Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.

²The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

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

⁷And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

⁹ Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,

¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

¹¹And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

¹²As you enter the house, greet it.

¹³And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.

¹⁵Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

¹⁷Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,

¹⁸ and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

¹⁹ When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

²⁰ For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,

²² and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

²⁵It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

²⁶“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

²⁷What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

³⁰But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

³¹Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³² So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,

³³but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵ For 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.

³⁶ And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.

³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

⁴¹ The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward.

⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

¹These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

²The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

³The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

⁵From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

⁶The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

⁷The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

⁸Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.

⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

¹⁰The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

¹¹From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and

¹²Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

¹³Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

¹⁴Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

¹⁵Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,

¹⁶and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

¹⁷the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

¹⁸the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed.

¹⁹And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

²⁰These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

²¹To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.

²²The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

²³The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

²⁴Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber.

²⁵To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.

²⁶Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

²⁹Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

³⁰The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east.

³¹These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

³²These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

¹Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

²For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

³For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

⁶But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)

⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

⁹because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

¹³For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

²⁰Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

²for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

³This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,

⁴who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

⁷For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;

⁹likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,

¹⁰but with what is proper for women who profess godliness — with good works.

¹¹Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.

¹²I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve;

¹⁴and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

¹⁵Yet she will be saved through childbearing — if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

¹“I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.

³Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked?

⁴Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees?

⁵Are your days as the days of man, or your years as a man's years,

⁶that you seek out my iniquity and search for my sin,

⁷although you know that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of your hand?

⁸Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether.

⁹Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?

¹⁰Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?

¹¹You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.

¹²You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know that this was your purpose.

¹⁴If I sin, you watch me and do not acquit me of my iniquity.

¹⁵If I am guilty, woe to me! If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look on my affliction.

¹⁶And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion and again work wonders against me.

¹⁷You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh troops against me.

¹⁸“Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me

¹⁹and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰Are not my days few? Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer

²¹before I go — and I shall not return — to the land of darkness and deep shadow,

²²the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick darkness.”

¹Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

²In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

³For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.

⁴In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

⁵His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

⁶He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

⁷His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

⁸He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

⁹he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

¹⁰The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

¹¹He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

¹²Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.

¹³Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

¹⁴But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.

¹⁶The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

¹⁷O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

¹⁸to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

²Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

¹³On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

¹⁵A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

¹⁶The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.

¹⁹When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

²³Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

¹As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

²he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors.

³So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,

⁴“Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.”

⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.”

⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.

⁸And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.”

⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal.

¹⁰And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.

¹⁴There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.

¹⁵So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

¹⁶These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

¹⁷And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.”

¹⁸And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them,

¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand.”

²⁰When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities,

²¹then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.”

²³And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

²⁴And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.

²⁵And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

²⁶And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.

²⁷But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.

³⁰And the LORD gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it.

³²And the LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

³⁴Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it.

³⁵And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron. And they fought against it

³⁷and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

³⁸Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought against it

³⁹and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the LORD God of Israel commanded.

⁴¹And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon.

⁴²And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

⁴³Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

¹Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,

²to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

³What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?

⁴Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

⁵Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!

⁶Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

⁷But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few;

⁸for he says: “Are not my commanders all kings?

⁹Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?

¹⁰As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?”

¹²When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.

¹³For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.

¹⁴My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.”

¹⁵Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!

¹⁶Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.

¹⁷The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.

¹⁸The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

¹⁹The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down.

²⁰In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

²¹A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

²²For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

²³For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

²⁴Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did.

²⁵For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.

²⁶And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt.

²⁷And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”

²⁸He has come to Aiath; he has passed through Migron; at Michmash he stores his baggage;

²⁹they have crossed over the pass; at Geba they lodge for the night; Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled.

³⁰Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim! Give attention, O Laishah! O poor Anathoth!

³¹Madmenah is in flight; the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.

³²This very day he will halt at Nob; he will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low.

³⁴He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

¹At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,

²a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

³About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

⁵And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

⁶He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,

⁸and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance

¹¹and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

¹²In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

¹³And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

¹⁷Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate

¹⁸and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

¹⁹And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

²¹And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”

²²And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

²³So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

³⁰And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁶As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

³⁷you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

⁴¹not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.

⁴⁵And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.