Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death.

²But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters,

³and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles!

⁴You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!”

⁵For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

⁶Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime.

⁷The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil.

⁸You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.”

⁹After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

¹⁰But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.

¹¹The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him.

¹²There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.”

¹³But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

¹⁴Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach.

¹⁵The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

¹⁶So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.

¹⁷Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.

¹⁸Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.

¹⁹Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

²⁰The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”

²¹Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed.

²²But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.)

²³For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?

²⁴Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

²⁵Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?

²⁶But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah?

²⁷But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

²⁸While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him.

²⁹But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.”

³⁰Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

³¹Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

³²When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

³³But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.

³⁴You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

³⁵The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks!

³⁶What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”

³⁷On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

³⁸Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

³⁹(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

⁴⁰When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?

⁴²For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”

⁴³So the crowd was divided about him.

⁴⁴Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶“We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.

⁴⁷“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked.

⁴⁸“Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him?

⁴⁹This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”

⁵⁰Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up.

⁵¹“Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.

⁵²They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself — no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” [The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]

⁵³Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them.

³Here is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze;

⁴blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth;

⁵tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood;

⁶olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense;

⁷onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece.

⁸“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.

⁹You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.

¹⁰“Have the people make an Ark of acacia wood — a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

¹¹Overlay it inside and outside with pure gold, and run a molding of gold all around it.

¹²Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side.

¹³Make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

¹⁴Insert the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it.

¹⁵These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them.

¹⁶When the Ark is finished, place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you.

¹⁷“Then make the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement — from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.

¹⁸Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover.

¹⁹Mold the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold.

²⁰The cherubim will face each other and look down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it.

²¹Place inside the Ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. Then put the atonement cover on top of the Ark.

²²I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.

²³“Then make a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

²⁴Overlay it with pure gold and run a gold molding around the edge.

²⁵Decorate it with a 3-inch border all around, and run a gold molding along the border.

²⁶Make four gold rings for the table and attach them at the four corners next to the four legs.

²⁷Attach the rings near the border to hold the poles that are used to carry the table.

²⁸Make these poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

²⁹Make special containers of pure gold for the table — bowls, ladles, pitchers, and jars — to be used in pouring out liquid offerings.

³⁰Place the Bread of the Presence on the table to remain before me at all times.

³¹“Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. Make the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece — the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals.

³²Make it with six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side.

³³Each of the six branches will have three lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals.

³⁴Craft the center stem of the lampstand with four lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals.

³⁵There will also be an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extend from the center stem.

³⁶The almond buds and branches must all be of one piece with the center stem, and they must be hammered from pure gold.

³⁷Then make the seven lamps for the lampstand, and set them so they reflect their light forward.

³⁸The lamp snuffers and trays must also be made of pure gold.

³⁹You will need 75 pounds of pure gold for the lampstand and its accessories.

⁴⁰“Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.

¹The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

²If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

³But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.

⁴For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.

⁶You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.

⁷Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God — as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

⁸First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses).

⁹Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.

¹⁰For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

¹¹Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.

¹²But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

¹³There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.

¹⁴For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,

¹⁶“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

¹⁸And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

¹⁹And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

²⁰By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

²¹And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,

²²let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

²³Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

²⁴Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

²⁵And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

²⁶Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.

²⁷There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.

²⁸For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁹Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

³⁰For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The LORD will judge his own people.”

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

³²Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.

³³Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things.

³⁴You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.

³⁵So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!

³⁶Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

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

³⁸And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

³⁹But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

¹I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

²Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

³This is good and pleases God our Savior,

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

⁵For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity — the man Christ Jesus.

⁶He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.

⁷And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating — just telling the truth.

⁸In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

⁹And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.

¹⁰For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.

¹¹Women should learn quietly and submissively.

¹²I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.

¹³For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve.

¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.

¹⁵But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

¹“Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.

²I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am.

³As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself.

⁴As for you, you smear me with lies. As physicians, you are worthless quacks.

⁵If only you could be silent! That’s the wisest thing you could do.

⁶Listen to my charge; pay attention to my arguments.

⁷“Are you defending God with lies? Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?

⁸Will you slant your testimony in his favor? Will you argue God’s case for him?

⁹What will happen when he finds out what you are doing? Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?

¹⁰No, you will be in trouble with him if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.

¹¹Doesn’t his majesty terrify you? Doesn’t your fear of him overwhelm you?

¹²Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

¹³“Be silent now and leave me alone. Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.

¹⁴Why should I put myself in mortal danger and take my life in my own hands?

¹⁵God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.

¹⁶But this is what will save me — I am not godless. If I were, I could not stand before him.

¹⁷“Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out.

¹⁸I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent.

¹⁹Who can argue with me over this? And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.

²⁰“O God, grant me these two things, and then I will be able to face you.

²¹Remove your heavy hand from me, and don’t terrify me with your awesome presence.

²²Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply.

²³Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin.

²⁴Why do you turn away from me? Why do you treat me as your enemy?

²⁵Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind? Would you chase dry straw?

²⁶“You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in stocks. You examine all my paths. You trace all my footprints.

