Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

²And a leper came up to Him and bowed down before Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You are able to make me clean (well)."

³Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

⁴And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one [about this]; but go, show yourself to the priest [for inspection] and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony (evidence) to them [of your healing]."

⁵As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help],

⁶and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, with intense and terrible, tormenting pain."

⁷Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

⁸But the centurion replied to Him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

⁹For I also am a man subject to authority [of a higher rank], with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following Him, "I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with anyone in Israel.

¹¹I say to you that many [Gentiles] will come from east and west, and will sit down [to feast at the table, and enjoy God's promises] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [because they accepted Me as Savior],

¹²while the sons and heirs of the kingdom [the descendants of Abraham who will not recognize Me as Messiah] will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place [which is farthest removed from the kingdom] there will be weeping [in sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [in distress and anger]."

¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it will be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was restored to health at that very hour.

¹⁴When Jesus went into Peter's house [in Capernaum], He saw Peter's mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.

¹⁵He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she got up and served Him.

¹⁶When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons; and He cast out the evil spirits with a word, and restored to health all who were sick [exhibiting His authority as Messiah],

¹⁷so that He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He Himself took our infirmities [upon Himself] and carried away our diseases."

¹⁸Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to cast off for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

¹⁹Then [on His way to board the boat] a scribe [who was a respected and authoritative interpreter of the Law] came and said to Him, "Master, I will accompany You [as Your student] wherever You go."

²⁰Jesus replied to him, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

²¹Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father (collect my inheritance)."

²²But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me [believing in Me as Master and Teacher], and allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead."

²³When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

²⁴And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.

²⁵And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, "Lord, save us, we are going to die!"

²⁶He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness].

²⁷The men wondered in amazement, saying, "What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

²⁸When He arrived at the other side in the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs met Him. They were so extremely fierce and violent that no one could pass by that way.

²⁹And they screamed out, " What business do we have [in common] with each other, Son of God? Have You come to torment us before the appointed time [of judgment]?"

³⁰Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was grazing.

³¹The demons began begging Him, "If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

³²And He said to them, "Go!" So they came out [of the men] and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the water.

³³The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons.

³⁴And the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

¹'This is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy.

²In the place where they kill the burnt offering they are to kill the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

³Then he shall offer all its fat, the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails,

⁴and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

⁵The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the LORD; it is a guilt offering.

⁶Every male among the priests may eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.

⁷The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for [both of] them: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it for himself.

⁸The priest who presents any man's burnt offering shall have for himself the hide of the burnt offering which he has presented.

⁹Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything that is prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it.

¹⁰Every grain offering, mixed with [olive] oil or dry, all the sons of Aaron may have, one as well as another.

¹¹'Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the LORD:

¹²If one offers it as a sacrificial meal of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour mixed with oil.

¹³With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread.

¹⁴Of this he shall present one [cake] from each offering as a contribution to the LORD; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.

¹⁵'The meat of the sacrifice of thanksgiving presented as a peace offering shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be left until morning.

¹⁶But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day that which remains of it may be eaten;

¹⁷but what is left over from the meat of the sacrifice on the third day shall be [completely] burned in the fire.

¹⁸If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is ever eaten on the third day, then it will not be accepted, and the one who brought it will not be credited with it. It shall be an abhorred (offensive) thing; the one who eats it shall bear his own guilt.

¹⁹'The meat that comes in contact with anything that is unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. As for other meat, everyone who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it.

²⁰But the one who eats meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

²¹When anyone touches any unclean thing—human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing—and then eats the meat of the sacrifice of the Lord's peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].'"

²²Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²³"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

²⁴The fat of an animal which dies [of natural causes] and the fat of one which is torn [to pieces by a predator] may be put to any other use, but under no circumstances are you to eat it.

²⁵For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is presented to the LORD, that person who eats shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

²⁶Moreover, you are not to eat any blood [of any kind], whether of bird or animal, in any of your dwelling places.

²⁷Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.'"

²⁸Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁹"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

³⁰With his own hands he is to bring offerings by fire to the LORD; he shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the LORD.

³¹The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.

³²You shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

³³The son of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh as his portion.

³⁴For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering from the Israelites, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their perpetual portion from the Israelites.

³⁵'This is the consecrated portion from the offerings by fire to the LORD that was designated for Aaron and his sons on the day he presented them to serve as priests to the LORD.

