Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus left there and came to His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him.

²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

³Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?" And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah].

⁴Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor (respect) except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household."

⁵And He could not do a miracle there at all [because of their unbelief] except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

⁶He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around in the villages teaching.

⁷And He called the twelve [disciples] and began to send them out [as His special messengers] two by two, and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits.

⁸He told them to take nothing for the journey except a mere walking stick—no bread, no [traveler's] bag, no money in their belts—

⁹but to wear sandals; and [He told them] not to wear two tunics.

¹⁰And He told them, "Wherever you go into a house, stay there until you leave that town.

¹¹Any place that does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them [breaking all ties with them because they rejected My message]."

¹²So they went out and preached that men should repent [that is, think differently, recognize sin, turn away from it, and live changed lives].

¹³And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

¹⁴King Herod [Antipas] heard about this, for Jesus' name and reputation had become well known. People were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him."

¹⁵But others were saying, "He is Elijah!" And others were saying, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets [of old]."

¹⁶But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen [from the dead]!"

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent [guards] and had John arrested and shackled in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his [half-] brother Philip, because he (Herod) had married her.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful [under Mosaic Law] for you to have your brother's wife."

¹⁹Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not,

²⁰because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he continually kept him safe. When he heard John [speak], he was very perplexed; but he enjoyed listening to him.

²¹But an opportune time [finally] came [for Herodias]. Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his officials (nobles, courtiers) and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

²²Now [Salome] the daughter of Herodias came in and danced [for the men]. She pleased and beguiled Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you."

²³And he swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom."

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And Herodias replied, "The head of John the Baptist!"

²⁵And she rushed back to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter!"

²⁶The king was deeply grieved, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests [who might have regarded him as weak], he was unwilling to [break his word and] refuse her.

²⁷So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John's head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison,

²⁸and brought back his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away John's body and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles [who had been sent out on a mission] gathered together with Jesus and told Him everything that they had done and taught.

³¹He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while"—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat.

³²And they went away by themselves in the boat to a secluded place.

³³Many [people] saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the [surrounding] cities, and got there ahead of them.

³⁴When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd [waiting], and He was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd [lacking guidance]; and He began to teach them many things.

³⁵When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is an isolated place, and it is already late;

³⁶send the crowds away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

³⁷But He replied, "You give them something to eat!" And they asked Him, "Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

³⁸He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five [loaves], and two fish."

³⁹Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots].

⁴¹Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. Then He broke the loaves and [repeatedly] gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all.

⁴²They all ate and were satisfied.

⁴³And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish.

⁴⁴Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men [not counting the women and children].

⁴⁵Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd.

⁴⁶And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷Now when evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land.

⁴⁸Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them.

⁴⁹But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, "Take courage! It is I (I Am)! Stop being afraid."

⁵¹Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed,

⁵²because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works].

⁵³When they had crossed over [the sea], they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore.

⁵⁴They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him,

⁵⁵and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was.

⁵⁶And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him [to allow them] just to touch the fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.

¹Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Say to the sons of Israel, 'When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the LORD,

³he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.

⁴All the time of his separation he shall not eat anything produced from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.

⁵'All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the LORD is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long.

⁶'All the time that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body.

⁷He shall not make himself [ceremonially] unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because [the responsibility for] his separation to God is on his head.

⁸All the time of his separation he is holy to the LORD.

⁹'If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period].

¹⁰On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

¹¹'The priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the [dead] body. He shall consecrate his head the same day,

¹²and he shall dedicate himself to the LORD for the time of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the previous days will be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.

¹³'Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation and dedication are fulfilled: he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

¹⁴and he shall offer his gift to the LORD: one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, and one female lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering,

¹⁵and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering.

¹⁶Then the priest shall present them before the LORD and shall offer the person's sin offering and his burnt offering.

¹⁷He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁸The Nazirite shall shave his dedicated head at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.

¹⁹The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened [ring-shaped] loaf out of the basket, and one unleavened flat cake and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair.

²⁰Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD; they are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.'

²¹"This is the law for the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, besides what else he is able to afford, according to the vow which he has vowed; so shall he do according to the law for his separation and abstinence [as a Nazirite]."

²²Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²³"Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁴The LORD bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you];

²⁵The LORD make His face shine upon you [with favor], And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];

²⁶The LORD lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval], And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].'

