Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

²Now these are the names of the twelve apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

³Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot);

⁴Simon the Cananaean (Zealot), and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

⁵Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them: "Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the Samaritans;

⁶but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

⁷And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

⁹Do not take gold, or silver, or [even] copper money in your money belt,

¹⁰or a provision bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker deserves his support.

¹¹Whatever city or village you enter, ask who in it is worthy [who welcomes you and your message], and stay at his house until you leave [that city].

¹²As you go into the house, give it your greeting [that is, 'Peace be to this house'].

¹³If [the family living in] the house is worthy [welcoming you and your message], give it your [blessing of] peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favor of God]. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.

¹⁴Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties].

¹⁵I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah's messenger].

¹⁶"Listen carefully: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves [have no self-serving agenda].

¹⁷Beware of men [whose nature is to act in opposition to God], for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues;

¹⁸and you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

¹⁹But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that [very] hour;

²⁰for it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹"Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will rise up and rebel against their parents and cause them to be put death.

²²And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.

²³"When they persecute you in one city [because of your faith in Me], flee to the next; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a bond-servant above his master.

²⁵It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the bond-servant like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul (Satan), how much more [will they speak evil of] the members of his household.

²⁶"So do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed [at the judgment], or kept secret that will not be made known [at the judgment].

²⁷What I say to you in the dark (privately), tell in the light (publicly); and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops [to many people].

²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

²⁹Are not two little sparrows sold for a copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.

³⁰But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge].

³¹So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³²"Therefore, the one who confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.

³³But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword [of division between belief and unbelief].

³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

³⁶and a man's enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].

³⁷" He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

³⁸And he who does not take his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me.

³⁹Whoever finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

⁴⁰"He who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

⁴¹He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.

⁴²And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward."

¹And it happened on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel;

²and he said to Aaron, "Take a bull calf as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, [each] without blemish, and offer both before the LORD.

³Then say to the Israelites, 'Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering,

⁴and a bull and a ram as peace offerings to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with [olive] oil, for today the LORD will appear to you.'"

⁵So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and all the congregation approached and stood before the LORD.

⁶Moses said, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."

⁷Moses said to Aaron, "Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, just as the LORD has commanded."

⁸So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf as the sin offering, which was designated for himself.

⁹The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in the blood and put some of it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the altar's base;

¹⁰but the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹¹And Aaron burned the meat and the hide in the fire outside the camp.

¹²Then he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar.

¹³They brought the burnt offering to him piece by piece, with the head, and Aaron offered them up in smoke on the altar.

¹⁴He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵Then Aaron presented the people's offering. He took the goat for the sin offering of the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, as he did the first.

¹⁶He also presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the ordinance.

¹⁷Next Aaron presented the grain offering and took a handful of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.

¹⁸He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar,

¹⁹As for the portions of fat from the bull and from the ram—the fat tail, and the fat covering the internal organs, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver—

²⁰they now put the portions of fat on the breasts; and Aaron offered the fat up in smoke on the altar.

²¹But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the LORD, just as Moses had commanded.

²²Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down [from the altar of burnt offering] after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.

²³Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory and brilliance of the LORD [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised].

²⁴Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].

¹It is actually reported [everywhere] that there is sexual immorality among you, a kind of immorality that is condemned even among the [unbelieving] Gentiles: that someone has [an intimate relationship with] his father's wife.

²And you are proud and arrogant! You should have mourned in shame so that the man who has done this [disgraceful] thing would be removed from your fellowship!

³For I, though absent [from you] in body but present in spirit, have already passed judgment on him who has committed this [act], as if I were present.

⁴In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,

⁵you are to hand over this man to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

⁶Your boasting [over the supposed spirituality of your church] is not good [indeed, it is vulgar and inappropriate]. Do you not know that [just] a little leaven ferments the whole batch [of dough, just as a little sin corrupts a person or an entire church]?

⁷Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, just as you are, still unleavened. For Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.

⁸Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of vice and malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and [untainted] truth.

