Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

²And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³“ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

¹⁵nor do people light a lamp and put it under abasket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

¹⁸For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, notthe smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!

¹⁹Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teachesothers to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoeverkeeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰“For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’

²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable tothe supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into thefiery hell.

²³Therefore, if you are presenting youroffering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,

²⁴leave youroffering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present youroffering.

²⁵Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison.

²⁶Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the lastquadrans.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;

²⁸but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to be thrown intohell.

³⁰And if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for youto lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to go intohell.

³¹“Now it was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY IS TO GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

³²but I say to you that everyone whodivorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries adivorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘ YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’

³⁴But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, norby Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.

³⁶Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

³⁷But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these isof evil origin.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘EYE FOR EYE, and TOOTH FOR TOOTH.’

³⁹But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also.

⁴⁰And if anyone wants to sue you and take yourtunic, let him have yourcloak also.

⁴¹Whoeverforces you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴²Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’

⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same?

⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them,

³if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then he is to offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for his sin which he has committed.

⁴He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter the bull before the LORD.

⁵Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting,

⁶and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.

⁷The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁸And he shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

⁹and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys

¹⁰(just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings); and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering.

¹¹But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, along with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its refuse,

¹²that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the fatty ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the fatty ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

¹³‘Now if the entire congregation of Israel does wrong unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;

¹⁴when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd as a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.

¹⁵Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.

¹⁶Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting;

¹⁷and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil.

¹⁸He shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

¹⁹And he shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar.

²⁰He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; he shall do the same with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.

²¹Then he is to bring the bull out to a place outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

²²‘When a leader sins and unintentionally does any of the things which the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty,

²³if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without defect.

²⁴And he shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering before the LORD; it is a sin offering.

²⁵Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

²⁶And he shall offer all its fat up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his sin, and he will be forgiven.

²⁷‘Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,

²⁸if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring as his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.

²⁹And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering.

³⁰The priest shall then take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

³¹Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as a soothing aroma to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

³²‘But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring a female without defect.

³³And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering.

³⁴And the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

³⁵Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea,

²that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles;

⁵also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsfolk and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding in the view of the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

¹⁸For such people are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached everyone; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, and so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²²I, Tertius, who have written this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.

²⁴

²⁵Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,

²⁶but now has been disclosed, and through the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

¹Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

²and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

³if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,

⁵you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I AM LAYING IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, AND THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”

⁷This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers, “A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE,”

⁸and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed.

⁹But you are A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

¹⁰for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.

¹²Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,

¹⁴or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

¹⁵For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people.

¹⁶Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God.

¹⁷Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh.

¹⁹For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person endures grief when suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

²¹For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps,

²²HE who committed no sin, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT found IN HIS MOUTH;

²³and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

²⁴and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.

²⁵For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

¹Then these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned against Job; his anger burned because he justified himself before God.

³And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had condemned Job.

⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.

⁵But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, his anger burned.

⁶So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.

⁷I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom.

⁸But it is a spirit that is in mankind, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

⁹The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.

¹⁰So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’

¹¹“Behold, I waited for your words, I listened to your skillful speech, While you pondered what to say.

¹²I also paid close attention to you; But indeed, there was no one who refuted Job, Not one of you who answered his words.

¹³So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom: God will defeat him, not man.’

¹⁴But he has not presented his words against me, Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.

¹⁵“They are dismayed, they no longer answer; Words have failed them.

¹⁶Should I wait, because they are not speaking, Because they have stopped and no longer answer?

¹⁷I too will give my share of answers; I also will tell my opinion.

¹⁸For I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me.

¹⁹Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; Like new wineskins, it is about to burst.

²⁰Let me speak so that I may get relief; Let me open my lips and answer.

²¹Let me be partial to no one, Nor flatter any man.

²²For I do not know how to flatter, Otherwise my Maker would quickly take me away.

¹LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!

²Rise up, Judge of the earth, Pay back retribution to the proud.

³How long, LORD, shall the wicked— How long shall the wicked triumph?

⁴They pour out words, they speak arrogantly; All who do injustice boast.

⁵They crush Your people, LORD, And afflict Your inheritance.

⁶They kill the widow and the stranger And murder the orphans.

⁷They have said, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”

⁸Pay attention, you stupid ones among the people; And when will you understand, foolish ones?

⁹He who planted the ear, does He not hear? Or He who formed the eye, does He not see?

¹⁰He who disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke, He who teaches mankind knowledge?

¹¹The LORD knows human thoughts, That they are mere breath.

¹²Blessed is the man whom You discipline, LORD, And whom You teach from Your Law,

¹³So that You may grant him relief from the days of adversity, Until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴For the LORD will not abandon His people, Nor will He abandon His inheritance.

