Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

⁸All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

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

¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

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

¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

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

¹⁹The Jews who heard these words were again divided.

²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²²Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,

²³and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

²⁴The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

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

²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

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

²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

³⁰I and the Father are one.”

³¹Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,

³²but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

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

³⁵If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—

³⁶what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

³⁷Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.

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 in the Father.”

³⁹Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed,

⁴¹and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.”

⁴²And in that place many believed in Jesus.

¹“Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

²Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.

³Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.

⁴These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests.

⁵Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

⁶“Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands.

⁷It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened.

⁸Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

⁹“Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel

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

¹¹Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings

¹²and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.

¹³Make gold filigree settings

¹⁴and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

¹⁵“Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.

¹⁶It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double.

¹⁷Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl;

¹⁸the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald;

¹⁹the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst;

²⁰the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.

²¹There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

²²“For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope.

²³Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece.

²⁴Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece,

²⁵and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

²⁶Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod.

²⁷Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod.

²⁸The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.

²⁹“Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD.

³⁰Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.

³¹“Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth,

³²with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear.

³³Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.

³⁴The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.

³⁵Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

³⁶“Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.

³⁷Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban.

³⁸It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the LORD.

³⁹“Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer.

⁴⁰Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor.

⁴¹After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

⁴²“Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh.

⁴³Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. “This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.

¹Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.

²Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

³Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

⁴Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

⁶So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. 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 carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.

¹⁰We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp.

¹²And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.

¹³Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.

¹⁴For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

¹⁵Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

¹⁶And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

¹⁷Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

¹⁸Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

¹⁹I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

²⁰Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

²¹equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

²²Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.

²³I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

²⁴Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.

²⁵Grace be with you all.

¹Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,

²older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

³Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.

⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

⁵The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.

⁶But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.

⁷Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame.

⁸Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,

¹⁰and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

¹¹As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry.

¹²Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.

¹³Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to.

¹⁴So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.

¹⁵Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

¹⁷The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

¹⁸For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

¹⁹Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.

²⁰But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.

²¹I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.

²²Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

²³Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

²⁴The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.

²⁵In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

¹Then Job replied:

²“I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you!

³Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?

⁴I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.

⁵But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

⁶“Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away.

⁷Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household.

⁸You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.

⁹God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.

¹⁰People open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me.

¹¹God has turned me over to the ungodly and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.

¹²All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target;

¹³his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground.

¹⁴Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior.

¹⁵“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust.

¹⁶My face is red with weeping, dark shadows ring my eyes;

¹⁷yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸“Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest!

¹⁹Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.

²⁰My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;

²¹on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.

²²“Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return.

¹A maskil of Asaph. My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

²I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

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

⁴We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.

⁵He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,

⁶so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

⁷Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

⁸They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

⁹The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;

¹⁰they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.

¹¹They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.

¹²He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

¹³He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.

¹⁴He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.

¹⁵He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

¹⁶he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.

¹⁸They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.

¹⁹They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?

²⁰True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”

²¹When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,

²²for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.

²³Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;

²⁴he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.

²⁵Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.

²⁶He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow.

²⁷He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.

²⁸He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.

²⁹They ate till they were gorged— he had given them what they craved.

³⁰But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths,

³¹God’s anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

³³So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.

³⁴Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.

³⁵They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.

³⁶But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues;

³⁷their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.

³⁸Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.

³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

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

⁴¹Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

⁴³the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams.

⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.

⁴⁹He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels.

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

⁵¹He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

⁵²But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.

⁵³He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.

⁵⁴And so he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken.

⁵⁵He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

⁵⁶But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes.

⁵⁷Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.

⁵⁸They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

⁵⁹When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.

⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans.

⁶¹He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

⁶²He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.

⁶³Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;

⁶⁴their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.

⁶⁶He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

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

⁶⁹He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.

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

⁷¹from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.

⁷²And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

¹To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue.

²All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.

³Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

⁴The LORD works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.

⁵The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

⁶Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided.

⁷When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

⁸Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.

⁹In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

¹⁰The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice.

¹¹Honest scales and balances belong to the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making.

¹²Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness.

¹³Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right.

¹⁴A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it.

¹⁵When a king’s face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.

¹⁶How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!

¹⁷The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives.

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

¹⁹Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

²⁰Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.

²¹The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.

²²Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent, but folly brings punishment to fools.

²³The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction.

²⁴Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

²⁵There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

²⁶The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.

²⁷A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

²⁹A violent person entices their neighbor and leads them down a path that is not good.

³⁰Whoever winks with their eye is plotting perversity; whoever purses their lips is bent on evil.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.

³²Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.

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

¹The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.

²As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.

³The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”

⁴But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men?

⁵Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

⁶So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you.

⁷Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”

⁸“But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

⁹Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’

¹⁰Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.”

¹¹So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

¹You are always righteous, LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

²You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.

³Yet you know me, LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!

⁴How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.”

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

⁶Your relatives, members of your own family— even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.

⁷“I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies.

⁸My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me; therefore I hate her.

⁹Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts; bring them to devour.

¹⁰Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.

¹¹It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares.

¹²Over all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will swarm, for the sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other; no one will be safe.

¹³They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. They will bear the shame of their harvest because of the LORD’s fierce anger.”

¹⁴This is what the LORD says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them.

¹⁵But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country.

¹⁶And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people.

¹⁷But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the LORD.

¹“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

²When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

⁴I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,

⁵as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸“ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.

⁹My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’

¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹²“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.

¹³He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.

¹⁵You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

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

¹⁸and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹“ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.

²⁰And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

²¹“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

²²The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

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

²⁴the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.

²⁵As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

³⁰The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.