Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.

²As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him.

³He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore — not even with a chain  —

⁴because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him.

⁷And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you before God, don’t torment me!”

⁸For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

⁹“What is your name?” he asked him. “My name is Legion,” he answered him, “because we are many.”

¹⁰And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

¹¹A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside.

¹²The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.”

¹³So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.

¹⁴The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened.

¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

¹⁶Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs.

¹⁷Then they began to beg him to leave their region.

¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him.

¹⁹Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.”

²⁰So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.

²¹When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea.

²²One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet

²³and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.”

²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him.

²⁵Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years

²⁶had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse.

²⁷Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing.

²⁸For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.”

²⁹Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

³⁰At once Jesus realized in himself that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

³²But he was looking around to see who had done this.

³³The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.

³⁴“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

³⁵While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”

³⁷He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother.

³⁸They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion — people weeping and wailing loudly.

³⁹He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

⁴⁰They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was.

⁴¹Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up” ).

⁴²Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.

⁴³Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and told them to give her something to eat.

¹The LORD instructed Moses:

²“Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease, anyone who has a discharge, or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.

³Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.”

⁴The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the LORD instructed Moses.

⁵The LORD spoke to Moses:

⁶“Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the LORD and is guilty.

⁷The person is to confess the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.

⁸But if that individual has no relative to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the LORD for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.

⁹Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his.

¹⁰Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”

¹¹The LORD spoke to Moses:

¹²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him,

¹³and sleeps with another, but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act;

¹⁴and if a feeling of jealousy comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself — or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself —

¹⁵then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance to draw attention to guilt.

¹⁶“The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the LORD.

¹⁷Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor, and put it in the water.

¹⁸After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.

¹⁹The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse.

²⁰But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’ —

²¹at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her — ‘May the LORD make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb shrivel and your belly swell.

²²May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ “And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³“Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

²⁴He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her to cause bitter suffering.

²⁵The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman, present the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.

²⁶The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will require the woman to drink the water.

²⁷“When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her womb will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people.

²⁸But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.

²⁹“This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,

³⁰or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest will carry out all these instructions for her.

³¹The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear her iniquity.”

¹Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

²I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows.

³I know that this man — whether in the body or out of the body I don’t know; God knows —

⁴was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a human being is not allowed to speak.

⁵I will boast about this person, but not about myself, except of my weaknesses.

⁶For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me,

⁷especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.

⁸Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me.

⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

¹⁰So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have been a fool; you forced it on me. You ought to have commended me, since I am not in any way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.

¹²The signs of an apostle were performed with unfailing endurance among you, including signs and wonders and miracles.

¹³So in what way are you worse off than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me for this wrong!

¹⁴Look, I am ready to come to you this third time. I will not burden you, since I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children ought not save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

¹⁶Now granted, I did not burden you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit!

¹⁷Did I take advantage of you by any of those I sent you?

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit and in the same footsteps?

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we were defending ourselves to you? No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.

²⁰For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

²¹I fear that when I come my God will again humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the moral impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality they practiced.

¹Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

²I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps.

³They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.

⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth — to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

⁷He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸And another, a second angel, followed, saying, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen. She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”

⁹And another, a third angel, followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

¹⁰he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,

¹¹and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name.

¹²This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

¹⁴Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

¹⁶So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven.

¹⁸Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because its grapes have ripened.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

²⁰Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles.

¹Where has your love gone, most beautiful of women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.

²My love has gone down to his garden, to beds of spice, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies.

³I am my love’s and my love is mine; he feeds among the lilies.

⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awe-inspiring as an army with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me, for they captivate me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing.

⁷Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and young women without number.

⁹But my dove, my virtuous one, is unique; she is the favorite of her mother, perfect to the one who gave her birth. Women see her and declare her fortunate; queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

¹⁰Who is this who shines like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as an army with banners?

¹¹I came down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding and the pomegranates blooming.

¹²I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt like I was in a chariot with a nobleman.

¹³Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may look at you! How you gaze at the Shulammite, as you look at the dance of the two camps!

¹A song of ascents. Of David. [1] I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

²Our feet were standing within your gates, Jerusalem  —

³Jerusalem, built as a city should be, solidly united,

⁴where the tribes, the LORD’s tribes, go up to give thanks to the name of the LORD. (This is an ordinance for Israel. )

⁵There, thrones for judgment are placed, thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure;

⁷may there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses.”