³⁶The LORD commanded this to be given to the priests by the Israelites on the day that He anointed them. It is their portion perpetually throughout their generations.'"

³⁷This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the consecration (ordination) offering, and the sacrifice of peace offerings,

³⁸which the LORD commanded Moses at Mount Sinai on the day He commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the LORD, in the Wilderness of Sinai.

¹However, brothers and sisters, I could not talk to you as to spiritual people, but [only] as to worldly people [dominated by human nature], mere infants [in the new life] in Christ!

²I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready.

³You are still worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]?

⁴For when one of you says, "I am [a disciple] of Paul," and another, "I am [a disciple] of Apollos," are you not [proving yourselves unchanged, just] ordinary people?

⁵What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Just servants through whom you believed [in Christ], even as the Lord appointed to each his task.

⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was causing the growth.

⁷So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth.

⁸He who plants and he who waters are one [in importance and esteem, working toward the same purpose]; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹For we are God's fellow workers [His servants working together]; you are God's cultivated field [His garden, His vineyard], God's building.

¹⁰According to the [remarkable] grace of God which was given to me [to prepare me for my task], like a skillful master builder I laid a foundation, and now another is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it,

¹¹for no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ.

¹²But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

¹³each one's work will be clearly shown [for what it is]; for the day [of judgment] will disclose it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality and character and worth of each person's work.

¹⁴If any person's work which he has built [on this foundation, that is, any outcome of his effort] remains [and survives this test], he will receive a reward.

¹⁵But if any person's work is burned up [by the test], he will suffer the loss [of his reward]; yet he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has barely escaped] through fire.

¹⁶Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]?

¹⁷If anyone destroys the temple of God [corrupting it with false doctrine], God will destroy the destroyer; for the temple of God is holy (sacred), and that is what you are.

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [discarding his worldly pretensions and acknowledging his lack of wisdom], so that he may become [truly] wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness (absurdity, stupidity) before God; for it is written [in Scripture], "[He is] The one who catches the wise and clever in their craftiness;"

²⁰and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the [humanly] wise, that they are useless."

²¹So let no one boast in men [about their wisdom, or of having this or that one as a leader]. For all things are yours,

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter) or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things are yours,

²³and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

¹Therefore, I strongly urge the elders among you [pastors, spiritual leaders of the church], as a fellow elder and as an eyewitness [called to testify] of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed:

²shepherd and guide and protect the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not [motivated] for shameful gain, but with wholehearted enthusiasm;

³not lording it over those assigned to your care [do not be arrogant or overbearing], but be examples [of Christian living] to the flock [set a pattern of integrity for your congregation].

⁴And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror's] unfading crown of glory.

⁵Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant's apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time,

⁷casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].

⁸Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

⁹But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]

¹⁰After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be].

¹¹To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

¹²By Silvanus, our faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly, to counsel and testify that this is the true grace [the undeserved favor] of God. Stand firm in it!

¹³She [the church] who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son [in the faith], Mark.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. To all of you who are in Christ, may there be peace.

¹Elihu continued speaking [to Job] and said,

²"Do you think this is according to [your] justice? Do you say, 'My righteousness is more than God's'?

³"For you say, 'What advantage have you [by living a righteous life]? What profit will I have, more [by being righteous] than if I had sinned?'

⁴"I will answer you, And your companions with you.

⁵"Look to the heavens and see; And behold the skies which are [much] higher than you.

⁶"If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him?

⁷"If you are righteous, what do you give God, Or what does He receive from your hand?

⁸"Your wickedness affects only a man such as you, And your righteousness affects only a son of man [but it cannot affect God, who is sovereign].

⁹"Because of the multitudes of oppressions the people cry out; They cry for help because of the [violent] arm of the mighty.

¹⁰"But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs [of rejoicing] in the night,

¹¹Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'

¹²"The people cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil men.

¹³"Surely God will not listen to an empty cry [which lacks trust], Nor will the Almighty regard it.

¹⁴"Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth], Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

¹⁵"And now, because He has not [quickly] punished in His anger, Nor has He acknowledged transgression and arrogance well [and seems unaware of the wrong of which a person is guilty],

¹⁶Job uselessly opens his mouth And multiplies words without knowledge [drawing the worthless conclusion that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked]."

¹The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands and coastlands be glad.

²Clouds and thick darkness surround Him [as at Sinai]; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

³Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries on all sides.

