Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him.

²The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near.

³So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples can see your works that you are doing.

⁴For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”

⁵(For not even his brothers believed in him.)

⁶Jesus told them, “My time has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand.

⁷The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it — that its works are evil.

⁸Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.”

⁹After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly.

¹¹The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?”

¹²And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving the people.”

¹³Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

¹⁴When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach.

¹⁵Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned, since he hasn’t been trained?”

¹⁶Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.

¹⁷If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.

¹⁸The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

¹⁹Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

²⁰“You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹“I performed one work, and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered.

²²“This is why Moses has given you circumcision — not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers — and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.

²³If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath?

²⁴Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”

²⁵Some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?

²⁶Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities know he is the Messiah?

²⁷But we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”

²⁸As he was teaching in the temple, Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me is true. You don’t know him;

²⁹I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”

³⁰Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come.

³¹However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done, will he?”

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent servants to arrest him.

³³Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m going to the one who sent me.

³⁴You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

³⁵Then the Jews said to one another, “Where does he intend to go so we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he?

³⁶What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’ ?”

³⁷On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

³⁸The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”

³⁹He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”

⁴¹Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?

⁴²Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s offspring and from the town of Bethlehem, where David lived?”

⁴³So the crowd was divided because of him.

⁴⁴Some of them wanted to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.

⁴⁵Then the servants came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”

⁴⁶The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”

⁴⁷Then the Pharisees responded to them: “Are you fooled too?

⁴⁸Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him?

⁴⁹But this crowd, which doesn’t know the law, is accursed.”

⁵⁰Nicodemus  — the one who came to him previously and who was one of them — said to them,

⁵¹“Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”

⁵²“You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?” they replied. “Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” [The earliest mss do not include 7:53–8:11.]

⁵³Then each one went to his house.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses:

²“Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. You are to take my offering from everyone who is willing to give.

³This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze;

⁴blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair;

⁵ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;

⁶oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

⁷and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.

⁸“They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them.

⁹You must make it according to all that I show you — the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.

¹⁰“They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high.

¹¹Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it.

¹²Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.

¹³Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

¹⁴Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.

¹⁵The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it.

¹⁶Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark.

¹⁷Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide.

¹⁸Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.

¹⁹Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat.

²⁰The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat.

²¹Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark.

²²I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

²³“You are to construct a table of acacia wood, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high.

²⁴Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it.

²⁵Make a three-inch frame all around it and make a gold molding for it all around its frame.

²⁶Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners at its four legs.

²⁷The rings should be next to the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table.

²⁸Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table can be carried by them.

²⁹You are also to make its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold.

³⁰Put the Bread of the Presence on the table before me at all times.

³¹“You are to make a lampstand out of pure, hammered gold. It is to be made of one piece: its base and shaft, its ornamental cups, and its buds and petals.

³²Six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side and three branches of the lampstand from the other side.

³³There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals, on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals, on the next branch. It is to be this way for the six branches that extend from the lampstand.

³⁴There are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms on the lampstand shaft along with its buds and petals.

³⁵For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a bud must be under the first pair of branches from it, a bud under the second pair of branches from it, and a bud under the third pair of branches from it.

³⁶Their buds and branches are to be of one piece. All of it is to be a single hammered piece of pure gold.

³⁷“Make its seven lamps, and set them up so that they illuminate the area in front of it.

³⁸Its snuffers and firepans must be of pure gold.

³⁹The lampstand with all these utensils is to be made from seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

⁴⁰Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain.

¹Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

²Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

³But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.

⁴For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said: You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me.

⁶You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.

⁷Then I said, “See — it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, O God.”

⁸After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law ),

⁹he then says, See, I have come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second.

¹⁰By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

¹¹Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.

¹²But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

¹³He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.

¹⁴For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says:

¹⁶This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds,

¹⁷andI will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.

¹⁸Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

¹⁹Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus  —

²⁰he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh ) —

²¹and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,

²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

²³Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.

²⁴And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works,

²⁵not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

²⁶For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

²⁷but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.

²⁸Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁹How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰For we know the one who has said, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people.

³¹It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.

³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way.

³⁴For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

³⁵So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

³⁶For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.