⁸Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, “May peace be in you.”

⁹Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will pursue your prosperity.

¹One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands will be shattered instantly — beyond recovery.

²When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, people groan.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but one who consorts with prostitutes destroys his wealth.

⁴By justice a king brings stability to a land, but a person who demands “contributions” demolishes it.

⁵A person who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil person is caught by sin, but the righteous one sings and rejoices.

⁷The righteous person knows the rights of the poor, but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.

⁸Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger.

⁹If a wise person goes to court with a fool, there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.

¹⁰Bloodthirsty men hate an honest person, but the upright care about him.

¹¹A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise person holds it in check.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

¹³The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴A king who judges the poor with fairness — his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a youth left to himself is a disgrace to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, rebellion increases, but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your child, and it will bring you peace of mind and give you delight.

¹⁸Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.

¹⁹A servant cannot be disciplined by words; though he understands, he doesn’t respond.

²⁰Do you see someone who speaks too soon? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹A servant pampered from his youth will become arrogant later on.

²²An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered one increases rebellion.

²³A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.

²⁴To be a thief’s partner is to hate oneself; he hears the curse but will not testify.

²⁵The fear of mankind is a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is protected.

²⁶Many desire a ruler’s favor, but a person receives justice from the LORD.

²⁷An unjust person is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

¹After a long time, the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.”

²So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.

³Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the LORD

⁴and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the LORD’s prophets.

⁵Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.”

⁶They divided the land between them in order to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

⁷While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸“It is I,” he replied. “Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here!’”

⁹But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death?

¹⁰As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.

¹¹“Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!”’

¹²But when I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

¹³Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the LORD’s prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the LORD, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water.

¹⁴Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ He will kill me!”

¹⁵Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, today I will present myself to Ahab.”

¹⁶Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?”

¹⁸He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the LORD’s commands and followed the Baals.

¹⁹Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel.

²¹Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

²³Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.

²⁴Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers with fire, he is God.” All the people answered, “That’s fine.”

²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don’t light the fire.”

²⁶So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made.

²⁷At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!”

²⁸They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them.

²⁹All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So all the people approached him. Then he repaired the LORD’s altar that had been torn down:

³¹Elijah took twelve stones — according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel will be your name”  —

³²and he built an altar with the stones in the name of the LORD. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons.

³³Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. He said, “Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the offering to be burned and on the wood.”

³⁴Then he said, “A second time!” and they did it a second time. And then he said, “A third time!” and they did it a third time.

³⁵So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water.

³⁶At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things.

³⁷Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.”

³⁸Then the LORD’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, he is God! The LORD, he is God!”

⁴⁰Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”

⁴²So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bent down on the ground and put his face between his knees.

⁴³Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.” So he went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

⁴⁴On the seventh time, he reported, “There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea.” Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.’”

⁴⁵In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So Ahab got in his chariot and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶The power of the LORD was on Elijah, and he tucked his mantle under his belt and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

¹There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.

³About three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴Staring at him in awe, he said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel told him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

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

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had gone, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, who was one of those who attended him.

⁸After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon.

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

¹¹He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth.

¹²In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky.

¹³A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴“No, Lord!” Peter said. “For I have never eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.”

¹⁵Again, a second time, the voice said to him, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and suddenly the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, right away the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, stood at the gate.

¹⁸They called out, asking if Simon, who was also named Peter, was lodging there.

¹⁹While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, “Three men are here looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.”

²¹Then Peter went down to the men and said, “Here I am, the one you’re looking for. What is the reason you’re here?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.”

²³Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and set out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.

²⁴The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

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

²⁶But Peter lifted him up and said, “Stand up. I myself am also a man.”

²⁷While talking with him, he went in and found a large gathering of people.

²⁸Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean.

²⁹That’s why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in dazzling clothing stood before me

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered in God’s sight.

³²Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’

³³So I immediately sent for you, and it was good of you to come. So now we are all in the presence of God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism,

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

³⁶He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.

³⁷You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree.

⁴⁰God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen,

⁴¹not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, 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 appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

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

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message.

⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.