Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city.

²And they brought to Him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “Take courage,son; your sins are forgiven.”

³And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”

⁴And Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?

⁵For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.”

⁷And he got up and went home.

⁸But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

⁹As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

¹⁰Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples.

¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

¹³Now go and learnwhat this means: ‘I DESIRECOMPASSION,RATHER THAN SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¹⁴Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “Theattendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; forthe patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

¹⁷Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁸While He was saying these things to them, behold, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.”

¹⁹Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

²⁰And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak;

²¹for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.”

²²But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith hasmade you well.” And at once the woman was made well.

²³When Jesus came into the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder,

²⁴He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him.

²⁵But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

²⁶And this news spread throughout that land.

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done for you according to your faith.”

³⁰And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!”

³¹But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that land.

³²And as they were going out, behold, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him.

³³And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

³⁴But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

³⁵Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

³⁶Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

³⁸Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread,

³and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”

⁴So Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting,

⁵Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded us to do.”

⁶Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near, and he washed them with water.

⁷Then he put the tunic on Aaron and wrapped his waist with the sash, and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him; and he wrapped his waist with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he fitted it to him.

⁸He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.

⁹He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything that was in it, and consecrated them.

¹¹He also sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.

¹²Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

¹³Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near, and he clothed them with tunics and wrapped their waists with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁴Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.

¹⁵Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.

¹⁶He also took all the fat that was on the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar.

¹⁷But the bull and its hide, its flesh, and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁸Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.

¹⁹And Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

²⁰When he had cut the ram into its pieces, Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke.

²¹After he had washed the entrails and the legs with water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²²Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.

²³And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.

²⁴He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar.

²⁵He then took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh.

²⁶And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer, and placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh.

²⁷He then put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and presented them as a wave offering before the LORD.

²⁸Then Moses took them from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD.

²⁹Moses also took the breast and presented it as a wave offering before the LORD; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³⁰So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

³¹Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’

³²And the remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire.

³³And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days.

³⁴The LORD has commanded us to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf.

³⁵At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and fulfill your duty to the LORD, so that you will not die; for so I have been commanded.”

³⁶Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had commanded through Moses.

¹This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

³But to me it is an insignificant matter that I would be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

⁴For I am not aware of anything against myself; however I am not vindicated by this, but the one who examines me is the Lord.

⁵Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of human hearts; and then praise will come to each person from God.

⁶Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos on your account, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.

⁷For who considers you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind.

¹⁰We are fools on account of Christ, but you are prudent in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are without honor!

¹¹Up to this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless;

¹²and we labor, working with our own hands; when we are verbally abused, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

¹³when we are slandered, we reply as friends; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

¹⁴I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

¹⁵For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁶Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me.

¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.

²⁰For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power.

²¹What do you desire? That I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

¹Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

³for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

⁴Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.

⁵Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

⁶and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

⁷and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

¹¹for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

¹²Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you.

¹³I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

¹⁴knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

¹⁵And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

¹⁷For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”—

¹⁸and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

²⁰But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation,

²¹for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

¹Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

³I will bring my knowledge from afar, And ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵Behold, God is mighty but does not reject anyone; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted.

⁷He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, But with kings on the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

⁸And if they are bound in shackles, And are caught in the snares of misery,

⁹Then He declares to them their work And their wrongdoings, that they have been arrogant.

¹⁰He opens their ears to instruction, And commands that they return from injustice.

¹¹If they listen and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity, And their years in happiness.

¹²But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword, And die without knowledge.

¹³But the godless in heart nurture anger; They do not call for help when He binds them.

¹⁴They die in youth, And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.

¹⁵He rescues the afflicted in their misery, And opens their ears in time of oppression.

¹⁶Then indeed, He induced you away from the mouth of distress, And instead of it, a broad place with no constraint; And your table was full of rich food.

¹⁷“But you were full of judgment on the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.

¹⁸Beware that wrath does not entice you to mockery; And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

¹⁹Will your cry for help keep you from distress, Or all the exertions of your strength?

²⁰Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their places.

²¹Be careful, do not turn to evil, For you preferred this to misery.

²²Behold, God is exalted in His power; Who is a teacher like Him?

²³Who has appointed Him His way, And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴“Remember that you are to exalt His work, Of which people have sung.

²⁵All people have seen it; Mankind looks at it from afar.

²⁶Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

²⁷For He draws up the drops of water; They distill rain from its celestial stream,

²⁸Which clouds pour down; They drip upon mankind abundantly.

²⁹Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, The thundering of His pavilion?

³⁰Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, And He covers the depths of the sea.

³¹For by them He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance.

³²He covers His hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the target.

³³Its thundering voice declares His presence; The livestock also, concerning what is coming up.

¹Sing a new song to the LORD, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.

²The LORD has made His salvation known; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.

³He has remembered His graciousness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

⁴Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Be cheerful and sing for joy and sing praises.

⁵Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, With the lyre and the sound of melody.

⁶With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.

⁷May the sea roar and all it contains, The world and those who dwell in it.