²⁷So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

¹This is the third time that I am visiting you. Every fact shall be sustained and confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²I have already warned those who have sinned in the past and all the rest as well, and I warn them now even though I am absent [from you] as I did when I was with you the second time, that if I come back I will not spare anyone,

³since you seek [forensic] proof that Christ is speaking in and through me. He is not weak or ineffective in dealing with you, but powerful within you.

⁴For even though He was crucified in weakness [yielding Himself], yet He lives [resurrected] by the power of God [His Father]. For we too are weak in Him [as He was humanly weak], yet we are alive and well [in fellowship] with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

⁵Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?

⁶But I hope you will acknowledge that we do not fail the test nor are we to be rejected.

⁷But I pray to God that you may do nothing wrong. Not so that we [and our teaching] may appear to be approved, but that you may continue doing what is right, even though we [by comparison] may seem to have failed.

⁸For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth [and the gospel—the good news of salvation].

⁹We are glad when we are weak [since God's power comes freely through us], but you [by comparison] are strong. We also pray for this, that you be made complete [fully restored, growing and maturing in godly character and spirit—pleasing your heavenly Father by the life you live].

¹⁰For this reason I am writing these things while absent from you, so that when I come, I will not need to deal severely [with you], in my use of the authority which the Lord has given me [to be used] for building you up and not for tearing you down.

¹¹Finally, believers, rejoice! Be made complete [be what you should be], be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace [enjoy the spiritual well-being experienced by believers who walk closely with God]; and the God of love and peace [the source of lovingkindness] will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss.

¹³All God's people greet you.

¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

¹Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful [a warning of terrifying and horrible events]: seven angels who had seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, because with them the wrath of God is finished [that is, it is completely expressed and reaches its zenith].

²Then I saw something like a sea or large expanse of glass mixed with fire, and those who were victorious over the beast and over his image and over the number corresponding to his name were standing on the sea or large expanse of glass, holding harps of God [worshiping Him].

³And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and wonderful and awe-inspiring are Your works [in judgment], O Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all]; Righteous and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!

⁴"Who will not fear [reverently] and glorify Your name, O Lord [giving You honor and praise in worship]? For You alone are holy; For all the nations shall come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts [Your just decrees and judgments] have been revealed and displayed."

⁵After these things I looked, and the temple (sanctuary) of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened,

⁶and the seven angels who had the seven plagues (afflictions, calamities) came out of the temple, arrayed in linen, pure and gleaming, and wrapped around their chests were golden sashes.

⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath and indignation of God, who lives forever and ever.

⁸And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory and radiance and splendor of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

¹"How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! The curves of your hips are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

²"Your navel is a round goblet Which never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is like a heap of wheat Surrounded with lilies.

³"Your two breasts are like two fawns, The twins of a gazelle.

⁴"Your neck is like a tower of ivory, Your eyes the [sparkling] pools of Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looks toward Damascus.

⁵"Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, And the flowing hair of your head like purple threads; I, the king, am held captive by your tresses.

⁶"How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your delights!

⁷"Your stature is like that of a palm tree And your breasts like its clusters [of dates].

⁸"I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will grasp its branches. Let your breasts be like clusters of the grapevine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹'And your kisses like the best wine!'" (The Shulammite Bride) "It goes down smoothly and sweetly for my beloved, Gliding gently over his lips while he sleeps.

¹⁰"I am my beloved's, And his desire is for me.

¹¹"Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country, Let us spend the night in the villages.

¹²"Let us go out early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded And its blossoms have opened, And whether the pomegranates have flowered. There I will give you my love.

¹³"The mandrakes give forth fragrance, And over our doors are all [kinds of] choice fruits, Both new and old, Which I have saved up for you, my beloved.

¹A Song of Ascents. Unto you I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, And as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious and favorable toward us.

³Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious and favorable toward us, For we are greatly filled with contempt.

⁴Our soul is greatly filled With the scoffing of those who are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud [who disregard God's law].

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: The man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:

²Surely I am more brutish and stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man [for I do not know what I do not know].

³I have not learned [skillful and godly] wisdom, Nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One [who is the source of wisdom].

⁴Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Certainly you know!

⁵Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver]; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar.

