Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Setting out from there, Jesus *went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered to Him again, and, as He was accustomed, He once more began to teach them.

²And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife.

³And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send his wife away.”

⁵But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

⁶But from the beginning of creation, God CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE.

⁷FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER,

⁸AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”

¹⁰And in the house the disciples again began questioning Him about this.

¹¹And He *said to them, “Whoeverdivorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

¹²and if she herselfdivorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

¹³And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do notforbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

¹⁶And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

¹⁷As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’ ”

²⁰And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.”

²¹Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²²But he was deeply dismayed by these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.”

²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,

³⁰but that he will receive a hundred times as much now inthe present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

³²Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,

³³saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will behanded over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and willhand Him over to the Gentiles.

³⁴And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

³⁵James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

³⁶And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³⁷They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

³⁹They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

⁴⁰But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with James and John.

⁴²Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and theirpeople in high position exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to becomeprominent among you shall be your servant;

⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give Hislife as a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶Then they *came to Jericho. And later, as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.

⁴⁷And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”

⁵⁰And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”

⁵²And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith hasmade you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

¹The LORD spoke further to Moses, saying,

²“Make yourself two trumpets of silver, you shall make them of hammered work; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and breaking camp.

³Now when both are blown, all the congregation shall meet you at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

⁴But if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall meet you.

⁵And when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out.

⁶Then when you sound an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be sounded for them to break camp.

⁷When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow the trumpets without sounding an alarm.

⁸The sons of Aaron, moreover, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be a permanent statute for you throughout your generations.

⁹And when you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you will be thought of by the LORD your God, and be saved from your enemies.

¹⁰Also on the day of your joy and at your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”

¹¹Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle of the testimony;

¹²and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.

¹³So they moved on for the first time in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.

¹⁴The flag of the camp of the sons of Judah, by their armies, set out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army,

¹⁵and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar;

¹⁶and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

¹⁷Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out.

¹⁸Next the flag of the camp of Reuben, by their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army,

¹⁹and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon,

²⁰and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

²¹Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival.

²²Next the flag of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, by their armies, set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army,

²³and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh;

²⁴and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

²⁵Then the flag of the camp of the sons of Dan, by their armies, which formed the rear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army,

²⁶and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher;

²⁷and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali.

²⁸This was the order of marching for the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.

²⁹Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will do you good, for the LORD has promised good concerning Israel.”

³⁰But he said to him, “I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives.”

³¹Then he said, “Please do not leave us, since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will be as eyes for us.

³²So it will be, if you go with us, that whatever good the LORD does for us, we will do for you.”

³³So they moved on from the mountain of the LORD three days’ journey, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD going on in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them.

³⁴And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, “Rise up, LORD! And may Your enemies be scattered, And those who hate You flee from Your presence.”

³⁶And when it came to rest, he said, “Return, LORD, To the myriad thousands of Israel.”

¹Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything,

²but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.

³So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world.

⁴But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

⁵so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.

⁶Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”

⁷Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

⁸However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are not gods.

⁹But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again?

¹⁰You meticulously observe days and months and seasons and years.

¹¹I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

¹²I beg of you, brothers and sisters, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong;

¹³but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time;

¹⁴and you did not despise that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition, nor express contempt, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.

¹⁵Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I testify about you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

¹⁶So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?

¹⁷They eagerly seek you, not in a commendable way, but they want to shut you out so that you will seek them.

¹⁸But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable way, and not only when I am present with you.

¹⁹My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—

²⁰but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am at a loss about you!

²¹Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the Law?

²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman.

²³But the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.

²⁴This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar.

²⁵Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children.

²⁶But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

²⁷For it is written: “REJOICE, INFERTILE ONE, YOU WHO DO NOT GIVE BIRTH; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE ONE are more numerous THAN those of the one who has a husband.”

²⁸And you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.

²⁹But as at that time the son who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so it is even now.

³⁰But what does the Scripture say? “DRIVE OUT THE SLAVE WOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE SLAVE WOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.”

³¹So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.

¹After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,

²BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”

³And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES FOREVER AND EVER.”

⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

⁵And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”

⁶Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

⁷Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.”

⁸It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹Then he *said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ ” And he *said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

¹²His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

¹³He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

¹⁴And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

¹⁵From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

¹⁶And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God,

¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.”

¹⁹And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.

²⁰And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.

