1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz, the king of Judah: Hoshea, the son of Elah, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for nine years.
2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who had been before him.
3 Shalmaneser, the king of the Assyrians, ascended against him. And Hoshea became a servant to him, and he paid him tribute.
4 And when the king of the Assyrians discovered that Hoshea, striving to rebel, had sent messengers to Sais, to the king of Egypt, so as not to present the tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had been accustomed to do each year, he besieged him. And having been bound, he cast him into prison.
5 And he wandered through the entire land. And ascending to Samaria, he besieged it for three years.
6 And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of the Assyrians captured Samaria, and he carried away Israel to Assyria. And he stationed them in Halah and in Habor, beside the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.
7 For it happened that, when the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God, who had led them away from the land of Egypt, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, they worshipped strange gods.
8 And they walked according to the rituals of the nations that the Lord had consumed in the sight of the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel. For they had acted similarly.
9 And the sons of Israel offended the Lord, their God, with deeds that were not upright. And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
10 And they made for themselves statues and sacred groves, on every high hill and under every leafy tree.
11 And they were burning incense there, upon altars, in the manner of the nations that the Lord had removed from their face. And they did wicked deeds, provoking the Lord.
12 And they worshipped impurities, concerning which the Lord instructed them that they should not do this word.
13 And the Lord testified to them, in Israel and in Judah, through the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: “Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts and ceremonies, in accord with the entire law, which I instructed to your fathers, and just as I sent to you by the hand of my servants, the prophets.”
14 But they did not listen. Instead, they hardened their necks to be like the neck of their fathers, who were not willing to obey the Lord, their God.
15 And they cast aside his ordinances, and the covenant that he formed with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified to them. And they pursued vanities and acted vainly. And they followed the nations that were all around them, concerning the things which the Lord had commanded them not to do, and which they did.
16 And they abandoned all the precepts of the Lord, their God. And they made for themselves two molten calves and sacred groves. And they adored the entire celestial army. And they served Baal.
17 And they consecrated their sons and their daughters through fire. And they devoted themselves to divinations and soothsaying. And they delivered themselves into the doing of evil before the Lord, so that they provoked him.
18 And the Lord became vehemently angry with Israel, and he took them away from his sight. And there remained no one, except the tribe of Judah alone.
19 But even Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord, their God. Instead, they walked in the errors of Israel, which they had wrought.
20 And the Lord cast aside all of the offspring of Israel. And he afflicted them, and he delivered them into the hand of despoilers, until he drove them away from his face,
21 even from that time when Israel was torn away from the house of David, and they appointed for themselves Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, as king. For Jeroboam separated Israel from the Lord, and he caused them to sin a great sin.
22 And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he had done. And they did not withdraw from these,
23 even when the Lord carried away Israel from his face, just as he had said by the hand of all his servants, the prophets. And Israel was carried away from their land into Assyria, even to this day.
24 Then the king of the Assyrians brought some from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim. And he located them in the cities of Samaria, in place of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and they lived in its cities.
25 And when they had begun to live there, they did not fear the Lord. And the Lord sent lions among them, which were killing them.
26 And this was reported to the king of the Assyrians, and it was said: “The peoples that you transferred and caused to live in the cities of Samaria, they are ignorant of the ordinances of the God of the land. And so the Lord has sent lions among them. And behold, they have killed them, because they were ignorant of the rituals of the God of the land.”
27 Then the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying: “Lead to that place one of the priests, whom you brought as a captive from there. And let him go and live with them. And let him teach them the ordinances of the God of the land.”
28 And so, when one of the priests, who had been led away captive from Samaria, had arrived, he lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should worship the Lord.
29 And each of the nations made gods of their own, and they placed them in the shrines of the high places, which the Samaritans had made: nation after nation, in their cities in which they were living.
30 So the men of Babylon made Soccoth-benoth; and the men of Cuth made Nergal; and the men of Hamath made Ashima;
31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. Then those who were from Sepharvaim burned up their children with fire, for the gods of Sepharvaim: Adram-melech and Anam-melech.
32 But nevertheless, they worshipped the Lord. Then they made for themselves, from the least of the people, priests of the high places. And they placed them in the shrines of the high places.
33 And though they worshipped the Lord, they also served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations from which they had been transferred into Samaria.
34 Even to the present day, they follow the ancient customs; they do not fear the Lord, and they do not keep his ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and commandment, which the Lord had instructed to the sons of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
35 And he had struck a covenant with them, and he had commanded them, saying: “You shall not fear foreign gods, and you shall not adore them, and you shall not worship them, and you shall not sacrifice to them.
36 But the Lord, your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, with great strength and with an outstretched arm, him shall you fear, and him shall you adore, and to him shall you sacrifice.
37 Also, the ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall keep so that you do them for all days. And you shall not fear strange gods.
38 And the covenant, which he struck with you, you shall not forget; neither shall you worship strange gods.
39 But you shall fear the Lord, your God. And he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies.”
40 Yet truly, they did not listen to this. Instead, they acted in accord with their earlier custom.
41 And such were these nations: to some extent fearing the Lord, yet nevertheless also serving their idols. As for their sons and grandsons, just as their fathers acted, so also did they act, even to the present day.
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1 And he turned me back, toward the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary, which looked toward the east. And it was closed.
2 And the Lord said to me: “This gate will be closed; it will not be opened. And man shall not cross through it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it, and it shall be closed
3 to the prince. The prince himself will sit at it, so that he may eat bread before the Lord; he will enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will depart by the same way.”
4 And he led me in, along the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house. And I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. And I fell upon my face.