⁴His lightnings have illuminated the world; The earth has seen and trembled.

⁵The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory and brilliance.

⁷Let all those be [deeply] ashamed who serve carved images, Who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!

⁸Zion heard this and was glad, And the daughters (cities) of Judah rejoiced [in relief] Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁹For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰You who love the LORD, hate evil; He protects the souls of His godly ones (believers), He rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹Light is sown [like seed] for the righteous and illuminates their path, And [irrepressible] joy [is spread] for the upright in heart [who delight in His favor and protection].

¹²Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones [those whose moral and spiritual integrity places them in right standing with God], And praise and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

¹Hear, O children, the instruction of a father, And pay attention [and be willing to learn] so that you may gain understanding and intelligent discernment.

²For I give you good doctrine; Do not turn away from my instruction.

³When I was a son with my father (David), Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother (Bathsheba),

⁴He taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live.

⁵"Get [skillful and godly] wisdom! Acquire understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁶"Do not turn away from her (Wisdom) and she will guard and protect you; Love her, and she will watch over you.

⁷"The beginning of wisdom is: Get [skillful and godly] wisdom [it is preeminent]! And with all your acquiring, get understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation].

⁸"Prize wisdom [and exalt her], and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.

⁹"She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty and glory."

¹⁰Hear, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.

¹¹I have instructed you in the way of [skillful and godly] wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.

¹²When you walk, your steps will not be impeded [for your path will be clear and open]; And when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Take hold of instruction; [actively seek it, grip it firmly and] do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.

¹⁴Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not go the way of evil men.

¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶For the wicked cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are deprived of sleep unless they make someone stumble and fall.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day.

¹⁹The way of the wicked is like [deep] darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

²⁰My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; Open your ears to my sayings.

²¹Do not let them escape from your sight; Keep them in the center of your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them, And healing and health to all their flesh.

²³Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

²⁴Put away from you a deceitful (lying, misleading) mouth, And put devious lips far from you.

²⁵Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage] And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].

²⁶Consider well and watch carefully the path of your feet, And all your ways will be steadfast and sure.

²⁷Do not turn away to the right nor to the left [where evil may lurk]; Turn your foot from [the path of] evil.

¹Then, Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Please let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight.

²I will strike while he is weary and exhausted, and terrify him; and all the people with him will flee [in terror]. Then I will attack the king alone,

³and I will bring all the people [who follow David] back to you. The return of everyone depends on the [death of the] man you are seeking; then all the people will be at peace [and accept you as king]."

⁴So the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵Nevertheless, Absalom said, "Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say."

⁶When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, "Ahithophel has advised this [plan of action]. Should we do what he says? If not, you speak [and explain why not]."

⁷So Hushai said to Absalom, "Ahithophel has not given good advice this time."

⁸And Hushai said, "You know your father and his men, that they are brave men, and they are enraged and fierce, like a bear deprived of her cubs in the field. Your father is a [shrewd] man of war, and will not spend the night with the people [knowing that you seek his life].

⁹Behold, he has hidden himself [even] now in one of the ravines or in another place; and when some of your troops fall at the first attack, whoever hears about it will say, 'There has been a defeat among the people who follow Absalom.'

¹⁰And even the one who is brave, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart and melt away; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are brave men.

¹¹But I advise that all [the men of] Israel be summoned to you, from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], like the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that you personally go into battle.

¹²So shall we come upon David in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls [unseen and unheard] on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

¹³If he retreats into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it into the ravine until not even a pebble [of it] is found there."

¹⁴Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel." For the LORD had ordained to thwart the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the LORD could bring disaster upon Absalom.

¹⁵Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, "This is the advice that Ahithophel gave to Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is the advice that I have given.

¹⁶Now then, send word quickly and tell David, 'Do not spend the night at the fords [on the west side of the Jordan] in the wilderness, but by all means cross over [to the east side of the river], or else the king and all the people with him will be destroyed [if Ahithophel is allowed by Absalom to lead an attack].'"

¹⁷Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz [the priests' sons] were staying at En-rogel, and a maidservant [appearing to go for water] would go and tell them [what was happening], and they would go [secretly] and inform King David; for they could not [allow themselves to] be seen coming into the city [of Jerusalem].

¹⁸But a boy saw them and told Absalom; so the two of them left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and [with his permission] they went down into it.

¹⁹And the woman [of the house] took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well and scattered grain on it; so nothing was discovered.

