Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

²Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

³And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

⁴But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

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

⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

⁷And he arose and departed to his house.

⁸Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

⁹As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

¹⁰Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.

¹¹And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

¹³But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

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

¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.

¹⁷Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹⁸While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.”

¹⁹So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

²⁰And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.

²¹For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”

²²But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

²³When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing,

²⁴He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him.

²⁵But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

²⁶And the report of this went out into all that land.

²⁷When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

²⁸And when He had come into the house, the blind men came 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, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

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

³¹But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

³²As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.

³³And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

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

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

³⁶But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

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

³⁸Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

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

³and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

⁴So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

⁵And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the LORD commanded to be done.”

⁶Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

⁷And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him.

⁸Then he put the breastplate on him, and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate.

⁹And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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

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

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

¹³Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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

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

¹⁶Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar.

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

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

¹⁹and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

²⁰And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat.

²¹Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²²And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

²³and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

²⁴Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

²⁵Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to 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, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh;

²⁷and he put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the LORD.

²⁸Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the LORD.

²⁹And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³⁰Then 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, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

³¹And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’

³²What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

³³And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you.

³⁴As he has done this day, so the LORD has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.

³⁵Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.”

³⁶So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses.

¹Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

⁴For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

⁶Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.

⁷For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!

¹¹To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.

¹²And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;

¹³being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

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

¹⁵For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

¹⁶Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

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

¹⁸Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

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

²¹What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

¹Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us 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,

³as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

⁴by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

⁵But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,

⁶to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

⁷to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

⁸For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

¹¹for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹²For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

¹³Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,

¹⁴knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.

¹⁵Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

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

¹⁷For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

¹⁸And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

²⁰knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

²¹for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

¹Elihu also proceeded and said:

²“Bear with me a little, and I will show you That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf.

³I will fetch my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

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

⁵“Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed.

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

⁸And if they are bound in fetters, Held in the cords of affliction,

⁹Then He tells them their work and their transgressions— That they have acted defiantly.

¹⁰He also opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity.

¹¹If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures.

¹²But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.

¹³“But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath; They do not cry for help when He binds them.

¹⁴They die in youth, And their life ends among the perverted persons.

¹⁵He delivers the poor in their affliction, And opens their ears in oppression.

¹⁶“Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, Into a broad place where there is no restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness.

¹⁷But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.

¹⁸Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow; For a large ransom would not help you avoid it.

¹⁹Will your riches, Or all the mighty forces, Keep you from distress?

²⁰Do not desire the night, When people are cut off in their place.

²¹Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, For you have chosen this rather than affliction.

²²“Behold, God is exalted by His power; Who teaches like Him?

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

²⁴“Remember to magnify His work, Of which men have sung.

²⁵Everyone has seen it; Man looks on it from afar.

²⁶“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; Nor can the number of His years be discovered.

²⁷For He draws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist,

²⁸Which the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man.

²⁹Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy?

³⁰Look, He scatters His light upon it, And covers the depths of the sea.

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

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

³³His thunder declares it, The cattle also, concerning the rising storm.

¹A Psalm. [1] Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

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

³He has remembered His mercy 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; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

⁵Sing to the LORD with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

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

⁷Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it;

⁸Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,

⁹For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.

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

²That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.

³For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth 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 lay hold of hell.

⁶Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them.

⁷Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

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

⁹Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction!

¹³I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

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

¹⁶Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you.

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

¹⁹As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

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

²²His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

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

¹And David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.

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

³But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in 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 by thousands.

⁵Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.

⁶So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the woods of Ephraim.

⁷The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day.

⁸For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.

¹⁰Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!”

¹¹So Joab said to the man who told him, “You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.”

¹²But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!’

¹³Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”

¹⁴Then Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree.

¹⁵And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him.

¹⁶So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people.

¹⁷And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.

¹⁸Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King’s Valley. For he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

¹⁹Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”

²⁰And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, 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 himself to Joab and ran.

²²And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” So Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?”

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

²⁴Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone.

²⁵Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came rapidly and drew near.

²⁶Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “There is another man, running alone!” And the king said, “He also brings news.”

²⁷So the watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.”

²⁸So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!”

²⁹The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about.”

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

³¹Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “There is good news, my lord the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you.”

³²And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!”

³³Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O 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.

²For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

³For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye;

⁵then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him,” says the LORD; “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”

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

⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’

⁸Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

⁹So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.

¹¹So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open;

¹²and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

¹³“Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.”

¹⁵For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” ’

¹⁶“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:

¹⁷‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

¹⁸You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

¹⁹You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

²⁰You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day.

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

²²You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them— “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

²³And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

²⁴‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!

²⁵And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”

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

²⁷“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

²⁸Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

²⁹And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger;

³⁰because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the LORD.

³¹‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face

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

³³And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.

³⁴But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

³⁵And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’

³⁶“Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’:

³⁷Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

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

³⁹then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.

⁴⁰And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

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

⁴²“For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.

⁴³And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”

⁴⁴Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captives to return,’ says the LORD.”

¹Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.

³Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

⁵And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them,

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

⁷And they were preaching the gospel there.

⁸And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.

⁹This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,

¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.

¹¹Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

¹²And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

¹³Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out

¹⁵and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,

¹⁶who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

²⁰However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

²³So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

²⁵Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

²⁷Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.