Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

²Now while in prison, John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples,

³and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?”

⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

⁵those who are BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the POOR HAVE THEGOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

⁶And blessed isany person who does nottake offense at Me.”

⁷As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

⁸But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’palaces!

⁹But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

¹⁰This is the one about whom itis written: ‘BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

¹¹Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

¹²And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force.

¹³For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

¹⁴And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah whowas to come.

¹⁵The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children,

¹⁷and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did notmourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’

¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and aheavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors andsinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

²⁰Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if themiracles that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago insackcloth and ashes.

²²Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

²³And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! For if themiracles that occurred in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

²⁴Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants.

²⁶Yes, Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight.

²⁷All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FINDREST FOR YOUR SOULS.

³⁰For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

¹Now all the earth used the same language and the same words.

²And it came about, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

³Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

⁴And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”

⁵Now the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the men had built.

⁶And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be impossible for them.

⁷Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

⁸So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city.

⁹Therefore it was named Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

¹⁰These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood;

¹¹and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹²Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah;

¹³and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁴Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber;

¹⁵and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁶Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg;

¹⁷and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁸Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu;

¹⁹and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁰Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug;

²¹and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²²Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor;

²³and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁴Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered Terah;

²⁵and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁶Terah lived seventy years, and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.

²⁸Haran died during the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

²⁹Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.

³⁰Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

³¹Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and settled there.

³²The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

¹I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

²God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

³“Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”

⁴But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”

⁵In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.

⁶But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

⁸just as it is written: “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.”

⁹And David says, “MAY THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.

¹⁰MAY THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS CONTINUALLY.”

¹¹I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Far from it! But by their wrongdoing salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

¹²Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

¹³But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Therefore insofar as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

¹⁴if somehow I may move my own people to jealousy and save some of them.

¹⁵For if their rejection proves to be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

¹⁶If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are as well.

¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;

²¹for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

²²See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off.

²³And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

²⁶and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”

²⁷“THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”

²⁸In relation to the gospel they are enemies on your account, but in relation to God’s choice they are beloved on account of the fathers;

²⁹for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

³⁰For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,

³¹so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.

³²For God has shut up all in disobedience, so that He may show mercy to all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

³⁴For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?

³⁵Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM, THAT IT WOULD BE PAID BACK TO HIM?

³⁶For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

¹It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching,

³not overindulging in wine, not a bully, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.

⁴He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

⁵(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),

⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into condemnation incurred by the devil.

⁷And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not insincere, not prone to drink much wine, not greedy for money,

⁹but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰These men must also first be tested; then have them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

¹¹Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

¹²Deacons must be husbands of one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.

¹³For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long;

¹⁵but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one should act in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

¹⁶Beyond question, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

²“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a talkative man be acquitted?

³Shall your boasts silence people? And will you scoff, and no one rebuke?

⁴For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, And I am innocent in your eyes.’

⁵But if only God would speak, And open His lips against you,

⁶And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides. Know then that God forgets part of your guilt.

⁷“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are as high as the heavens; what can you do? Deeper than Sheol; what can you know?

⁹Its measurement is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.

¹⁰If He passes by or apprehends people, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

¹¹For He knows false people, And He sees injustice without investigating.

¹²An idiot will become intelligent When a wild donkey is born a human.

¹³“If you would direct your heart rightly And spread out your hands to Him,

¹⁴If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let malice dwell in your tents;

¹⁵Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral blemish, And you would be firmly established and not fear.

¹⁶For you would forget your trouble; Like waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

¹⁷Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.

¹⁸Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely.

¹⁹You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would flatter you.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.”

¹In the LORD I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain?

²For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They have set their arrow on the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

³If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”

⁴The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.

⁵The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And His soul hates one who loves violence.

⁶He will rain coals of fire upon the wicked, And brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.

⁷For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will see His face.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

²When pride comes, then comes dishonor; But with the humble there is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.

⁴Riches do not benefit on the day of wrath, But righteousness rescues from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will rescue them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.

⁷When a wicked person dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong people perishes.

⁸The righteous is rescued from trouble, But the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be rescued.

¹⁰When things go well for the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.

¹²One who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a person of understanding keeps silent.

¹³One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, But one who is trustworthy conceals a matter.

¹⁴Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in an abundance of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵One who is a guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it, But one who hates being a guarantor is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches.

¹⁷A merciful person does himself good, But the cruel person does himself harm.

¹⁸A wicked person earns deceptive wages, But one who sows righteousness gets a true reward.

¹⁹One who is steadfast in righteousness attains life, But one who pursues evil attains his own death.

²⁰The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their walk are His delight.

²¹Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be rescued.

²²As a ring of gold in a pig’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.

²⁵A generous person will be prosperous, And one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.

²⁶One who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷One who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

²⁸One who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

²⁹One who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And one who is wise gains souls.

³¹If the righteous will be repaid on the earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner!

¹Then it came about, when Jabin king of Hazor heard about it, that he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,

²and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the Arabah—south of Chinneroth and in the lowland, and on the heights of Dor on the west—

³to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.

⁴Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

⁵So all of these kings gathered together, and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

⁶Yet the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I am going to turn all of them over to Israel as good as dead; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”

⁷So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom, and attacked them.

⁸And the LORD handed them over to Israel, so that they defeated them, and pursued them as far as Great Sidon, and Misrephoth-maim, and the Valley of Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until no survivor was left to them.

⁹And Joshua did to them just as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

¹⁰Then Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor previously was the head of all these kingdoms.

¹¹They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire.

¹²Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings; and he struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed them, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.

¹³However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.

¹⁴And all the spoils of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every person with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one breathing.

¹⁵Just as the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁶So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland

¹⁷from Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings, and struck them and put them to death.

¹⁸Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.

¹⁹There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle.

²⁰For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²¹Then Joshua came at that time and eliminated the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.

²²There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod some remained.

²³So Joshua took the whole land, in accordance with everything that the LORD had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. So the land was at rest from war.

¹Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

²The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

³And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;

⁴But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

⁵Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips, And faithfulness the belt around His waist.

⁶And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; And a little boy will lead them.

⁷Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.

⁹They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰Then on that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal flag for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

¹¹Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover with His hand the second time The remnant of His people who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea.

¹²And He will lift up a flag for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

¹³Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who harass Judah will be eliminated; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not harass Ephraim.

¹⁴They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west; Together they will plunder the people of the east; They will possess Edom and Moab, And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.

¹⁵And the LORD will utterly destroy The tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And He will wave His hand over the Euphrates River With His scorching wind; And He will strike it into seven streams And make people walk over in dry sandals.

¹⁶And there will be a highway from Assyria For the remnant of His people who will be left, Just as there was for Israel On the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.

¹Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

²And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, the Jewish believers took issue with him,

³saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴But Peter began and explained at length to them in an orderly sequence, saying,

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was,

⁶and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky.

⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’

¹⁰This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky.

¹¹And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying.

¹²And the Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

¹³And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

¹⁴and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptizedwith the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

¹⁹So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

²²The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

²³Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;

²⁴for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were added to the Lord.

²⁵And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

²⁷Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

²⁹And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea.

³⁰And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.