¹⁵For judgment will again be righteous, And all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take his stand for me against those who do injustice?

¹⁷If the LORD had not been my help, My soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

¹⁸If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your faithfulness, LORD, will support me.

¹⁹When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comfort delights my soul.

²⁰Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, One which devises mischief by decree?

²¹They band themselves together against the life of the righteous And condemn the innocent to death.

²²But the LORD has been my refuge, And my God the rock of my refuge.

²³He has brought back their injustice upon them, And He will destroy them in their evil; The LORD our God will destroy them.

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

³To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity;

⁴To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

⁵A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching;

⁹For they are a graceful wreath for your head And necklaces for your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, Let’s lie in wait for blood, Let’s ambush the innocent without cause;

¹²Let’s swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, like those who go down to the pit;

¹³We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us; We will all have one money bag,”

¹⁵My son, do not walk on the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they are quick to shed blood.

¹⁷Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the ways of everyone who makes unjust gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square;

²¹At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings:

²²“How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn to my rebuke, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

²⁵And you neglected all my advice And did not want my rebuke;

²⁶I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,

²⁷When your dread comes like a storm And your disaster comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but will not find me,

²⁹Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

³⁰They did not accept my advice, They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.

³¹So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.

³²For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

¹Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was drawn toward Absalom.

²So Joab sent a messenger to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, “Please follow mourning rites, and put on mourning garments now, and do not anoint yourself with oil but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for many days.

³Then go to the king and speak to him in this way.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.

⁴Now when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, “Help, O king!”

⁵And the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

⁶And your servant had two sons, but the two of them fought in the field, and there was no one to save them from each other, so one struck the other and killed him.

⁷Now behold, the entire family has risen against your servant, and they have said, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed, and eliminate the heir as well.’ So they will extinguish my coal which is left, so as to leave my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.”

⁸Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your home, and I will issue orders concerning you.”

⁹The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, the king, the guilt is on me and my father’s house, but the king and his throne are guiltless.”

¹⁰So the king said, “Whoever speaks to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore.”

¹¹Then she said, “May the king please remember the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not continue to destroy, otherwise they will destroy my son.” And he said, “As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”

¹²Then the woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”

¹³The woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is like one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.

¹⁴For we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. Yet God does not take away life, but makes plans so that the banished one will not be cast out from Him.

¹⁵Now then, the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his slave.

¹⁶For the king will listen, to save his slave from the hand of the man who would eliminate both me and my son from the inheritance of God.’

¹⁷Then your servant said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king be comforting, for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.’ ”

¹⁸Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king please speak.”

¹⁹So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman replied, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me, and it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.

²⁰In order to change the appearance of things your servant Joab has done this thing. But my lord is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is on the earth.”

²¹Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I will certainly do this thing; go then, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²And Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself, and blessed the king; then Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant.”

²³So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴However, the king said, “He shall return to his own house, but he shall not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.

²⁵Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no impairment in him.

²⁶And when he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it was heavy on him, so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.

²⁷And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.

²⁸Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, yet he did not see the king’s face.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. So he sent word again a second time, but he would not come.

³⁰Therefore he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s plot is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the plot on fire.

³¹Then Joab got up, came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my plot on fire?”

³²Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.” ’ Now then, let me see the king’s face, and if there is guilt in me, he can have me executed.”

³³So when Joab came to the king and told him, he summoned Absalom. Then Absalom came to the king and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.

¹Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the LORD in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying,

²“This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD’S house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon.

⁴I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

⁵Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the house of the LORD,

⁶and Jeremiah the prophet said, “Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD’S house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place.

⁷Yet hear now this word which I am going to speak so that you and all the people can hear it!

⁸The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague.

⁹As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”

¹⁰Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.

¹¹Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’ ” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹²Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

¹³“Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made yokes of iron.”

¹⁴For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. And I have also given him the animals of the field.” ’ ”

¹⁵Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.

¹⁶Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am going to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you spoke falsely against the LORD.’ ”

¹⁷So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.

¹Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,

²a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

³About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And he looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;

⁶he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants,

⁸and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;

¹¹and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,

¹²and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky.

¹³A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”

¹⁵Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate;

¹⁸and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

²¹Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.”

²³So he invited them in and gave them lodging. Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up; I, too, am just a man.”

²⁷As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call any person unholy or unclean.

²⁹That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,

³¹and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God.

³²Therefore send some men to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent men to you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

³⁵but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

³⁶The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—

³⁷you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.

³⁸You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

³⁹We are witnesses of all the things that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed,

⁴¹not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

⁴²And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵All the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

⁴⁸And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.