²¹And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

¹Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

²And Job said,

³“May the day on which I was to be born perish, As well as the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

⁴May that day be darkness; May God above not care for it, Nor light shine on it.

⁵May darkness and black gloom claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year; May it not come into the number of the months.

⁷Behold, may that night be barren; May no joyful shout enter it.

⁸May those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to disturb Leviathan.

⁹May the stars of its twilight be darkened; May it wait for light but have none, And may it not see the breaking dawn;

¹⁰Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not die at birth, Come out of the womb and pass away?

¹²Why were the knees there in front of me, And why the breasts, that I would nurse?

¹³For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

¹⁴With kings and counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

¹⁵Or with rulers who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or like a miscarriage which is hidden, I would not exist, As infants that never saw light.

¹⁷There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

¹⁹The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Why is light given to one burdened with grief, And life to the bitter of soul,

²¹Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures;

²²Who are filled with jubilation, And rejoice when they find the grave?

²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has shut off?

²⁴For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water.

²⁵For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread encounters me.

²⁶I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

¹Unless the LORD builds a house, They who build it labor in vain; Unless the LORD guards a city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

²It is futile for you to rise up early, To stay up late, To eat the bread of painful labor; This is how He gives to His beloved sleep.

³Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.

⁵Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

¹My son, do not forget my teaching, But have your heart comply with my commandments;

²For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.

³Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will find favor and a good reputation In the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce;

¹⁰Then your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His rebuke,

¹²For whom the LORD loves He disciplines, Just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

¹³Blessed is a person who finds wisdom, And one who obtains understanding.

¹⁴For her profit is better than the profit of silver, And her produce better than gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels, And nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are those who hold on to her.

¹⁹The LORD founded the earth by wisdom, He established the heavens by understanding.

²⁰By His knowledge the ocean depths were burst open, And the clouds drip with dew.

²¹My son, see that they do not escape from your sight; Comply with sound wisdom and discretion,

²²And they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck.

²³Then you will walk in your way securely, And your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden danger, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it to you,” When you have it with you.

²⁹Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you.

³⁰Do not contend with a person for no reason, If he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy a violent person, And do not choose any of his ways.

³²For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.

³³The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the righteous.

³⁴Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the needy.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor, But fools increase dishonor.

¹Now Moab broke with Israel after the death of Ahab.

²And Ahaziah fell through the window lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”

³But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

⁴Now therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.

⁵When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, “Why have you returned?”

⁶They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ” ’ ”

⁷Then he said to them, “What did the man look like, who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?”

⁸And they said to him, “He was a hairy man with a leather belt worn around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “You man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”

¹⁰But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹So the king again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he said to him, “You man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down quickly!’ ”

¹²But Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³So the king again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty men. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “You man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.

¹⁴Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”

¹⁵And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king.

¹⁶Then he said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Since you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ”

¹⁷So Ahaziah died in accordance with the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

¹⁸Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹“Now you, son of man, get yourself a brick, place it before you, and inscribe a city on it—Jerusalem.

²Then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, pile up an assault ramp, set up camps, and place battering rams against it all around.

³Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city, and direct your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

⁴“Then you are to lie down on your left side and put the wrongdoing of the house of Israel on it; you shall bear their wrongdoing for the number of days that you lie on it.

⁵For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their wrongdoing, 390 days; so you shall bear the wrongdoing of the house of Israel.

⁶When you have completed these days, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the wrongdoing of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for each year.

⁷Then you shall direct your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it.

⁸Now behold, I will put ropes around you so that you cannot turn from your one side to your other until you have completed the days of your siege.

⁹“But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, 390 days.

¹⁰Your food which you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time.

¹¹The water you drink shall be a sixth of a hin by measure; you shall drink it from time to time.

¹²You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human dung.”

¹³Then the LORD said, “In this way the sons of Israel will eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will scatter them.”

¹⁴But I said, “Oh, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth!”

¹⁵Then He said to me, “See, I will give you cow’s dung in place of human dung, so that you may prepare your bread over it.”

¹⁶Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,

¹⁷because bread and water will be scarce; and they will tremble with one another and waste away in their guilt.

¹Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had a heated argument and debate with them, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

³Therefore, after being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.

¹⁵The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN TABERNACLE OF DAVID, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

¹⁷SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

¹⁸SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.

²¹For from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

²³and they sent this letter with them: “The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching, upsetting your souls,

²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message.

³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters in peace to those who had sent them out.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.

³⁸But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.