³⁷For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.

³⁸But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him.

³⁹But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.

¹First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,

²for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

⁷For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

⁹Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,

¹⁰but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

¹¹A woman is to learn quietly with full submission.

¹²I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.

¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

¹⁴And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

¹⁵But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

¹Look, my eyes have seen all this; my ears have heard and understood it.

²Everything you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.

⁴You use lies like plaster; you are all worthless healers.

⁵If only you would shut up and let that be your wisdom!

⁶Hear now my argument, and listen to my defense.

⁷Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for him?

⁸Would you show partiality to him or argue the case in his defense?

⁹Would it go well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man?

¹⁰Surely he would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.

¹¹Would God’s majesty not terrify you? Would his dread not fall on you?

¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay.

¹³Be quiet, and I will speak. Let whatever comes happen to me.

¹⁴I will put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands.

¹⁵Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him.

¹⁶Yes, this will result in my deliverance, for no godless person can appear before him.

¹⁷Pay close attention to my words; let my declaration ring in your ears.

¹⁸Now then, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.

¹⁹Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.

²⁰Only grant these two things to me, God, so that I will not have to hide from your presence:

²¹remove your hand from me, and do not let your terror frighten me.

²²Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you can respond to me.

²³How many iniquities and sins have I committed? Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

²⁴Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?

²⁵Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will you chase after dry straw?

²⁶For you record bitter accusations against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths, setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

²⁸A person wears out like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.

¹For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song. [1] We give thanks to you, God; we give thanks to you, for your name is near. People tell about your wondrous works.

²“When I choose a time, I will judge fairly.

³When the earth and all its inhabitants shake, I am the one who steadies its pillars. Selah

⁴I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.

⁵Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak arrogantly.’”

⁶Exaltation does not come from the east, the west, or the desert,

⁷for God is the Judge: He brings down one and exalts another.

⁸For there is a cup in the LORD’s hand, full of wine blended with spices, and he pours from it. All the wicked of the earth will drink, draining it to the dregs.

⁹As for me, I will tell about him forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰“I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

¹A wise son responds to his father’s discipline, but a mocker doesn’t listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of his mouth, a person will enjoy good things, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.

³The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

⁴The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.

⁵The righteous hate lying, but the wicked bring disgust and shame.

⁶Righteousness guards people of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.

⁷One person pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has abundant wealth.

⁸Riches are a ransom for a person’s life, but a poor person hears no threat.

⁹The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is put out.

¹⁰Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice.

¹¹Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.

¹²Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.

¹⁴A wise person’s instruction is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous never changes.

¹⁶Every sensible person acts knowledgeably, but a fool displays his stupidity.

¹⁷A wicked envoy falls into trouble, but a trustworthy courier brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace come to those who ignore discipline, but the one who accepts correction will be honored.

¹⁹Desire fulfilled is sweet to the taste, but to turn from evil is detestable to fools.

²⁰The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Disaster pursues sinners, but good rewards the righteous.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

²³The uncultivated field of the poor yields abundant food, but without justice, it is swept away.

²⁴The one who will not use the rod hates his son, but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵A righteous person eats until he is satisfied, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.

¹Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah saying, “David is hiding on the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon.”

²So Saul, accompanied by three thousand of the fit young men of Israel, went immediately to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there.

³Saul camped beside the road at the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon. David was living in the wilderness and discovered Saul had come there after him.

⁴So David sent out spies and knew for certain that Saul had come.

⁵Immediately, David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were lying down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp with the troops camped around him.

⁶Then David asked Ahimelech the Hethite and Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, “Who will go with me into the camp to Saul?” “I’ll go with you,” answered Abishai.

⁷That night, David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the troops were lying around him.

⁸Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy to you. Let me thrust the spear through him into the ground just once. I won’t have to strike him twice!”

⁹But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be innocent?”

¹⁰David added, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will certainly strike him down: either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.

¹¹However, because of the LORD, I will never lift my hand against the LORD’s anointed. Instead, take the spear and the water jug by his head, and let’s go.”

¹²So David took the spear and the water jug by Saul’s head, and they went their way. No one saw them, no one knew, and no one woke up; they all remained asleep because a deep sleep from the LORD came over them.

