Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

²Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

³Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow.

⁴As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep.

⁶But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it.

⁸Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.

⁹Let anyone who has ears listen.”

¹⁰Then the disciples came up and asked him, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?”

¹¹He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

¹²For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³That is why I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.

¹⁴Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, but never understand; you will look and look, but never perceive.

¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back — and I would heal them.

¹⁶“Blessed are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.

¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn’t see them, to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.

¹⁸“So listen to the parable of the sower:

¹⁹When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.

²⁰And the one sown on rocky ground — this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

²¹But he has no root and is short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

²²Now the one sown among the thorns — this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²³But the one sown on the good ground — this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”

²⁴He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left.

²⁶When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

²⁸“‘An enemy did this,’ he told them. “‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up? ’ the servants asked him.

²⁹“‘No,’ he said. ‘When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.’”

³¹He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

³²It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”

³⁴Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and he did not tell them anything without a parable,

³⁵so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open my mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷He replied: “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

³⁸the field is the world; and the good seed — these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,

³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness.

⁴²They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

⁴⁶When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,

⁴⁸and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones.

⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,

⁵⁰and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.”

⁵²“Therefore,” he said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there.

⁵⁴He went to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

⁵⁵Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

⁵⁶And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?”

⁵⁷And they were offended by him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.”

⁵⁸And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

¹Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev  — he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him.

²Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.

³He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been,

⁴to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the LORD there.

⁵Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.

⁶But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,

⁷and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. (At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.)

⁸So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.

⁹Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

¹⁰Lot looked out and saw that the entire plain of the Jordan as far as Zoar was well watered everywhere like the LORD’s garden and the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

¹¹So Lot chose the entire plain of the Jordan for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other.

¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities on the plain and set up his tent near Sodom.

¹³(Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning immensely against the LORD.)

¹⁴After Lot had separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west,

¹⁵for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see.

¹⁶I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.

¹⁷Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you.”

¹⁸So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

¹Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.

²So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.

⁴For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

⁵Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience.

⁶And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks.

⁷Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

⁸Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

⁹The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.

¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

¹²The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.

¹Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers,

²older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters with all purity.

³Support widows who are genuinely in need.

⁴But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God.

⁵The widow who is truly in need and left all alone has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers;

⁶however, she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.

⁷Command this also, so that they will be above reproach.

⁸But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹No widow is to be enrolled on the list for support unless she is at least sixty years old, has been the wife of one husband,

¹⁰and is well known for good works  — that is, if she has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to every good work.

¹¹But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they are drawn away from Christ by desire, they want to marry

¹²and will therefore receive condemnation because they have renounced their original pledge.

¹³At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say.

¹⁴Therefore, I want younger women to marry, have children, manage their households, and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us.

¹⁵For some have already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any believing woman has widows in her family, let her help them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it can help widows in genuine need.

¹⁷The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

¹⁸For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker is worthy of his wages.

¹⁹Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.

²⁰Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will be afraid.

²¹I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism.

²²Don’t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

²³Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

²⁴Some people’s sins are obvious, preceding them to judgment, but the sins of others surface later.

²⁵Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.

¹Look, my eyes have seen all this; my ears have heard and understood it.

²Everything you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.

⁴You use lies like plaster; you are all worthless healers.

⁵If only you would shut up and let that be your wisdom!

⁶Hear now my argument, and listen to my defense.

⁷Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for him?

⁸Would you show partiality to him or argue the case in his defense?

⁹Would it go well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man?

¹⁰Surely he would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.

¹¹Would God’s majesty not terrify you? Would his dread not fall on you?

¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay.

¹³Be quiet, and I will speak. Let whatever comes happen to me.

¹⁴I will put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands.

¹⁵Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him.

¹⁶Yes, this will result in my deliverance, for no godless person can appear before him.

¹⁷Pay close attention to my words; let my declaration ring in your ears.

¹⁸Now then, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.

¹⁹Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.

²⁰Only grant these two things to me, God, so that I will not have to hide from your presence:

²¹remove your hand from me, and do not let your terror frighten me.

²²Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you can respond to me.

²³How many iniquities and sins have I committed? Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

²⁴Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?

²⁵Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will you chase after dry straw?

²⁶For you record bitter accusations against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths, setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

²⁸A person wears out like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

²How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me?

³Consider me and answer, LORD my God. Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death.

⁴My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,” and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵But I have trusted in your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.

⁶I will sing to the LORD because he has treated me generously.

¹A wise son responds to his father’s discipline, but a mocker doesn’t listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of his mouth, a person will enjoy good things, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.

³The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

⁴The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.

⁵The righteous hate lying, but the wicked bring disgust and shame.

⁶Righteousness guards people of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.

⁷One person pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has abundant wealth.

⁸Riches are a ransom for a person’s life, but a poor person hears no threat.

⁹The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is put out.

¹⁰Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice.

¹¹Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.

¹²Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.

¹⁴A wise person’s instruction is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous never changes.

¹⁶Every sensible person acts knowledgeably, but a fool displays his stupidity.

