Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them,

²“I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat.

³If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”

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

⁶So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd.

⁷A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.

⁸They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.

⁹There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten.

¹⁰Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

¹²When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.”

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

¹⁴But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat.

¹⁵As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

¹⁶At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.

¹⁷Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?

¹⁸‘You have eyes — can’t you see? You have ears — can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?

¹⁹When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said.

²⁰“And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said.

²¹“Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

²²When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.

²³Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”

²⁴The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.

²⁶Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.”

²⁷Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”

²⁹Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah. ”

³⁰But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.

³²As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

³³Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

³⁴Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

³⁵If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

³⁶And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

³⁷Is anything worth more than your soul?

³⁸If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Give Aaron the following instructions: When you set up the seven lamps in the lampstand, place them so their light shines forward in front of the lampstand.”

³So Aaron did this. He set up the seven lamps so they reflected their light forward, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴The entire lampstand, from its base to its decorative blossoms, was made of beaten gold. It was built according to the exact design the LORD had shown Moses.

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses,

⁶“Now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel and make them ceremonially clean.

⁷Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean.

⁸Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering.

⁹Then assemble the whole community of Israel, and present the Levites at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

¹⁰When you present the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them.

¹¹Raising his hands, Aaron must then present the Levites to the LORD as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the LORD’s service.

¹²“Next the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls. Present one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to purify the Levites and make them right with the LORD.

¹³Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and raise your hands and present them as a special offering to the LORD.

¹⁴In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will belong to me.

¹⁵After this, they may go into the Tabernacle to do their work, because you have purified them and presented them as a special offering.

¹⁶“Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites; I have taken the Levites as their substitutes.

¹⁷For all the firstborn males among the people of Israel are mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.

¹⁸Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel.

¹⁹And of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They will serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify the people so no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary.”

²⁰So Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following all the LORD’s instructions to Moses.

²¹The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron lifted them up and presented them to the LORD as a special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the LORD.

²²After that the Levites went into the Tabernacle to perform their duties, assisting Aaron and his sons. So they carried out all the commands that the LORD gave Moses concerning the Levites.

²³The LORD also instructed Moses,

²⁴“This is the rule the Levites must follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five,

²⁵and they must retire at the age of fifty.

²⁶After retirement they may assist their fellow Levites by serving as guards at the Tabernacle, but they may not officiate in the service. This is how you must assign duties to the Levites.”

¹Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too.

²I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing.

³And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.

⁴Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there — false ones, really — who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.

⁵But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.

⁶And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)

⁷Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.

⁸For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.

⁹In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.

¹⁰Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.

¹¹But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.

¹²When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.

¹³As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?

¹⁵“You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles.

¹⁶Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

¹⁷But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!

¹⁸Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.

¹⁹For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law — I stopped trying to meet all its requirements — so that I might live for God.

²⁰My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

²¹I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

¹One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.

²The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”

³So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.

⁴The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.

⁵A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”

⁶I could see that she was drunk — drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.

⁷“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.

⁸The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.

⁹“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings.

¹⁰Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

¹¹“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction.

¹²The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast.

¹³They will all agree to give him their power and authority.

¹⁴Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language.

¹⁶The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.

¹⁷For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled.

¹⁸And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”

¹There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless — a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.

²He had seven sons and three daughters.

³He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.

⁴Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them.

⁵When these celebrations ended — sometimes after several days — Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

⁶One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.

⁷“Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

⁸Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless — a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

⁹Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.

¹⁰You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!

¹¹But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

¹²“All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.

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

¹⁴a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them,

¹⁵when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home.

¹⁹Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

²⁰Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.

²¹He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!”

²²In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

¹Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.

²Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever.

³The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong.

⁴O LORD, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you.

⁵But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O LORD. Take them away with those who do evil. May Israel have peace!

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

²Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.

³Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

⁴These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance

⁶by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

⁹What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!

¹¹They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave ; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.

¹³Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.

¹⁴Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”

¹⁵My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths.

¹⁶They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder.

¹⁷If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.

¹⁸But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.

²¹She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:

²²“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?

²³Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.

²⁴“I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.

²⁵You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.

²⁶So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you —

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸“When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.

³¹Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.

³²For simpletons turn away from me — to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.

³³But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

¹Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.

²One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”

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

⁴So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!

⁵“What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”

⁶“I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.

⁷“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”

⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived.

⁹In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor.

¹⁰And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters.

¹²They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people.

¹³Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death.

¹⁴The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!”

¹⁶So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.

¹⁷But the LORD said to Elijah,

¹⁸“Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself.

¹⁹Give him this message: ‘This is what the LORD says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’”

²⁰“So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the LORD’s sight.

²¹So now the LORD says, ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel!

²²I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’

²³“And regarding Jezebel, the LORD says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel. ’

²⁴“The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”

²⁵(No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the LORD’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.

²⁶His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done — the people whom the LORD had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)

²⁷But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.

²⁸Then another message from the LORD came to Elijah:

²⁹“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”

¹“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.”

²The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words.

³“Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day.

⁴They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’

⁵And whether they listen or refuse to listen — for remember, they are rebels — at least they will know they have had a prophet among them.

⁶“Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels.

⁷You must give them my messages whether they listen or not. But they won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious!

⁸Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion. Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.”

⁹Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me. It held a scroll,

¹⁰which he unrolled. And I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.

¹Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man” ), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas ), and Saul.

²One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”

³So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

⁴So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus.

⁵There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

⁶Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.

⁹Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye.

¹⁰Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?

¹¹Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

¹²When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services.

¹⁵After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

¹⁶So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

¹⁷“The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery.

¹⁸He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

¹⁹Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.

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

²¹Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

²²But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

²³“And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!

²⁴Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.

²⁵As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon — and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers — you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles — this message of salvation has been sent to us!

²⁷The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath.

²⁸They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

²⁹“When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead!

³¹And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

³²“And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,

³³and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. ’

³⁴For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’

³⁵Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’

³⁶This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.

³⁷No, it was a reference to someone else — someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

³⁸“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

³⁹Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight — something the law of Moses could never do.

⁴⁰Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

⁴¹‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’ ”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week.

⁴³Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.

⁴⁹So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

⁵⁰Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.

⁵¹So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium.

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