;

²⁷who has no daily need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because He did this once for all time when He offered up Himself.

²⁸For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has been made perfect forever.

¹“I am disgusted with my own life; I will express my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me.

³Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the work of Your hands, And to look favorably on the plan of the wicked?

⁴Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as mankind sees?

⁵Are Your days like the days of a mortal, Or Your years like a man’s year,

⁶That You should search for my guilt And carefully seek my sin?

⁷According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no one to save me from Your hand.

⁸‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, Yet would You destroy me?

⁹Remember that You have made me as clay; Yet would You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹Clothe me with skin and flesh, And intertwine me with bones and tendons?

¹²You have granted me life and goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit.

¹³Yet You have concealed these things in Your heart; I know that this is within You:

¹⁴If I have sinned, You will take note of me, And will not acquit me of my guilt.

¹⁵If I am wicked, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am full of shame, and conscious of my misery.

¹⁶And should my head be high, You would hunt me like a lion; And You would show Your power against me again.

¹⁷You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me.

¹⁸‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb? If only I had died and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.’

²⁰Would He not leave my few days alone? Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness

²¹Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and deep shadow,

²²The land of utter gloom like darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And it shines like darkness.”

¹Give the king Your judgments, God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

²May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice.

³May the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness.

⁴May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, Save the children of the needy, And crush the oppressor.

⁵May they fear You while the sun shines, And as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.

⁶May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth.

⁷May the righteous flourish in his days, As well as an abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.

⁸May he also rule from sea to sea, And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

⁹May the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring gifts; May the kings of Sheba and Seba offer tributes.

¹¹And may all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him.

¹²For he will save the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

¹³He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And he will save the lives of the needy.

¹⁴He will rescue their life from oppression and violence, And their blood will be precious in his sight;

¹⁵So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him; And they are to pray for him continually; They are to bless him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains; Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; And may those from the city flourish like the vegetation of the earth.

¹⁷May his name endure forever; May his name produce descendants as long as the sun shines; And may people wish blessings on themselves by him; May all nations call him blessed.

¹⁸Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.

¹⁹And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

²Ill-gotten gains do not benefit, But righteousness rescues from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will reject the craving of the wicked.

⁴Poor is one who works with a lazy hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The mentioning of the righteous is a blessing, But the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise of heart will receive commands, But a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹One who walks in integrity walks securely, But one who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰He who winks the eye causes trouble, And a babbling fool will come to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all offenses.

¹³On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, But a rod is for the back of him who has no sense.

¹⁴Wise people store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

¹⁵The rich person’s wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment.

¹⁷One who is on the path of life follows instruction, But one who ignores a rebuke goes astray.

¹⁸One who conceals hatred has lying lips, And one who spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable, But one who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding.

²²It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.

²³Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, But ruin to the workers of injustice.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken, But the wicked will not live in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked, what is perverted.

¹Then they informed David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.”

²So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

³But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are fearful here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?”

⁴So David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I am going to hand the Philistines over to you.”

⁵Then David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; and he drove away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷When it was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.”

⁸So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”

¹⁰Then David said, “LORD God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account.

¹¹Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? LORD God of Israel, please, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

¹²Then David said, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will hand you over.”

¹³Then David and his men, about six hundred, rose up and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit.

¹⁴David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand him over to him.

¹⁵Now David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph, at Horesh.

¹⁶And Jonathan, Saul’s son, set out and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.

¹⁷He said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be second in command to you; and Saul my father knows that as well.”

¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh, while Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not keeping himself hidden with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?

²⁰Now then, O king, come down, since you fully desire to do so; and our part shall be to hand him over to the king.”

²¹Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD, since you have had compassion on me.

²²Go now, be more persistent, and investigate and see his place where he is hiding, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.

²³So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he keeps himself hidden, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

²⁴So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.

²⁵When Saul and his men went to seek him, they informed David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

²⁶Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to apprehend them.

²⁷But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have launched an attack against the land!”

²⁸So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Division.

²⁹And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

¹“Flee to safety, you sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a warning signal over Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the north, Along with a great destruction.

²The beautiful and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, I will destroy.

³Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will pitch their tents around her, They will pasture, each in his place.

⁴‘Prepare for war against her; Arise, and let’s attack at noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

⁵Arise, and let’s attack by night And destroy her palaces!’ ”

⁶For this is what the LORD of armies says: “Cut down her trees And pile up an assault ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only oppression.

⁷As a well keeps its waters fresh, So she keeps fresh her wickedness. Violence and destruction are heard in her; Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me.

⁸Be warned, Jerusalem, Or I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, An uninhabited land.”

⁹This is what the LORD of armies says: “They will thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel like the vine; Pass your hand over the branches again Like a grape gatherer.”

¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the LORD has become for them a rebuke; They take no delight in it.

¹¹But I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street And on the gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The old and the very old.

¹²Their houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.

¹³“For from the least of them to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet to the priest Everyone deals falsely.

¹⁴They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

¹⁵Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They were not ashamed at all, Nor did they know even how to be ashamed. Therefore they will fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They will collapse,” says the LORD.

¹⁶This is what the LORD says: “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find a resting place for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations, And know, you congregation, what is among them.

¹⁹Hear, earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My Law, they have rejected it also.

²⁰For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, And the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

²¹Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am placing stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and friend will perish.”

²²This is what the LORD says: “Behold, there is a people coming from the north land, And a great nation will be stirred up from the remote parts of the earth.

²³They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Lined up as a man for the battle Against you, daughter of Zion!”

²⁴We have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us, Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.

²⁵Do not go out into the field, And do not walk on the road; For the enemy has a sword, Terror is on every side.

²⁶Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth And roll in ashes; Mourn as for an only son, A most bitter mourning. For suddenly the destroyer Will come against us.

²⁷“I have made you an assayer and an examiner among My people, So that you may know and put their way to the test.”

²⁸All of them are stubbornly rebellious, Going about as a slanderer; They are bronze and iron. They are, all of them, corrupt.

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated.

³⁰They call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.

¹Now Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

²and he was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters who were in Lystra and Iconium.

³Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

⁶They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;

⁷and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

⁸and passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹So after setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis;

¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city.

¹³And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

¹⁴A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

¹⁵Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

¹⁶It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling.

¹⁷She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.”

¹⁸Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was suddenly gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities,

²⁰and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble,

²¹and they are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are Romans.”

²²The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

²³When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

²⁴and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”

²⁹And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas;

³⁰and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

³²And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house.

³³And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

³⁴And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.

³⁵Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.”

³⁶And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come in person and lead us out.”

³⁸The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans,

³⁹and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them to leave the city.

⁴⁰They left the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers and sisters, they encouraged them and departed.