²⁸I waste away like rotting wood, like a moth-eaten coat.

¹We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are near. People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds.

²God says, “At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked.

³When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm. Interlude

⁴“I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!

⁵Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’”

⁶For no one on earth — from east or west, or even from the wilderness — should raise a defiant fist.

⁷It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.

⁸For the LORD holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs.

⁹But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked, but I will increase the power of the godly.”

¹A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline; a mocker refuses to listen to correction.

²Wise words will win you a good meal, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.

³Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

⁴Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.

⁵The godly hate lies; the wicked cause shame and disgrace.

⁶Godliness guards the path of the blameless, but the evil are misled by sin.

⁷Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor.

⁸The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened.

⁹The life of the godly is full of light and joy, but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

¹⁰Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.

¹¹Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³People who despise advice are asking for trouble; those who respect a command will succeed.

¹⁴The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain; those who accept it avoid the snares of death.

¹⁵A person with good sense is respected; a treacherous person is headed for destruction.

¹⁶Wise people think before they act; fools don’t — and even brag about their foolishness.

¹⁷An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing.

¹⁸If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept correction, you will be honored.

¹⁹It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.

²⁰Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

²¹Trouble chases sinners, while blessings reward the righteous.

²²Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.

²³A poor person’s farm may produce much food, but injustice sweeps it all away.

²⁴Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

²⁵The godly eat to their hearts’ content, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.

¹Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon.”

²So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph.

³Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. When David learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness,

⁴he sent out spies to verify the report of Saul’s arrival.

⁵David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors.

⁶“Who will volunteer to go in there with me?” David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother. “I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied.

⁷So David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.

⁸“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!”

⁹“No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the LORD’s anointed one?

¹⁰Surely the LORD will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle.

¹¹The LORD forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!”

¹²So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul’s head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the LORD had put Saul’s men into a deep sleep.

¹³David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance.

¹⁴Then he shouted down to the soldiers and to Abner son of Ner, “Wake up, Abner!” “Who is it?” Abner demanded.

¹⁵“Well, Abner, you’re a great man, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him?

¹⁶This isn’t good at all! I swear by the LORD that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the LORD’s anointed! Look around! Where are the king’s spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?”

¹⁷Saul recognized David’s voice and called out, “Is that you, my son David?” And David replied, “Yes, my lord the king.

¹⁸Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime?

¹⁹But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the LORD. For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the LORD’s people, and they have said, ‘Go, worship pagan gods.’

²⁰Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the LORD? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?”

²¹Then Saul confessed, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong.”

²²“Here is your spear, O king,” David replied. “Let one of your young men come over and get it.

²³The LORD gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the LORD placed you in my power, for you are the LORD’s anointed one.

²⁴Now may the LORD value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”

²⁵And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed.” Then David went away, and Saul returned home.

¹If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered.

²Oh, that I could go away and forget my people and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert. For they are all adulterers — a pack of treacherous liars.

³“My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. They only go from bad to worse. They do not know me,” says the LORD.

⁴“Beware of your neighbor! Don’t even trust your brother! For brother takes advantage of brother, and friend slanders friend.

⁵They all fool and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning.

⁶They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,” says the LORD.

⁷Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?

⁸For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows. They speak friendly words to their neighbors while scheming in their heart to kill them.

⁹Should I not punish them for this?” says the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”

¹⁰I will weep for the mountains and wail for the wilderness pastures. For they are desolate and empty of life; the lowing of cattle is heard no more; the birds and wild animals have all fled.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the LORD. “It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them.”

¹²Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the LORD and can explain it to others? Why has the land been so ruined that no one dares to travel through it?

¹³The LORD replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said.

¹⁴Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.

¹⁵So now, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.

¹⁶I will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.”

¹⁷This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “Consider all this, and call for the mourners. Send for the women who mourn at funerals.

¹⁸Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes.

¹⁹Hear the people of Jerusalem crying in despair, ‘We are ruined! We are completely humiliated! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down.’”

²⁰Listen, you women, to the words of the LORD; open your ears to what he has to say. Teach your daughters to wail; teach one another how to lament.

²¹For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth: Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares.

²²This is what the LORD says: “Bodies will be scattered across the fields like clumps of manure, like bundles of grain after the harvest. No one will be left to bury them.”

²³This is what the LORD says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.

²⁴But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!

²⁵“A time is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit —

²⁶the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in the desert in remote places, and yes, even the people of Judah. And like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts.”

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.

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

³“Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

⁵As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

⁹But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia — both Jews and Greeks — heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.

¹²When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

¹³A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”

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

¹⁵But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

¹⁷The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.

¹⁸Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.

¹⁹A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.

²⁰So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.

²¹Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”

²²He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.

²³About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.

²⁴It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.

²⁵He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.

²⁶But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!

²⁷Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis — this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world — will be robbed of her great prestige!”

²⁸At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

³⁰Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him.

³¹Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

³²Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.

³³The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.

³⁴But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.

³⁶Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

³⁸“If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges.

³⁹And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

⁴¹Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.