Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

²Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst

⁴they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

⁵Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

⁶This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

⁷And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

⁸And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

⁹But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

¹⁰Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

¹²Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”

¹⁴Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

¹⁶Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

¹⁷ In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true.

¹⁸I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

¹⁹They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

²⁰These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

²²So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

²³He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

²⁴I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

²⁵So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.

²⁶I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”

²⁷They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.

²⁸So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

²⁹And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

³⁰As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

³¹So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

³⁷I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

⁴⁰but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.

⁴¹You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father — even God.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

⁴³ Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

⁴⁵But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

⁴⁶Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

⁴⁷ Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

⁴⁸The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

⁴⁹Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.

⁵⁰Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.

⁵¹Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

⁵²The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’

⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

⁵⁵But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

¹“Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.

²The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size.

³Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another.

⁴And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.

⁵Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another.

⁶And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.

⁷“You shall also make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make.

⁸The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size.

⁹You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent.

¹⁰You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.

¹¹“You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole.

¹²And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.

¹³And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it.

¹⁴And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams' skins and a covering of goatskins on top.

¹⁵“You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood.

¹⁶Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame.

¹⁷There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle.

¹⁸You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side;

¹⁹and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons;

²⁰and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames,

²¹and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame.

²²And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames.

²³And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear;

²⁴they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners.

²⁵And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.

²⁶“You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle,

²⁷and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward.

²⁸The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end.

²⁹You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

³⁰Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

³¹“And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it.

³²And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver.

³³And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

³⁴You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

³⁵And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.

³⁶“You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework.

³⁷And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.

¹Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

²For by it the people of old received their commendation.

³By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

⁹By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

¹¹By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.

¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,

¹⁸of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

¹⁹He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

²⁰By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

²¹By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

²²By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,

²⁵choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

²⁶He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

²⁹By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

³²And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets —

³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

³⁵Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated —

³⁸of whom the world was not worthy — wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

¹The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

²Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

⁴He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,

⁵for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

⁷Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

⁹They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

¹¹Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

¹²Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

¹³For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,

¹⁵if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

¹“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

²He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.

³And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.

⁵Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

⁶look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.

⁸Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil,

⁹yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant.

¹⁰But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?

¹¹As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up,

¹²so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.

¹³Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.

¹⁵You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.

¹⁶For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin;

¹⁷my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.

¹⁸“But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place;

¹⁹the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of man.

²⁰You prevail forever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away.

²¹His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.

²²He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself.”

¹In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.

²His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

³There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

⁴Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.

⁵The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.

⁶At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.

⁷But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?

⁸From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,

⁹when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

¹⁰Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.

¹¹Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,

¹²who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

¹The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

²Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.

³By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

⁵A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

⁷Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.

⁹Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

¹⁵The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

¹⁶One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.

¹⁷A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends.

²¹Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil? Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.

²³In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined.

²⁹Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

³⁰A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

³¹Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

¹Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”

²So David arose and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow.

⁴And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.

⁵Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

⁶So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt.

⁹And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish.

¹⁰When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.”

¹¹And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines.

¹²And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”

¹Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

²Thus says the LORD: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,

³for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

⁴They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.

⁵Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”

⁶There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

⁷Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.

⁸They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!

⁹Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men.

¹⁰But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

¹¹Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

¹²It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

¹³When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

¹⁴Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.

¹⁵They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

¹⁶Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name.

¹⁷Gather up your bundle from the ground, O you who dwell under siege!

¹⁸For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it.”

¹⁹Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.”

²⁰My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are not; there is no one to spread my tent again and to set up my curtains.

²¹For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the LORD; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

²²A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes! — a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals.

²³I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

²⁴Correct me, O LORD, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

²⁵Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

¹After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia.

²When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece.

³There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.

⁵These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas,

⁶but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

⁷On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

⁸There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.

⁹And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”

¹¹And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.

¹²And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

¹³But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land.

¹⁴And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene.

¹⁵And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus.

¹⁶For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

¹⁸And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;

²⁰how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,

²¹testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²²And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there,

²³except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

²⁴But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

²⁶Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all,

²⁷for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

²⁸Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

²⁹I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

³⁰and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

³¹Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

³²And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.

³⁴You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.

³⁵In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,

³⁸being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.