⁹I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate with [sexually] immoral people—

¹⁰not meaning the immoral people of this world, or the greedy ones and swindlers, or idolaters, for then you would have to get out of the world and human society altogether!

¹¹But actually, I have written to you not to associate with any so-called [Christian] brother if he is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater [devoted to anything that takes the place of God], or is a reviler [who insults or slanders or otherwise verbally abuses others], or is a drunkard or a swindler—you must not so much as eat with such a person.

¹²For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders (non-believers)? Do you not judge those who are within the church [to protect the church as the situation requires]?

¹³God alone sits in judgment on those who are outside [the faith]. Remove the wicked one from among you [expel him from your church].

¹But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

²Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned.

³And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].

⁴For if God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but threw them into hell and sent them to pits of gloom to be kept [there] for judgment;

⁵and if He did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought [the judgment of] a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

⁶and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;

⁷and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was tormented by the immoral conduct of unprincipled and ungodly men

⁸(for that just man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by what he saw and heard of their lawless acts),

⁹then [in light of the fact that all this is true, be sure that] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and how to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

¹⁰and especially those who indulge in the corrupt passions of the sin nature, and despise authority. Presumptuous and reckless, self-willed and arrogant [creatures, despising the majesty of the Lord], they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

¹¹whereas even angels who are superior in might and power do not bring a reviling (defaming) accusation against them before the Lord.

¹²But these [false teachers], like unreasoning animals, [mere] creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed, reviling things they do not understand, will also perish in their own corruption [in their destroying they will be destroyed],

¹³suffering wrong [destined for punishment] as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime [living luxuriously]. They are stains and blemishes [on mankind], reveling in their deceptions even as they feast with you.

¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse.

¹⁵Abandoning the straight road [that is, the right way to live], they have gone astray; they have followed the way of [the false teacher] Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness;

¹⁶but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a mute donkey spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These [false teachers] are springs without water and mists driven by a tempest, for whom is reserved the gloom of black darkness.

¹⁸For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.

¹⁹They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity—for by whatever anyone is defeated and overcome, to that [person, thing, philosophy, or concept] he is continually enslaved.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world by [personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition has become worse for them than the first.

²¹For it would have been better for them not to have [personally] known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to have turned back from the holy commandment [verbally] handed on to them.

²²The thing spoken of in the true proverb has happened to them, "The dog returns to his own vomit," and, "A sow is washed only to wallow [again] in the mire."

¹"Indeed, at His thundering my heart trembles And leaps out of its place.

²"Listen carefully to the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that goes out of His mouth!

³"He lets it loose under the whole heaven, And His lightning to the ends of the earth.

⁴"After it, His voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty, And He does not restrain His lightning [against His adversaries] when His voice is heard.

⁵"God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

⁶"For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; And [He speaks] to the showers and to the downpour [of His mighty rains], 'Be strong.'

⁷"God seals (brings to a standstill, stops) [by severe weather] the hand of every man, That all men [whom He has made] may know His work [that is, His sovereign power and their subjection to it].

⁸"Then the beast goes into its lair And remains in its hiding place.

⁹"Out of its chamber comes the storm, And cold from the north wind.

¹⁰"Ice is made by the breath of God, And the expanse of the waters is frozen.

¹¹"He loads the thick cloud with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.

¹²"Its direction is turned around by His guidance, That it may do whatever He commands it On the face of the inhabited earth.

¹³"Whether [it be] for correction, or for His earth [generally] Or for [His] mercy and lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.

¹⁴"Listen to this, Job; Stand still and consider the wonders of God.

¹⁵"Do you know how God establishes and commands them, And makes the lightning of His [storm] cloud shine?

¹⁶"Do you know about the layers of thick clouds [and how they are balanced and poised in the heavens], The wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge,

¹⁷You whose garments are hot, When He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind?

¹⁸"Can you, with Him, spread out the sky, Strong as a molten mirror?

¹⁹"Tell us [Job] what words [of man] shall we say to such a Being; We cannot state our case because of darkness [that is, our ignorance in the presence of the unsearchable God].

²⁰"So shall it be told Him that I wish to speak? Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up [and destroyed by God]?