5 And the Lord said to me: “Son of man, set within your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking to you about all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord and about all its laws. And set your heart upon the ways of the temple, along all the exits of the sanctuary.
6 And you shall say to the house of Israel, which provokes me: Thus says the Lord God: Let all your wicked deeds be sufficient for you, O house of Israel.
7 For you bring in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may be in my sanctuary and may defile my house. And you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood, yet you have broken my covenant by all your wicked deeds.
8 And you have not observed the precepts of my sanctuary, yet you have stationed observers of my vigil in my sanctuary for yourselves.
9 Thus says the Lord God: Any foreigner, any foreign son who is in the midst of the sons of Israel, who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter into my sanctuary.
10 And as for the Levites, they have withdrawn far away from me, in the errors of the sons of Israel, and they have gone astray from me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.
11 They will be caretakers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers at the gates of the house, and ministers to the house. They will slay the holocausts and the victims of the people. And they will stand before them, so that they may minister to them.
12 But because they ministered to them in the sight their idols, and they became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, for this reason, I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear their iniquity.
13 And they shall not draw near to me, so as to exercise the priesthood for me, and they shall not approach to any of my holy things, which are near the Holy of Holies. Instead, they will bear their shame and their wicked deeds, which they committed.
14 And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all its ministries and for all that will be done within it.
4 For my soul is filled with evils: and my life hath drawn nigh to hell.
5 I am counted among them that go down to the pit: I am become as a man without help,
6 Free among the dead. Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cast off from thy hand.
7 They have laid me in the lower pit: in the dark places, and in the shadow of death.
8 Thy wrath is strong over me: and all thy waves thou hast brought in upon me.
9 Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me: they have set me an abomination to themselves. I was delivered up, and came not forth:
10 My eyes languished through poverty. All the day I cried to thee, O Lord: I stretched out my hands to thee.
1 Then, after the tumult ceased, Paul, calling the disciples to himself and exhorting them, said farewell. And he set out, so that he might go into Macedonia.
2 And when he had walked through those areas and had exhorted them with many sermons, he went into Greece.
3 After he had spent three months there, treacheries were planned against him by the Jews, just as he was about to sail into Syria. And having been advised of this, he return through Macedonia.
4 Now those accompanying him were Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus from Beroea; and also the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and also Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.
5 These, after they had gone ahead, waited for us at Troas.
6 Yet truly, we sailed from Philippi, after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we went to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7 Then, on the first Sabbath, when we had assembled together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to set out the next day. But he prolonged his sermon into the middle of the night.
8 Now there were plenty of lamps in the upper room, where we were gathered.
9 And a certain adolescent named Eutychus, sitting on the window sill, was being weighed down by a heavy drowsiness (for Paul was preaching at length). Then, as he went to sleep, he fell from the third floor room downward. And when he was lifted up, he was dead.
10 When Paul had gone down to him, he laid himself over him and, embracing him, said, “Do not worry, for his soul is still within him.”
11 And so, going up, and breaking bread, and eating, and having spoken well on until daylight, he then set out.
12 Now they had brought the boy in alive, and they were more than a little consoled.
13 Then we climbed aboard the ship and sailed to Assos, where we were to take in Paul. For so he himself had decided, since he was making the journey by land.
14 And when he had joined us at Assos, we took him in, and we went to Mitylene.
15 And sailing from there, on the following day, we arrived opposite Chios. And next we landed at Samos. And on the following day we went to Miletus.
16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not be delayed in Asia. For he was hurrying so that, if it were possible for him, he might observe the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem.
17 Then, sending from Miletus to Ephesus, he called those greater by birth in the church.
18 And when they had come to him and were together, he said to them: “You know that from the first day when I entered into Asia, I have been with you, for the entire time, in this manner:
19 serving the Lord, with all humility and despite the tears and trials which befell me from the treacheries of the Jews,
20 how I held back nothing that was of value, how well I have preached to you, and that I have taught you publicly and throughout the houses,
21 testifying both to Jews and to Gentiles about repentance in God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 And now, behold, being obliged in spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit, throughout every city, has cautioned me, saying that chains and tribulations await me at Jerusalem.
24 But I dread none of these things. Neither do I consider my life to be more precious because it is my own, provided that in some way I may complete my own course and that of the ministry of the Word, which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.
25 And now, behold, I know that you will no longer see my face, all of you among whom I have traveled, preaching the kingdom of God.
26 For this reason, I call you as witnesses on this very day: that I am clean from the blood of all.
27 For I have not turned aside in the least from announcing every counsel of God to you.
28 Take care of yourselves and of the entire flock, over which the Holy Spirit has stationed you as Bishops to rule the Church of God, which he has purchased by his own blood.
29 I know that after my departure ravenous wolves will enter among you, not sparing the flock.
30 And from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things in order to entice disciples after them.
31 Because of this, be vigilant, retaining in memory that throughout three years I did not cease, night and day, with tears, to admonish each and every one of you.
32 And now, I commend you to God and to the Word of his grace. He has the power to build up, and to give an inheritance to all who are sanctified.
33 I have coveted neither silver and gold, nor apparel,
34 as you yourselves know. For that which was needed by me and by those who are with me, these hands have provided.
35 I have revealed all things to you, because by laboring in this way, it is necessary to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “
36 And when he had said these things, kneeling down, he prayed with all of them.
37 Then a great weeping occurred among them all. And, falling upon the neck of Paul, they kissed him,
38 being grieved most of all over the word which he had said, that they would never see his face again. And they brought him to the ship.