⁷Two things I have asked of You; Do not deny them to me before I die:

⁸Keep deception and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,

⁹So that I will not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I will not be poor and steal, And so profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander or malign a servant before his master [stay out of another's personal life], Or he will curse you [for your interference], and you will be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation (class of people) that curses its father And does not bless its mother.

¹²There is a generation (class of people) that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³There is a generation (class of people)—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴There is a generation (class of people) whose teeth are like swords And whose jaw teeth are like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters, "Give, give!" There are three things that are never satisfied, Four that do not say, "It is enough":

¹⁶Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "It is enough."

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young vultures will devour it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too astounding and unexpectedly wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth And says, "I have done no wrong."

²¹Under three things the earth is disquieted and quakes, And under four it cannot bear up:

²²Under a servant when he reigns, Under a [spiritually blind] fool when he is filled with food,

²³Under an unloved woman when she gets married, And under a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴There are four things that are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are not a strong people, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The shephanim are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in groups;

²⁸You may grasp the lizard with your hands, Yet it is in kings' palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in step, Even four which are stately in their stride:

³⁰The lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn back before any;

³¹The strutting rooster, the male goat also, And the king when his army is with him.

³²If you have foolishly exalted yourself, Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

³³Surely the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.

¹Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword.

²Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them."

³And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there.

⁴But he himself traveled a day's journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die. He said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers."

⁵He lay down and slept under the juniper tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat."

⁶He looked, and by his head there was a bread cake baked on hot coal, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.

⁷Then the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Get up, and eat, for the journey is too long for you [without adequate sustenance]."

⁸So he got up and ate and drank, and with the strength of that food he traveled forty days and nights to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of God.

⁹There he came to a cave and spent the night in it; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

¹⁰He said, "I have been very zealous (impassioned) for the LORD God of hosts (armies) [proclaiming what is rightfully and uniquely His]; for the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, only I, am left; and they seek to take away my life."

¹¹So He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD was passing by, and a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind, [there was] an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

¹²After the earthquake, [there was] a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire, [there was] the sound of a gentle blowing.

¹³When Elijah heard the sound, he wrapped his face in his mantle (cloak) and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

¹⁴He said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts (armies), because the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, only I, am left; and they seek to take away my life."

¹⁵The LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram (Syria);

¹⁶and you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

¹⁷It shall come about that Jehu shall put to death whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, and Elisha shall put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.

¹⁸Yet I will leave 7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."

¹⁹So Elijah departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his mantle (coat) on him.

²⁰He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Please let me kiss my father and mother [goodbye], then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go on back; for what have I done to [stop] you?"

²¹So Elisha left him and went back. Then he took a pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their meat with the implements of the oxen [as fuel], and gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then he stood and followed Elijah, and served him.

¹Now the apostles and the believers who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God [the message concerning salvation through Christ].

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [certain Jewish believers who followed the Law] took issue with him [for violating Jewish customs],

³saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and [even] ate with them!"

⁴But Peter began [at the beginning] and explained [the events] to them step by step, saying,

⁵"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision of an object coming down from heaven, like a huge sheet being lowered by the four corners; and [it descended until] it came right down to me,

⁶and looking closely at it, I saw all kinds of the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air [both clean and unclean according to the Law],

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

⁸But I said, 'Not at all, Lord; for nothing common (unholy) or [ceremonially] unclean has ever entered my mouth.'

⁹But the voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).'

¹⁰This happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹And right then the three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.

¹²The Spirit told me to go with them without the slightest hesitation. So these six brothers also went with me and we went to the man's house.

¹³And Cornelius told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, 'Send word to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

¹⁴he will bring a message to you by which you will be saved [and granted eternal life], you and all your household.'

¹⁵When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning [at Pentecost].

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

¹⁷So, if God gave Gentiles the same gift [equally] as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior], who was I to interfere or stand in God's way?"

¹⁸When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified and praised God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance that leads to eternal life [that is, real life after earthly death]."

¹⁹So then [since they were unaware of these developments] those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with [the stoning of] Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews.

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

²¹And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior].

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

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God [that was bestowed on them], he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord.

²⁴For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵And Barnabas left for Tarsus to search for Saul;

²⁶and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

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

²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and prophesied through the [Holy] Spirit that a severe famine would come on the entire world. And this did happen during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹So the disciples decided to send a contribution, each according to his individual ability, to the believers who lived in Judea.

³⁰And this they did, sending the contribution to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.