²¹"Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded], When the wind has passed and cleared them.

²²"Out of the north comes golden splendor [and people can hardly look on it]; Around God is awesome splendor and majesty [far too glorious for man's eyes].

²³"The Almighty—we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power And He will not do violence to [nor disregard] justice and abundant righteousness.

²⁴"Men therefore fear Him; He does not regard nor respect any who are wise in heart [in their own understanding and conceit]."

¹The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble [with submissive wonder]! He sits enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!

²The LORD is great in Zion, And He is exalted and magnified above all the peoples.

³Let them [reverently] praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He.

⁴The strength of the King loves justice and righteous judgment; You have established fairness; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).

⁵Exalt the LORD our God And worship at His footstool; Holy is He.

⁶Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They called upon the LORD and He answered them.

⁷He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statutes that He gave them.

⁸You answered them, O LORD our God; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil practices.

⁹Exalt the LORD our God And worship at His holy hill [Zion, the temple mount], For the LORD our God is holy.

¹My son, if you have become surety (guaranteed a debt or obligation) for your neighbor, If you have given your pledge for [the debt of] a stranger or another [outside your family],

²If you have been snared with the words of your lips, If you have been trapped by the speech of your mouth,

³Do this now, my son, and release yourself [from the obligation]; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor [to pay his debt and release you].

⁴Give no [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;

⁵Tear yourself away like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, O lazy one; Observe her ways and be wise,

⁷Which, having no chief, Overseer or ruler,

⁸She prepares her food in the summer And brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest.

⁹How long will you lie down, O lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?

¹⁰"Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to lie down and rest"—

¹¹So your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely] And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a perverse (corrupt, vulgar) mouth.

¹³Who winks with his eyes [in mockery], who shuffles his feet [to signal], Who points with his fingers [to give subversive instruction];

¹⁴Who perversely in his heart plots trouble and evil continually; Who spreads discord and strife.

¹⁵Therefore [the crushing weight of] his disaster will come suddenly upon him; Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing or remedy [because he has no heart for God].

¹⁶These six things the LORD hates; Indeed, seven are repulsive to Him:

¹⁷A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸A heart that creates wicked plans, Feet that run swiftly to evil,

¹⁹A false witness who breathes out lies [even half-truths], And one who spreads discord (rumors) among brothers.

²⁰My son, be guided by your father's [God-given] commandment (instruction) And do not reject the teaching of your mother;

²¹Bind them continually upon your heart (in your thoughts), And tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk about, they (the godly teachings of your parents) will guide you; When you sleep, they will keep watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.

²³For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching [of the law] is light, And reproofs (rebukes) for discipline are the way of life,

²⁴To keep you from the evil woman, From [the flattery of] the smooth tongue of an immoral woman.

²⁵Do not desire (lust after) her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelashes.

²⁶For on account of a prostitute one is reduced to a piece of bread [to be eaten up], And the immoral woman hunts [with a hook] the precious life [of a man].

²⁷Can a man take fire to his chest And his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?

²⁹So is the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her will not be found innocent or go unpunished.

³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

³¹But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole]; He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].

³²But whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks common sense and sound judgment and an understanding [of moral principles]; He who would destroy his soul does it.

³³Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach (blame) will not be blotted out.

³⁴For jealousy enrages the [wronged] husband; He will not spare [the guilty one] on the day of vengeance.

³⁵He will not accept any ransom [offered to buy him off from demanding full punishment]; Nor will he be satisfied though you offer him many gifts (bribes).

¹It was told to Joab, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom."

²So the victory on that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said on that day, "The king grieves for his son."

³The people stole into the city [of Mahanaim] that day, as people who are humiliated and ashamed steal away when they retreat in battle.

⁴But the king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

⁵Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have put all your servants to shame who this day have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and concubines.

⁶For you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have shown today that commanders and servants are nothing to you; for today I know that if Absalom had lived and all the rest of us had died today, then you would be pleased.

⁷So now stand up, go out and speak kindly and encouragingly to your servants; for I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a man will stay with you tonight. And this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now."

