Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him.

³He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain;

⁴for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.

⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him;

⁷and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”

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

⁹Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

¹⁰He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

¹¹Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding;

¹²and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.”

¹³So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened.

¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.

¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it.

¹⁷Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.

¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him.

¹⁹But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.”

²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

²¹When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.

²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet

²³and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”

²⁴So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.

²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.

²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.

²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,

²⁸for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”

²⁹Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

³²He looked all around to see who had done it.

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

³⁴He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

³⁵While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”

³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.

⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!”

⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.

⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²Command the Israelites to put out of the camp everyone who is leprous, or has a discharge, and everyone who is unclean through contact with a corpse;

³you shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp; they must not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.

⁴The Israelites did so, putting them outside the camp; as the LORD had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.

⁵The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

⁶Speak to the Israelites: When a man or a woman wrongs another, breaking faith with the LORD, that person incurs guilt

⁷and shall confess the sin that has been committed. The person shall make full restitution for the wrong, adding one-fifth to it, and giving it to the one who was wronged.

⁸If the injured party has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for the guilty party.

⁹Among all the sacred donations of the Israelites, every gift that they bring to the priest shall be his.

¹⁰The sacred donations of all are their own; whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.

¹¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

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

¹³if a man has had intercourse with her but it is hidden from her husband, so that she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her since she was not caught in the act;

¹⁴if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself; or if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself;

¹⁵then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

¹⁶Then the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD;

¹⁷the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

¹⁸The priest shall set the woman before the LORD, dishevel the woman’s hair, and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. In his own hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse.

¹⁹Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, “If no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse.

²⁰But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you,”

²¹— let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse and say to the woman — “the LORD make you an execration and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge;

²²now may this water that brings the curse enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, your uterus drop!” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen.”

²³Then the priest shall put these curses in writing, and wash them off into the water of bitterness.

²⁴He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her and cause bitter pain.

²⁵The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall elevate the grain offering before the LORD and bring it to the altar;

²⁶and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and turn it into smoke on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

²⁷When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop, and the woman shall become an execration among her people.

²⁸But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be immune and be able to conceive children.

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

³⁰or when a spirit of jealousy comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall apply this entire law to her.

³¹The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.

¹It is necessary to boast; nothing is to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

²I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows.

³And I know that such a person — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows —

⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.

⁵On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.

⁶But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me,

⁷even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.

⁸Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,

⁹but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

¹⁰Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have been a fool! You forced me to it. Indeed you should have been the ones commending me, for I am not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing.

¹²The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs and wonders and mighty works.

¹³How have you been worse off than the other churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Here I am, ready to come to you this third time. And I will not be a burden, because I do not want what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay 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?

¹⁶Let it be assumed that I did not burden you. Nevertheless (you say) since I was crafty, I took you in by deceit.

¹⁷Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you?

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves with the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves before you? We are speaking in Christ before God. Everything we do, beloved, is for the sake of building you up.

²⁰For I fear that when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish; I fear that there may perhaps be quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

²¹I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

¹Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

²And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,

³and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth.

⁴It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb,

⁵and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth — to every nation and tribe and language and people.

⁷He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

⁹Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands,

¹⁰they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

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

¹²Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.

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

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

¹⁵Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

¹⁶So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

¹⁸Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

²⁰And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse’s bridle, for a distance of about two hundred miles.

¹Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among women? Which way has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?

²My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

³I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

⁴You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

⁵Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me! Your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down the slopes of Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes, that have come up from the washing; all of them bear twins, and not one among them is bereaved.

⁷Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number.

⁹My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the darling of her mother, flawless to her that bore her. The maidens saw her and called her happy; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.

¹⁰“Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?”

¹¹I went down to the nut orchard, to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded, whether the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I was aware, my fancy set me in a chariot beside my prince.

¹³Return, return, O Shulammite! Return, return, that we may look upon you. Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies?

¹I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

²Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

³Jerusalem — built as a city that is bound firmly together.

⁴To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

⁵For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.

⁷Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”

⁸For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”

⁹For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

¹One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

²When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad, but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one’s substance.

⁴By justice a king gives stability to the land, but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it.

⁵Whoever flatters a neighbor is spreading a net for the neighbor’s feet.

⁶In the transgression of the evil there is a snare, but the righteous sing and rejoice.

⁷The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding.

⁸Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.

⁹If the wise go to law with fools, there is ranting and ridicule without relief.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate the blameless, and they seek the life of the upright.

¹¹A fool gives full vent to anger, but the wise quietly holds it back.

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

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

¹⁴If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by a neglected child.

¹⁶When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your children, and they will give you rest; they will give delight to your heart.

¹⁸Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law.

¹⁹By mere words servants are not disciplined, for though they understand, they will not give heed.

²⁰Do you see someone who is hasty in speech? There is more hope for a fool than for anyone like that.

²¹A slave pampered from childhood will come to a bad end.

²²One given to anger stirs up strife, and the hothead causes much transgression.

²³A person’s pride will bring humiliation, but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

²⁴To be a partner of a thief is to hate one’s own life; one hears the victim’s curse, but discloses nothing.

²⁵The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the LORD is secure.

²⁶Many seek the favor of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.

²⁷The unjust are an abomination to the righteous, but the upright are an abomination to the wicked.

¹After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth.”

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

³Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah revered the LORD greatly;

⁴when Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, hid them fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)

⁵Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.”

⁶So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

⁷As Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him; Obadiah recognized him, fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸He answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here.”

⁹And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would hand your servant over to Ahab, to kill me?

¹⁰As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would require an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.

¹¹But now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here.’

¹²As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth.

¹³Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred of the LORD’s prophets fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water?

¹⁴Yet now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here’; he will surely kill me.”

¹⁵Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”

¹⁸He answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals.

¹⁹Now therefore have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.

²¹Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty.

²³Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it.

²⁴Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the LORD; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!”

²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.”

²⁶So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made.

²⁷At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

²⁸Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them.

²⁹As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down;

³¹Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”;

³²with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed.

³³Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”

³⁴Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time,

³⁵so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water.

³⁶At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding.

³⁷Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

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

³⁹When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.”

⁴⁰Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there.

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

⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.

⁴³He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go again seven times.”

⁴⁴At the seventh time he said, “Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Then he said, “Go say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶But the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

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.