¹⁷A wicked envoy falls into trouble, but a trustworthy courier brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace come to those who ignore discipline, but the one who accepts correction will be honored.

¹⁹Desire fulfilled is sweet to the taste, but to turn from evil is detestable to fools.

²⁰The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Disaster pursues sinners, but good rewards the righteous.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

²³The uncultivated field of the poor yields abundant food, but without justice, it is swept away.

²⁴The one who will not use the rod hates his son, but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵A righteous person eats until he is satisfied, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.

¹Joshua was now old, advanced in age, and the LORD said to him, “You have become old, advanced in age, but a great deal of the land remains to be possessed.

²This is the land that remains: All the districts of the Philistines and the Geshurites:

³from the Shihor east of Egypt to the border of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory) — the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as the Avvites

⁴in the south; all the land of the Canaanites, from Arah of the Sidonians to Aphek and as far as the border of the Amorites;

⁵the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon east from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath  —

⁶all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians. I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you.

⁷Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

⁸With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites and Gadites had received the inheritance Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the LORD’s servant had given them:

⁹From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, all the Medeba plateau as far as Dibon,

¹⁰and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the Ammonites;

¹¹also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah —

¹²the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei; he was one of the remaining Rephaim. Moses struck them down and drove them out,

¹³but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites and Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath still live in Israel today.

¹⁴He did not, however, give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was their inheritance, just as he had promised: the offerings made by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁵To the tribe of Reuben’s descendants by their clans, Moses gave

¹⁶this as their territory: From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau as far as Medeba,

¹⁷with Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau — Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,

¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,

¹⁹Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley,

²⁰Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth —

²¹all the cities of the plateau, and all the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. Moses had killed him and the chiefs of Midian — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba — the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.

²²Along with those the Israelites put to death, they also killed the diviner, Balaam son of Beor, with the sword.

²³The border of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its plain. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites by their clans, with the cities and their settlements.

²⁴To the tribe of the Gadites by their clans, Moses gave

²⁵this as their territory: Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites to Aroer, near Rabbah;

²⁶from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;

²⁷in the valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon — the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. Their land also included the Jordan and its territory as far as the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east side of the Jordan.

²⁸This was the inheritance of the Gadites by their clans, with the cities and their settlements.

²⁹And to half the tribe of Manasseh (that is, to half the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants by their clans) Moses gave

³⁰this as their territory: From Mahanaim through all Bashan — all the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, including all of Jair’s Villages that are in Bashan — sixty cities.

³¹But half of Gilead, and Og’s royal cities in Bashan — Ashtaroth and Edrei — are for the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh (that is, half the descendants of Machir by their clans).

³²These were the portions Moses gave them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.

³³But Moses did not give a portion to the tribe of Levi. The LORD, the God of Israel, was their inheritance, just as he had promised them.

¹A pronouncement concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:

²Lift up a banner on a barren mountain. Call out to them. Signal with your hand, and they will go through the gates of the nobles.

³I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my warriors, who celebrate my triumph, to execute my wrath.

⁴Listen, a commotion on the mountains, like that of a mighty people! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations being gathered together! The LORD of Armies is mobilizing an army for war.

⁵They are coming from a distant land, from the farthest horizon — the LORD and the weapons of his wrath — to destroy the whole country.

⁶Wail! For the day of the LORD is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

⁷Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak, and every man will lose heart.

⁸They will be horrified; pain and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look at each other, their faces flushed with fear.

⁹Look, the day of the LORD is coming — cruel, with rage and burning anger — to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners.

¹⁰Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.

¹¹I will punish the world for its evil, and wicked people for their iniquities. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.

¹²I will make a human more scarce than fine gold, and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.

¹³Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will shake from its foundations at the wrath of the LORD of Armies, on the day of his burning anger.

¹⁴Like wandering gazelles and like sheep without a shepherd, each one will turn to his own people, each one will flee to his own land.

¹⁵Whoever is found will be stabbed, and whoever is caught will die by the sword.

¹⁶Their children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted, and their wives raped.

¹⁷Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who cannot be bought off with silver and who have no desire for gold.

¹⁸Their bows will cut young men to pieces. They will have no compassion on offspring; they will not look with pity on children.

¹⁹And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

²⁰It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; a nomad will not pitch his tent there, and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there.

²¹But desert creatures will lie down there, and owls will fill the houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.

²²Hyenas will howl in the fortresses, and jackals, in the luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is almost up; her days are almost over.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

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

³Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul — also called Paul — filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas

¹⁰and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”

¹⁶Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm.

¹⁸And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness;

¹⁹and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

²⁰This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him:’ I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’

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

²⁴Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵Now as John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But one is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him.

²⁸Though they found no grounds for the death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead,

³¹and he appeared for many days to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

³²And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.

³³God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father.

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure promises of David.

³⁵Therefore he also says in another passage, You will not let your Holy One see decay.

³⁶For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed,

³⁷but the one God raised up did not decay.

³⁸Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you.

³⁹Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

⁴⁰So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴¹Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”

⁴²As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath.

⁴³After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the end of the earth.”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

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

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.

⁵¹But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.

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