⁸Then the king stood and sat at the gate [of Mahanaim]. And they told all the people, "The king is sitting at the gate," and all the people came before the king. But Israel [Absalom's troops] had fled, every man to his tent.

⁹All the people were quarreling throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, "The king rescued us from the hands of our enemies, and he saved us from the hands of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

¹⁰And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. So now, why are you [leaders] doing nothing about bringing back the king?"

¹¹Then King David sent word to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, "Say to the elders of Judah, 'Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house [in Jerusalem], since the word of all Israel has come to the king, and to his house?

¹²You are my brothers (relatives, relations); you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?'

¹³Say to Amasa [the commander of Absalom's troops], 'Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.'"

¹⁴In this way he changed the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so they sent word to the king, "Return, you and all your servants."

¹⁵So David returned and came to the Jordan. And [supporters from] Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king, to escort him across the Jordan.

¹⁶Then Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men [from the tribe of] of Judah to meet King David,

¹⁷and a thousand men [from the tribe] of Benjamin with him. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants with him, rushed down to the Jordan before the king.

¹⁸Then they [repeatedly] crossed the ford to bring over the king's household (family), and to do what pleased him. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan,

¹⁹and said to the king, "Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.

²⁰For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king."

²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, "Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed?"

²²David said, "What business is this of yours, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?"

²³Therefore the king said to Shimei, "You shall not be put to death." And so the king gave him his promise.

²⁴Then Mephibosheth the [grand]son of Saul came down to meet the king, but he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned in peace and safety.

²⁵And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?"

²⁶He said, "My lord the king, my servant [Ziba] betrayed me; for I said, 'Saddle a donkey for me so that I may ride on it and go with the king,' for your servant is lame [but he took the donkeys and left without me].

²⁷Further, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God; so do what is good in your eyes.

²⁸For were not all of my father's household (family) nothing but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. So what right do I still have to cry out anymore to the king [for help]?"

²⁹The king said to him, "Why speak anymore of your affairs? I have said, 'You and Ziba shall divide the land.'"

³⁰Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has returned to his own house in safety and peace."

³¹Now Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went on to the Jordan with the king to escort him over the Jordan.

³²Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years old; and he had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great and wealthy man.

³³The king said to Barzillai, "Cross over with me and I will provide for you in Jerusalem with me."

³⁴But Barzillai said to the king, "How much longer have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

³⁵I am this day eighty years old. Can I [be useful to advise you to] discern between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or drink? Can I still hear the voices of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

³⁶Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward?

³⁷Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own city [and be buried] by the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham [my son]; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you."

³⁸The king answered, "Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you; and whatever you ask of me, I will do for you."

³⁹So all the people crossed over the Jordan. When the king had crossed over, he kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.

⁴⁰Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel accompanied the king.

⁴¹And all the men of Israel came to the king and said to him, "Why have our brothers (relatives), the men [from the tribe] of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household and all David's men with him over the Jordan [instead of waiting for us to arrive]?"

⁴²Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king is a close relative to us. So why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king's expense? Or has anything been taken for us?"

⁴³Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, "We have ten [tribes'] shares in the king, and we have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt and ignore us [by rushing ahead]? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?" But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying,

²"Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it—the LORD is His name,

³'Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.'

⁴For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah which are torn down to make a defense against the siege ramps and against the sword,

⁵'While they (the besieged Jews) are coming to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill the houses with the dead bodies of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, for I have hidden My face [in disgust] from this city because of all their wickedness.

⁶Behold, [in the restored Jerusalem] I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth.

⁷I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.

⁸I will cleanse them from all their wickedness (guilt) by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon (forgive) all their sins by which they rebelled against Me.

⁹Jerusalem will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace (prosperity, security, stability) that I provide for it.'

¹⁰"Thus says the LORD, 'Yet again there will be heard in this place of which you say, "It is a [desolate] waste, without man and without animal"—even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal—

¹¹the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say, "Give praise and thanks to the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good; For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever"; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,' says the LORD.

¹²"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'There will again be in this desolate place—[a place] without man or animal—and in all its cities, pastures for shepherds who rest their flocks.