⁸May the rivers clap their hands, May the mountains sing together for joy

⁹Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with fairness.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding,

²So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

⁶She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

⁹Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you will groan in the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, “How I hated instruction! And my heart disdainfully rejected rebuke!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!

¹⁴I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹Like a loving doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a foreigner?

²¹For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He observes all his paths.

²²His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.

²³He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

¹Then David took a count of the people who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

²And David sent the people out, a third under the command of Joab, a third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I myself will certainly go out with you also.”

³But the people said, “You should not go out; for if in fact we flee, they will not care about us; and if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; so now it is better that you will be ready to help us from the city.”

⁴Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and thousands.

⁵But the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders regarding Absalom.

⁶Then the people went out to the field against Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.

⁷The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men.

⁸For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹Now Absalom encountered the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a massive oak. Then his head caught firmly in the oak, and he was left hanging between the sky and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going.

¹⁰When a certain man saw him, he informed Joab and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”

¹¹Then Joab said to the man who had informed him, “So behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And it would have been my duty to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”

¹²But the man said to Joab, “Even if I were to receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not put out my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me!’

¹³Otherwise, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have avoided me.”

¹⁴Then Joab said, “I will not waste time here with you.” So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak.

¹⁵And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.

¹⁶Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the people.

¹⁷And they took Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest, and erected over him a very large pile of stones. And all Israel fled, each to his own tent.

¹⁸Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a memorial stone, which is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to continue my name.” So he named the memorial stone after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

¹⁹Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and bring the king news that the LORD has freed him from the hand of his enemies!”

²⁰But Joab said to him, “You are not the man to bring news this day, but you shall bring news another day; however, you shall bring no news this day, because the king’s son is dead.”

²¹Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

²²However, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said once more to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why would you run, my son, since you will have no messenger’s reward for going?”

²³“But whatever happens,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed by the Cushite.

²⁴Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the watchman went to the roof of the gate by the wall, and raised his eyes and looked; and behold, a man was running by himself.

²⁵So the watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is by himself there is good news in his mouth.” And he came nearer and nearer.

²⁶Then the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “Behold, another man is running by himself.” And the king said, “This one also is bringing good news.”

²⁷The watchman said, “I think the running form of the first one is like the running form of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “This is a good man, and he is coming with good news.”

²⁸Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well.” And he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “Blessed is the LORD your God, who has turned over the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.”

²⁹But the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, and your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I did not know what it was.”

³⁰Then the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

³¹Then behold, the Cushite arrived, and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king receive good news, for the LORD has freed you this day from the hand of all those who rose up against you.”

³²Then the king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be like that young man!”

³³Then the king trembled and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And this is what he said as he walked: “My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

²Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah,

³because Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it;

⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.

⁵Then he will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the LORD. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed” ’?”

⁶And Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.” ’

⁸Then my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the LORD and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

⁹“So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I weighed out the silver for him, seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰And I signed and sealed the deed, and called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

¹¹Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy;

¹²and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying,

¹⁴‘This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, so that they may last a long time.”

¹⁵For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land.” ’

¹⁶“After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying,

¹⁷‘Oh, Lord GOD! Behold, You Yourself have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,

¹⁸who shows mercy to thousands, but repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, great and mighty God. The LORD of armies is His name;

¹⁹great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds;

²⁰who has accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day.

²¹You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

²²and You gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

²³They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your Law; they did not do anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this disaster happen to them.

²⁴Behold, the assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has come to pass; and behold, You see it.

²⁵Yet You have said to me, Lord GOD, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.’ ”

²⁶Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁷“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”

²⁸Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am going to hand this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.

²⁹And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger.

³⁰For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the LORD.

³¹“Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from My sight,

³²because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³³They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline.

³⁴But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

³⁵They built the high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin.

³⁶“Now therefore the LORD God of Israel says the following concerning this city of which you say, ‘It has been handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by plague’:

³⁷Behold, I am going to gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and have them live in safety.

³⁸They shall be My people, and I will be their God;

³⁹and I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

⁴⁰I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, so that they will not turn away from Me.

⁴¹I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and all My soul.

⁴²For this is what the LORD says: ‘Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.

⁴³And fields will be purchased in this land of which you say, “It is a desolation, without man or animal; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans.”

⁴⁴People will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the Negev; for I will restore their fortunes,’ declares the LORD.”

¹In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a way that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brothers.

³Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be performed by their hands.

⁴But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, while others, with the apostles.

⁵And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to treat them abusively and to stone them,

⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region;

⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸In Lystra a man was sitting whose feet were incapacitated. He had been disabled from his mother’s womb, and had never walked.

⁹This man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul looked at him intently and saw that he had faith to be made well,

¹⁰and he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And the man leaped up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us!”

¹²And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.

¹³Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out

¹⁵and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM.

¹⁶In past generations He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;

¹⁷yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

¹⁹But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead.

²⁰But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

²³When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia.

²⁵When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.

²⁷When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all the things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they spent a long time with the disciples.