Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

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

⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,

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

⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,

¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.

¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.

¹²As you enter the house, greet it.

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

¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.

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

¹⁶“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues;

¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.

¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;

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

²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;

²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. 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 tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master;

²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the 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 up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.

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

²⁸Do 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? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted.

³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven;

³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father 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.

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 one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

³⁷Whoever 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 up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;

⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

¹These are the descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; children were born to them after the flood.

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

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

⁴The descendants of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.

⁵From these the coastland peoples spread. These are the descendants of Japheth in their lands, with their own language, by their families, in their nations.

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

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

⁸Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to become a mighty warrior.

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, and Accad, all of them 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 became the father of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

¹⁴Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, from which the Philistines come.

¹⁵Canaan became the father of 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 families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

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 descendants of Ham, by their families, 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 descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

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

²⁴Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of 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 became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

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

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

³¹These are the descendants of Shem, by their families, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

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

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

²I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened.

³For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness.

⁴For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.”

⁶But the righteousness that comes from 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, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

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

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

¹¹The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.

¹³For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

¹⁴But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?

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

¹⁶But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

¹⁷So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes 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.”

¹⁹Again 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 everyone,

²for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

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

⁵For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,

⁶who gave himself a ransom for all — this was attested at the right time.

⁷For this I was appointed a herald 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 up holy hands without anger or argument;

⁹also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes,

¹⁰but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God.

¹¹Let a woman learn in silence with full submission.

¹²I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent.

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, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

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 schemes of the wicked?

⁴Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see?

⁵Are your days like the days of mortals, or your years like human years,

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

⁷although you know that I am not guilty, and there is no one to deliver out of your hand?

⁸Your hands fashioned and made me; and now you turn and destroy me.

⁹Remember that you fashioned me like clay; and will you turn me to dust again?

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 wicked, woe to me! If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look upon my affliction.

¹⁶Bold as a lion you hunt me; you repeat your exploits 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 forth 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 the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may find a little comfort

²¹before I go, never to return, to the land of gloom and deep darkness,

²²the land of gloom and chaos, where light is like darkness.”

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

²In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor — let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

³For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the LORD.

⁴In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”

⁵Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them.

⁶They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”

⁷Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.

⁸They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

⁹they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

¹⁰They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.

¹¹They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

¹²Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.

¹³Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?

¹⁴But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none.

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

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

¹⁸to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.

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.

⁵A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest 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 heed commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but the one who rebukes boldly makes peace.

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 one who has understanding wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.

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

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortress; 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 one who rejects a rebuke goes astray.

¹⁸Lying lips conceal hatred, and whoever utters slander is a fool.

¹⁹When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the mind 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 sport to a fool, but wise conduct is pleasure to a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dread will come upon them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

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

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so are the lazy to their employers.

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

²⁸The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not remain 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.

¹When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, 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 became greatly frightened, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors.

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

⁴“Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.”

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 camped against Gibeon, and made war against it.

⁶And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us.”

⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors.

⁸The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one 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 inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

¹²On the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD; 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 midheaven, 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 a human voice; for the LORD fought for Israel.

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

¹⁶Meanwhile, these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

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

¹⁸Joshua 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, and attack them from the rear. Do not let them enter their towns, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand.”

²⁰When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great slaughter on them, until they were wiped out, and when the survivors had entered into the fortified towns,

²¹all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah; no one dared to speak against any of the Israelites.

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

²³They did so, and brought the 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.

²⁴When they brought the kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors 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 the enemies against whom you fight.”

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

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

²⁸Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

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

³⁰The 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 no one remaining in it; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it.

³²The LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took 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 King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors.

³⁴From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it;

³⁵and they took it that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it,

³⁷and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it.

³⁸Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it,

³⁹and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; just as he had done to Hebron, and, as he had done to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.

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

⁴²Joshua took 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.

¹Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes,

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

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

⁴so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.

⁵Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger — the club 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 this is not what he intends, nor does he have this in mind; 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 images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols what 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 arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride.

¹³For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and have plundered their treasures; like a bull I have brought down those who sat 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 its mouth, or chirped.”

¹⁵Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it, or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it? As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up, or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!

¹⁶Therefore the Sovereign, the LORD 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 his fruitful land the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when an invalid wastes away.

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

²⁰On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one 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 were like 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 all the earth.

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

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

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

²⁷On that day his burden will be removed from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck. He has gone up from Rimmon,

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 Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! Answer her, O 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 daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

³³Look, the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts, will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the tallest trees will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.

³⁴He will hack down the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall.

¹In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called.

²He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.

³One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.”

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

⁵Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter;

⁶he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him,

⁸and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

¹⁰He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

¹²In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air.

¹³Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

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

¹⁵The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

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

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate.

¹⁸They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you.

²⁰Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.”

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

²²They answered, “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 Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.”

²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled;

²⁸and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.

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

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me.

³¹He 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 staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’

³³Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

³⁴Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,

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

³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.

³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:

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

³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;

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

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

⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.

⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,

⁴⁶for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said,

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

⁴⁸So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.