¹³In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South (the Negev), in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,' says the LORD.

¹⁴'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the good word and promise which I have made regarding the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He (the Messiah) shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.

¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved and [the people of] Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD Our Righteousness (Justice).'

¹⁷For thus says the LORD, 'David shall never lack a man (descendant) to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

¹⁸and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man (descendant) to offer burnt offerings before Me and to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices all day long.'"

¹⁹The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰"Thus says the LORD, 'If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not take place at their appointed times,

²¹then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and [My covenant may also be broken] with the Levitical priests, My ministers.

²²As the host of [the stars of] heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'"

²³And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁴"Have you not noticed what this people have spoken, saying, 'The two families [Israel the northern kingdom, and Judah the southern kingdom] which the LORD chose, He has rejected'? Thus they despise My [chosen] people, no longer are they [considered] as a nation in their sight.

²⁵Thus says the LORD, 'If My covenant with day and night does not stand, and if I have not established the fixed patterns of heaven and earth, [the whole order of nature,]

²⁶then I would [also] reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy on them.'"

¹Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

²Paul and Barnabas disagreed greatly and debated with them, so it was determined that Paul and Barnabas and some of the others from their group would go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders [and confer with them] concerning this issue.

³So, after being supplied and sent on their way by the church, they went through both Phoenicia and Samaria telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the believers.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received warmly by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported to them all the things that God had accomplished through them.

⁵But some from the sect of the Pharisees who had believed [in Jesus as the Messiah] stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise the Gentile converts and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."

⁶The apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷After a long debate, Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows and understands the heart, testified to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith [in Jesus].

¹⁰Now then, why are you testing God by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to endure?

¹¹But we believe that we are saved through the [precious, undeserved] grace of the Lord Jesus [which makes us free of the guilt of sin and grants us eternal life], in just the same way as they are."

¹²All the people remained silent, and they listened [attentively] to Barnabas and Paul as they described all the signs and wonders (attesting miracles) that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³When they had finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon (Simon Peter) has described how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name [to honor Him and be identified with Him].

¹⁵The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written [in Scripture],

¹⁶'After these things I will return, And I will rebuild the tent of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will restore it,

¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, And all the Gentiles upon whom My name has been invoked,'

¹⁸Says the Lord, Who has been making these things known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble and make it difficult for those who are turning to God among the Gentiles [by putting obstacles in their way],

²⁰but that we write to them that they are to abstain from anything that has been contaminated by [being offered to] idols and from sexual impurity and from [eating the meat of] what has been strangled and from [the consumption of] blood.

²¹For from ancient generations [the writing of] Moses has been preached in every city, since he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath."

²²Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to select some of their men to go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas [also called Silvanus, both], leading men among the brothers.

²³With them they sent the following letter: "The apostles and the brothers who are the elders, to the brothers and sisters who are from the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some of our men have troubled you with their teachings, causing distress and confusion—men to whom we gave no such orders or instructions—

²⁵it has been decided by us, having met together, to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷So we have sent Judas and Silas, who will report by word of mouth the same things [that we decided in our meeting].

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any greater burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from [consuming] blood, and from [eating the meat of] things that have been strangled, and from sexual impurity. If you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well. Farewell."

³⁰So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch; and after assembling the congregation, they delivered the letter.

³¹And when they had read it, the people rejoiced greatly at the encouragement and comfort [it brought them].

³²Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets (divinely inspired spokesmen), encouraged and strengthened the believers with many words.

³³After spending some time there, they were sent back by the brothers with [the greeting of] peace to those who had sent them.

³⁴[However, Silas decided to stay there.]

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and with many others also continued teaching and proclaiming the good news, the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

³⁶After some time Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers and sisters (believers) in every city where we preached the message of the Lord, and see how they are doing."

³⁷Now Barnabas wanted to take [his cousin] John, who was called Mark, along with them.

³⁸But Paul kept insisting that they should not take along with them the one who had quit and deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.

³⁹And it became such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took [John] Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas [who was again in Antioch] and set out [on his second journey], commended by the brothers to the grace and favor of the Lord.

⁴¹And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.