Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

²At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop.

³But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.

⁴The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head.

⁵The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed,

⁶until there was only one left — his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

⁷“But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

⁸So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

⁹“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you — he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

¹¹This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ ”

¹²The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

¹³Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

¹⁴“Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us — is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

¹⁵Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?” Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.”

¹⁶When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷“Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” His reply completely amazed them.

¹⁸Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.

²⁰Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.

²¹So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her.

²²This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died.

²³So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”

²⁴Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

²⁵For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.

²⁶“But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

²⁷So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”

²⁸One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.

³⁰And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

³¹The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

³²The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.

³³And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

³⁴Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

³⁵Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?

³⁶For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’

³⁷Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.

³⁸Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces.

³⁹And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.

⁴⁰Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”

⁴¹Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.

⁴²Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

⁴³Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

⁴⁴For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

¹While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman.

²They said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the LORD heard them.

³(Now Moses was very humble — more humble than any other person on earth.)

⁴So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle.

⁵Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward.

⁶And the LORD said to them, “Now listen to what I say: “If there were prophets among you, I, the LORD, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams.

⁷But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust.

⁸I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”

⁹The LORD was very angry with them, and he departed.

¹⁰As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened to her,

¹¹he cried out to Moses, “Oh, my master! Please don’t punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed.

¹²Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth.”

¹³So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, I beg you, please heal her!”

¹⁴But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had done nothing more than spit in her face, wouldn’t she be defiled for seven days? So keep her outside the camp for seven days, and after that she may be accepted back.”

¹⁵So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again.

¹⁶Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

¹Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

²Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

³If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

⁴Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

⁵For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

⁶Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

⁷Don’t be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

⁸Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

⁹So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

¹⁰Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.

¹¹NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

¹²Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save.

¹³And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

¹⁴As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

¹⁵It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.

¹⁶May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

¹⁷From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

¹⁸Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.

²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

³I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

⁵And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

⁶And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega — the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.

⁷All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

⁸“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars — their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

⁹Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

¹⁰So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

¹¹It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone — like jasper as clear as crystal.

¹²The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates.

¹³There were three gates on each side — east, north, south, and west.

¹⁴The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

¹⁶When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.

¹⁷Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).

¹⁸The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.

¹⁹The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,

²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

²¹The twelve gates were made of pearls — each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.

²²I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

²³And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.

²⁴The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.

²⁵Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there.

²⁶And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.

²⁷Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty — but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

¹“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you?

²Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.

³I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster.

⁴Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.

⁵The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth.

⁶But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

⁷People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

⁸“If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him.

⁹He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.

¹⁰He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields.

¹¹He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer.

¹²He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.

¹³He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.

¹⁴They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night.

¹⁵He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.

¹⁶And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

¹⁷“But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.

¹⁸For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.

¹⁹From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.

²⁰He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.

²¹You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes.

²²You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you.

²³You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.

²⁵You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!

²⁶You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

²⁷“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

¹From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this:

²From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.

³My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.

⁴But the LORD is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.

⁵May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.

⁶May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,

⁷ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.

⁸And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: “The LORD bless you; we bless you in the LORD’s name.”

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.

²Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned.

³For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

⁶For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.

⁷So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say:

⁸Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!

⁹If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.

¹⁰Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

¹¹In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body.

¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings!

¹³Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own well — share your love only with your wife.

¹⁶Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?

¹⁷You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.

¹⁸Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.

²⁰Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?

²¹For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.

²²An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.

²³He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

¹Ahab’s son Joram began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years.

²He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, but not to the same extent as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up.

³Nevertheless, he continued in the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed and led the people of Israel to commit.

⁴King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

⁵But after Ahab’s death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶So King Joram promptly mustered the army of Israel and marched from Samaria.

⁷On the way, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me in battle against him?” And Jehoshaphat replied, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.”

⁸Then Jehoshaphat asked, “What route will we take?” “We will attack from the wilderness of Edom,” Joram replied.

⁹The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their animals.

¹⁰“What should we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The LORD has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”

¹¹But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD with us? If there is, we can ask the LORD what to do through him.” One of King Joram’s officers replied, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah’s personal assistant. ”

¹²Jehoshaphat said, “Yes, the LORD speaks through him.” So the king of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom went to consult with Elisha.

¹³“Why are you coming to me?” Elisha asked the king of Israel. “Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!” But King Joram of Israel said, “No! For it was the LORD who called us three kings here — only to be defeated by the king of Moab!”

¹⁴Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I wouldn’t even bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

¹⁵Now bring me someone who can play the harp.” While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha,

¹⁶and he said, “This is what the LORD says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water!

¹⁷You will see neither wind nor rain, says the LORD, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals.

¹⁸But this is only a simple thing for the LORD, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab!

¹⁹You will conquer the best of their towns, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.”

²⁰The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.

²¹Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who was old enough to strap on a sword, and they stationed themselves along their border.

²²But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it appear red to the Moabites — like blood.

²³“It’s blood!” the Moabites exclaimed. “The three armies must have attacked and killed each other! Let’s go, men of Moab, and collect the plunder!”

²⁴But when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked them until they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went.

²⁵They destroyed the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth and its stone walls were left, but men with slings surrounded and attacked it.

²⁶When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed.

²⁷Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land.

¹Again a message came to me from the LORD:

²“Son of man, turn and face the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.

³Proclaim this message from the Sovereign LORD against the mountains of Israel. This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills and to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring war upon you, and I will smash your pagan shrines.

⁴All your altars will be demolished, and your places of worship will be destroyed. I will kill your people in front of your idols.

⁵I will lay your corpses in front of your idols and scatter your bones around your altars.

⁶Wherever you live there will be desolation, and I will destroy your pagan shrines. Your altars will be demolished, your idols will be smashed, your places of worship will be torn down, and all the religious objects you have made will be destroyed.

⁷The place will be littered with corpses, and you will know that I alone am the LORD.

⁸“But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world.

⁹Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins.

¹⁰They will know that I alone am the LORD and that I was serious when I said I would bring this calamity on them.

¹¹“This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Clap your hands in horror, and stamp your feet. Cry out because of all the detestable sins the people of Israel have committed. Now they are going to die from war and famine and disease.

¹²Disease will strike down those who are far away in exile. War will destroy those who are nearby. And anyone who survives will be killed by famine. So at last I will spend my fury on them.

¹³They will know that I am the LORD when their dead lie scattered among their idols and altars on every hill and mountain and under every green tree and every great shade tree — the places where they offered sacrifices to their idols.

¹⁴I will crush them and make their cities desolate from the wilderness in the south to Riblah in the north. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

¹Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

²As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

³He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

⁴Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

⁵But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

⁶Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

⁷And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

⁸The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

⁹So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

¹⁰That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

¹²As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.

¹⁴The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

¹⁵Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

¹⁷He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

¹⁸He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

¹⁹Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.

²⁰“You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

²¹(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

²²So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

²³for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

²⁴“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,

²⁵and human hands can’t serve his needs — for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

²⁷“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him — though he is not far from any one of us.

²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

³⁰“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

³¹For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

³²When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”

³³That ended Paul’s discussion with them,

³⁴but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.