²⁰Then Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house and asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And the woman said to them, "They have crossed over the brook." When they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹After they left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz came up out of the well and went and informed King David, and said to David, "Arise and cross over the Jordan River quickly, for Ahithophel has advised [an attack] against you."

²²Then David and all the people who were with him departed and crossed over the Jordan. By daybreak, not even one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out and went to his home, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

²⁴Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

²⁵Absalom put Amasa in command of the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Israelite, who had married Abigail the daughter of Nahash, [the half sister of David and] the sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

²⁶So Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

²⁸brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, broad beans, lentils, and [other] roasted grain,

²⁹honey, cream, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him, to eat; for they said, "The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness."

¹"At that time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

²Thus says the LORD, "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness [of exile]— Israel (the Northern Kingdom), when it went to find its rest."

³The LORD appeared to me ( Israel) from ages past, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

⁴"Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel! You will again be adorned with your tambourines and timbrels And go out to the dances of those who celebrate.

⁵"Again you will plant vineyards On the mountains of Samaria; The planters will plant And enjoy the [abundant] fruit [in peace].

⁶"For there will be a day when the watchmen On the hills of Ephraim cry out, 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.'"

⁷For thus says the LORD, "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, And shout for the first and foremost of the nations [the chosen people, Israel]; Proclaim, give praise and say, 'O LORD save Your people, The remnant of Israel!'

⁸"Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them [will be] the blind and the lame, The woman with child and she who labors in childbirth, together; A great company, they will return here [to Jerusalem].

⁹"They will come with weeping [in repentance and for joy], And by [their] prayer [for the future] I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble, For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim (Israel) is My firstborn."

¹⁰Hear the word of the LORD, O you nations, And declare it in the isles and coastlands far away, And say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him And will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."

¹¹For the LORD has ransomed Jacob And has redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.

¹²"They will come and sing aloud and shout for joy on the height of Zion, And will be radiant [with joy] over the goodness of the LORD— For the grain, for the new wine, for the oil, And for the young of the flock and the herd. And their life will be like a watered garden, And they shall never sorrow or languish again.

¹³"Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, And the young men and old, together, For I will turn their mourning into joy And will comfort them and make them rejoice after their sorrow.

¹⁴"I will fully satisfy the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people will be satisfied with My goodness," says the LORD.

¹⁵Thus says the LORD, "A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation (songs of mourning) and bitter weeping. Rachel (Israel) is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are gone."

¹⁶Thus says the LORD, "Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears, For your work will be rewarded," says the LORD; "And your children will return from the enemy's land.

¹⁷"There is [confident] hope for your future," says the LORD; "Your children will come back to their own country.

¹⁸"I have surely heard Ephraim (Israel) moaning and grieving, 'You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like a bull unaccustomed to the yoke or an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God.

¹⁹'After I turned away [from You], I repented; After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse]; I was ashamed and even humiliated Because I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].'

²⁰"Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a darling and beloved child? For as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him. Therefore My affection is renewed and My heart longs for him; I will surely have mercy on him," says the LORD.

²¹"Place for yourself road signs [toward Canaan], Make for yourself guideposts; Turn your thought and attention to the highway, To the way by which you went [into exile]. Retrace your steps, O virgin of Israel, Return to these your cities.

²²"How long will you hesitate [to return], O you faithless and renegade daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land [of Israel]: A woman will encompass (tenderly love) a man."

²³Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Once more they will speak these words in the land of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and in her cities when I restore their fortunes and release them from exile, 'The LORD bless you, O habitation of justice and righteousness, O holy mountain!'

²⁴And [the people of] Judah and all its cities will live there together—the farmer and they who wander about with flocks.

²⁵For I [fully] satisfy the weary soul, and I replenish every languishing and sorrowful person."

²⁶At this I (Jeremiah) awoke and looked, and my [trancelike] sleep was sweet [in the assurance it gave] to me.

²⁷"Behold (listen carefully), the days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast.

²⁸It will be that as I have watched over them to uproot and to break down, to overthrow, destroy, and afflict with disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant [with good]," says the LORD.

²⁹"In those days they will not say again, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'

³⁰But everyone will die [only] for his own wickedness; every man who eats sour grapes—his [own] teeth shall be set on edge.

³¹"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and with the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom),

³²not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," says the LORD.

³³"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," says the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

³⁴And each man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me [through personal experience], from the least of them to the greatest," says the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will no longer remember their sin."

