Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said,

²“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

³If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.

⁶He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so.

⁷They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.

⁸The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

⁹About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away,

¹⁰he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.

¹²He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”

¹³Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.

¹⁵“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

¹⁶They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

¹⁸Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?

¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.

²⁰“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”

²¹He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

²²They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

²⁶Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

²⁷Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

³²He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

³⁴Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

³⁵For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

³⁶What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

³⁷Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

³⁸If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.’ ”

³Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

⁴This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold—from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.

⁵The LORD said to Moses:

⁶“Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.

⁷To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves.

⁸Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.

⁹Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community.

¹⁰You are to bring the Levites before the LORD, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.

¹¹Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the LORD.

¹²“Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, using one for a sin offering to the LORD and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the LORD.

¹⁴In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

¹⁵“After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting.

¹⁶They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman.

¹⁷Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.

¹⁸And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.

¹⁹From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

²⁰Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the LORD commanded Moses.

²¹The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD and made atonement for them to purify them.

²²After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the LORD commanded Moses.

²³The LORD said to Moses,

²⁴“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting,

²⁵but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.

²⁶They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

¹Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also.

²I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.

³Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

⁴This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

⁵We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

⁶As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message.

⁷On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.

⁸For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.

⁹James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

¹⁰All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

¹¹When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

¹²For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

¹³The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

¹⁴When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

¹⁵“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles

¹⁶know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷“But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!

¹⁸If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

¹⁹“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

²¹I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

¹One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters.

²With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

³Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

⁴The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

⁵The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.

⁶I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

⁷Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

⁸The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

⁹“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.

¹⁰They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.

¹¹The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

¹²“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.

¹³They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.

¹⁴They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.

¹⁶The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.

¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

¹In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

²He had seven sons and three daughters,

³and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

⁴His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

⁶One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

⁷The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

⁸Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.

¹⁰“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

¹¹But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

¹²The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

¹³One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house,

¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,

¹⁵and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house,

¹⁹when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

²⁰At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship

²¹and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

²²In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

¹A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.

³The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil.

⁴LORD, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart.

⁵But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel.

¹The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

²for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight;

³for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair;

⁴for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—

⁵let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—

⁶for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

⁹They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them.

¹¹If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul;

¹²let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

¹³we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”—

¹⁵my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;

¹⁶for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁷How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it!

¹⁸These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves!

¹⁹Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.

²⁰Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;

²¹on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:

²²“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

²³Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.

²⁴But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

²⁵since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke,

²⁶I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

²⁸“Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me,

²⁹since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.

³⁰Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,

³¹they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

³²For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

¹Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

²Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

³But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”

⁴So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

⁵His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

⁶He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”

⁷Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him.

⁹In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.

¹⁰But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.

¹²They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people.

¹³Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

¹⁴Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”

¹⁶When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

¹⁷Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:

¹⁸“Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.

¹⁹Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’ ”

²⁰Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!” “I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD.

²¹He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.

²²I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’

²³“And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

²⁴“Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”

²⁵(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife.

²⁶He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)

²⁷When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

²⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:

²⁹“Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”

¹He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

²As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

³He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.

⁴The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’

⁵And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.

⁷You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.

⁸But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

⁹Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,

¹⁰which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.

²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

⁶They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

⁹Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,

¹⁰“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

¹¹Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

¹³From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

¹⁴From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

¹⁶Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!

¹⁷The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country;

¹⁸for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness;

¹⁹and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance.

²⁰All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.

²²After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

²³“From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.

²⁴Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.

²⁵As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.

²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

²⁸Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead,

³¹and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

³²“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors

³³he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “ ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’

³⁴God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’

³⁵So it is also stated elsewhere: “ ‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’

³⁶“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.

³⁷But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

³⁸“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

³⁹Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

⁴¹“ ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.

⁴³When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.

⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.