¹³David crossed to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance; there was a considerable space between them.

¹⁴Then David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner: “Aren’t you going to answer, Abner?” “Who are you who calls to the king?” Abner asked.

¹⁵David called to Abner, “You’re a man, aren’t you? Who in Israel is your equal? So why didn’t you protect your lord the king when one of the people came to destroy him?

¹⁶What you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die since you didn’t protect your lord, the LORD’s anointed. Now look around; where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”

¹⁷Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, my son David?” “It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.

¹⁸Then he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What crime have I committed?

¹⁹Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the LORD who has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD, for today they have banished me from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.’

²⁰So don’t let my blood fall to the ground far from the LORD’s presence, for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, like one who pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Saul responded, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David, I will never harm you again because today you considered my life precious. I have been a fool! I’ve committed a grave error.”

²²David answered, “Here is the king’s spear; have one of the young men come over and get it.

²³The LORD will repay every man for his righteousness and his loyalty. I wasn’t willing to lift my hand against the LORD’s anointed, even though the LORD handed you over to me today.

²⁴Just as I considered your life valuable today, so may the LORD consider my life valuable and rescue me from all trouble.”

²⁵Saul said to him, “You are blessed, my son David. You will certainly do great things and will also prevail.” Then David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

¹If my head were a flowing spring, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people.

²If only I had a traveler’s lodging place in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a solemn assembly of treacherous people.

³They bent their tongues like their bows; lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land, for they proceed from one evil to another, and they do not take me into account. This is the LORD’s declaration.

⁴Everyone has to be on guard against his friend. Don’t trust any brother, for every brother will certainly deceive, and every friend spread slander.

⁵Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies; they wear themselves out doing wrong.

⁶You live in a world of deception. In their deception they refuse to know me. This is the LORD’s declaration.

⁷Therefore, this is what the LORD of Armies says: I am about to refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of my dear people?

⁸Their tongues are deadly arrows — they speak deception. With his mouth one speaks peaceably with his friend, but inwardly he sets up an ambush.

⁹Should I not punish them for these things? This is the LORD’s declaration. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?

¹⁰I will raise weeping and a lament over the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness grazing land, for they have been so scorched that no one passes through. The sound of cattle is no longer heard. From the birds of the sky to the animals, everything has fled — they have gone away.

¹¹I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a jackals’ den. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, an uninhabited place.

¹²Who is the person wise enough to understand this? Who has the LORD spoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?

¹³The LORD said, “It is because they abandoned my instruction, which I set before them, and did not obey my voice or walk according to it.

¹⁴Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed the Baals as their fathers taught them.”

¹⁵Therefore, this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people wormwood and give them poisonous water to drink.

¹⁶I will scatter them among the nations that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”

¹⁷This is what the LORD of Armies says: Consider, and summon the women who mourn; send for the skillful women.

¹⁸Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us so that our eyes may overflow with tears, our eyelids be soaked with weeping.

¹⁹For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion: How devastated we are. We are greatly ashamed, for we have abandoned the land; our dwellings have been torn down.

²⁰Now hear the word of the LORD, you women. Pay attention to the words from his mouth. Teach your daughters a lament and one another a dirge,

²¹for Death has climbed through our windows; it has entered our fortresses, cutting off children from the streets, young men from the squares.

²²“Speak as follows: ‘This is what the LORD declares: Human corpses will fall like manure on the surface of the field, like newly cut grain after the reaper with no one to gather it.

²³“‘This is what the LORD says: The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.

²⁴But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me  — that I am the LORD, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the LORD’s declaration.

²⁵“‘Look, the days are coming — this is the LORD’s declaration — when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:

²⁶Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.’”

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples

²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other tongues and to prophesy.

⁷Now there were about twelve men in all.

⁸Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,

¹²so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.

¹⁵The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

¹⁸And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,

¹⁹while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed.

²¹After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”

²²After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.

²⁴For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.

²⁵When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.

²⁷Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

³⁰Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him.

³¹Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven?

³⁶Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.”

⁴¹After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.