Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

²But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

³To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

⁶This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

⁸All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

¹²He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

¹³He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

¹⁶And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

¹⁹There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

²⁰Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”

²¹Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²²At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,

²³and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.

²⁴So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

²⁵Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,

²⁶but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³¹The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

³²Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

³³The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?

³⁵If he called them gods to whom the word of God came — and Scripture cannot be broken —

³⁶do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

³⁷ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;

³⁸but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

³⁹Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

⁴⁰He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.

⁴¹And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”

⁴²And many believed in him there.

¹“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests — Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

³You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.

⁴These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests.

⁵They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

⁶“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked.

⁷It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together.

⁸And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

⁹You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel,

¹⁰six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth.

¹¹As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree.

¹²And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance.

¹³You shall make settings of gold filigree,

¹⁴and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.

¹⁵“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it — of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it.

¹⁶It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth.

¹⁷You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;

¹⁸and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;

¹⁹and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

²⁰and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree.

²¹There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.

²²You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold.

²³And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece.

²⁴And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece.

²⁵The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod.

²⁶You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod.

²⁷And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

²⁸And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod.

²⁹So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD.

³⁰And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD regularly.

³¹“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.

³²It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear.

³³On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them,

³⁴a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.

³⁵And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

³⁶“You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the LORD.’

³⁷And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban.

³⁸It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

³⁹“You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

⁴⁰“For Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty.

⁴¹And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.

⁴²You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs;

⁴³and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

¹Let brotherly love continue.

²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

³Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

⁴Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

⁵Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

⁶So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

⁹Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.

¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

¹³Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

¹⁵Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹⁸Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.

¹⁹I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

²⁰Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

²¹equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

²³You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.

²⁴Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.

²⁵Grace be with all of you.

¹Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,

²older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³Honor widows who are truly widows.

⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

⁵She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,

⁶but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.

⁷Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach.

⁸But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband,

¹⁰and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.

¹¹But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry

¹²and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith.

¹³Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

¹⁴So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander.

¹⁵For some have already strayed after Satan.

¹⁶If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are truly widows.

¹⁷Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

¹⁸For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

¹⁹Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

²⁰As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

²¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

²²Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

²³(No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)

²⁴The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

²⁵So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.

³Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer?

⁴I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.

⁵I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

⁶“If I speak, my pain is not assuaged, and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?

⁷Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company.

⁸And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face.

⁹He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.

¹⁰Men have gaped at me with their mouth; they have struck me insolently on the cheek; they mass themselves together against me.

¹¹God gives me up to the ungodly and casts me into the hands of the wicked.

¹²I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target;

¹³his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.

¹⁴He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs upon me like a warrior.

¹⁵I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin and have laid my strength in the dust.

¹⁶My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep darkness,

¹⁷although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸“O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place.

¹⁹Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high.

²⁰My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,

²¹that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor.

²²For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

¹Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

²I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

³things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

⁶that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

⁷so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;

⁸and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.

¹⁰They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.

¹¹They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.

¹²In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.

¹³He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.

¹⁴In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.

¹⁵He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

¹⁶He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

¹⁹They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

²⁰He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”

²¹Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,

²²because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.

²³Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,

²⁴and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

²⁵Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;

²⁷he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;

²⁸he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.

²⁹And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

³⁰But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,

³¹the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

³³So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.

³⁴When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.

³⁵They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.

³⁶But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.

³⁷Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.

³⁸Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!

⁴¹They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

⁴³when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.

⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost.

⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.

⁴⁹He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.

⁵⁰He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.

⁵¹He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

⁵²Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

⁵³He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

⁵⁴And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.

⁵⁵He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,

⁵⁷but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.

⁵⁸For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

⁵⁹When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.

⁶⁰He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

⁶¹and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.

⁶²He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.

⁶³Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.

⁶⁴Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.

⁶⁶And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.

⁶⁹He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.

⁷⁰He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.

⁷²With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

¹The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.

³Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

⁵Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.

⁶By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

⁷When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.

⁹The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

¹⁰An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.

¹¹A just balance and scales are the LORD's; all the weights in the bag are his work.

¹²It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.

¹⁴A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it.

¹⁵In the light of a king's face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

²⁰Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

²¹The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

²²Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.

²³The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

²⁴Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

²⁶A worker's appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on.

²⁷A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

²⁹A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰Whoever winks his eyes plans dishonest things; he who purses his lips brings evil to pass.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

³²Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

¹Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel.

²As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish,

³the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.”

⁴But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?

⁵Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”

⁶Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the LORD lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you.

⁷So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

⁸And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

⁹And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’

¹⁰Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.”

¹¹So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

¹Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

²You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart.

³But you, O LORD, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

⁴How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

⁶For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you.”

⁷“I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage; I have given the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies.

⁸My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her voice against me; therefore I hate her.

⁹Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair? Are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the wild beasts; bring them to devour.

¹⁰Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

¹¹They have made it a desolation; desolate, it mourns to me. The whole land is made desolate, but no man lays it to heart.

¹²Upon all the bare heights in the desert destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land to the other; no flesh has peace.

¹³They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns; they have tired themselves out but profit nothing. They shall be ashamed of their harvests because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

¹⁴Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them.

¹⁵And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land.

¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.

¹⁷But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.”

¹“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

²And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,

⁵as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.

⁷And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

⁸And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

¹⁰And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’

¹¹And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

¹²“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

¹³came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.

¹⁴And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;

¹⁵for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

¹⁷“When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

¹⁸and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.

²⁰And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’

²¹And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

²²Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.”

²³And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,

²⁴the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this.

²⁵But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.”

²⁸The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.”

²⁹So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

³⁰But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.