³⁵Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and of the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea's roaring billows or stills the waves when they roar; The LORD of hosts is His name:

³⁶"If this fixed order departs From before Me," says the LORD, "Then the descendants of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever."

³⁷Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off and abandon all the descendants of Israel For all that they have done," says the LORD.

³⁸"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when the city [of Jerusalem] will be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

³⁹The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah.

⁴⁰And the whole valley (Hinnom) of the dead bodies and [the hill] of the ashes [long dumped there from the temple sacrifices], and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It (the city) will not be uprooted or overthrown anymore to the end of the age."

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets [who spoke a new message of God to the people] and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch, and Saul.

²While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them."

³Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them [in approval and dedication] and sent them away [on their first journey].

⁴So then, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵When Barnabas and Saul arrived at Salamis, they began to preach the word of God [proclaiming the message of eternal salvation through faith in Christ] in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John [Mark] as their assistant.

⁶When they had traveled through the entire island [of Cyprus] as far as Paphos, they found a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was [closely associated] with the proconsul [of the province], Sergius Paulus, an intelligent and sensible man. He called for Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from accepting the faith.

⁹But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Him, looked steadily at Elymas,

¹⁰and said, " You [Elymas] who are full of every [kind of] deceit, and every [kind of] fraud, you son of the devil, enemy of everything that is right and good, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹Now, watch! The hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, [so blind that you will be] unable to see the sun for a time." Immediately a mist and darkness fell upon him, and he groped around, seeking people to lead him by the hand.

¹²The proconsul believed [the message of salvation] when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching concerning the Lord.

¹³Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John [Mark] left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴Now they went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, "Brothers (kinsmen), if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it."

¹⁶So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen!

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great and numerous during their stay [as foreigners] in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out of there.

¹⁸For a period of about forty years He put up with their behavior in the wilderness.

¹⁹When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land [to our ancestors] as an inheritance—this took about four hundred and fifty years.

²⁰After this, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.'

²³From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, [in the person of] Jesus, according to His promise.

²⁴Before His coming John [the Baptist] had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was finishing his course [of ministry], he kept saying, 'What or who do you think that I am? I am not He [the Christ]; but be aware, One is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave]!'

²⁶"Brothers, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation [obtained through faith in Jesus Christ].

²⁷For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, who failed to recognize or understand both Jesus and the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled these [very prophecies] by condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no cause or charge deserving death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.

²⁹And when they had finished carrying out everything that was written [in Scripture] about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead;

³¹and for many days (forty) He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

³²And we are bringing you the good news of the promise made to our fathers (ancestors),

³³that God has completely fulfilled this promise to our children by raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten (fathered) You.'

³⁴And [as for the fact] that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay [in the grave], He has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David [those blessings and mercies that were promised to him].'

³⁵For this reason He also says in another Psalm, 'You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.'

³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried among his fathers and experienced decay [in the grave];

³⁷but He whom God raised [to life] did not experience decay [in the grave].

³⁸So let it be clearly known by you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you;

³⁹and through Him everyone who believes [who acknowledges Jesus as Lord and Savior and follows Him] is justified and declared free of guilt from all things, from which you could not be justified and freed of guilt through the Law of Moses.

⁴⁰Therefore be careful, so that the thing spoken of in the [writings of the] Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴¹'Look, you mockers, and marvel, and perish and vanish away; For I am doing a work in your days, A work which you will never believe, even if someone describes it to you [telling you about it in detail].'"

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were leaving [the synagogue], the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them on the next Sabbath.

⁴³When the congregation of the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and the devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, talking to them were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath almost the entire city gathered together to hear the word of the Lord [about salvation through faith in Christ].

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things said by Paul, and were slandering him.

⁴⁶And [at the same time] Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and confidently, saying, "It was necessary that God's message [of salvation through faith in Christ] be spoken to you [Jews] first. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, now we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For that is what the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, So that You may bring [the message of eternal] salvation to the end of the earth.'"

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying [praising and giving thanks for] the word of the Lord; and all those who had been appointed (designated, ordained) to eternal life [by God] believed [in Jesus as the Christ and their Savior].

⁴⁹And so the word of the Lord [regarding salvation] was being spread through the entire region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout, prominent women and the leading men of the city, and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them forcibly out of their district.

⁵¹But they shook its dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their hearts and souls] with joy and with the Holy Spirit.