Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

⁴and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

⁵Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil.

⁶But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷Others fellamong the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

⁸But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.

⁹The one who has ears,let him hear.”

¹⁰And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

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

¹³Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

¹⁴Andin their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘ YOU SHALL KEEP ON LISTENING, BUT SHALL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU SHALL KEEP ON LOOKING, BUT SHALL NOT PERCEIVE;

¹⁵FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

¹⁷For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

¹⁸“Listen then to the parable of the sower.

¹⁹When anyone hears theword of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road.

²⁰The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

²¹yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of theword, immediately hefalls away.

²²And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of theworld and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and itbecomes unfruitful.

²³But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

²⁴Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heavenis like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowedweeds among the wheat, and left.

²⁶And when thewheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident.

²⁷And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?How then does it have weeds?’

²⁸And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

²⁹But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

³¹He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field;

³²and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE SKY come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”

³³He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is likeleaven, which a woman took and hid in threesata of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them without a parable.

³⁵This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL PROCLAIM THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

³⁶Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

³⁷And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

³⁸and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one;

³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is theend of the age; and the reapers are angels.

⁴⁰So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at theend of the age.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdomall stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH LIKE THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears,let him hear.

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

⁴⁶and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;

⁴⁸and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

⁴⁹So it will be at theend of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous,

⁵⁰and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.”

⁵²And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

⁵⁴And He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

⁵⁵Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?”

⁵⁷And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in hishometown and in his own household.”

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

¹So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

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

³And he went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

⁴to the place of the altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

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

⁶And the land could not support both of them while living together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.

⁷And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.

⁸So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives!

⁹Is the entire land not before you? Please separate from me; if you choose the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.”

¹⁰Lot raised his eyes and saw all the vicinity of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt going toward Zoar.

¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other.

¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.

¹³Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked sinners against the LORD.

¹⁴The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward, and eastward and westward;

¹⁵for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.

¹⁶I will make your descendants as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

¹⁷Arise, walk about in the land through its length and width; for I will give it to you.”

¹⁸Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD.

¹Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

²Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

³For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;

⁴for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

⁵Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.

⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

⁷Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.

⁹For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.

¹¹Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.

¹²The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

¹³Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

¹Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, and to the younger men as brothers,

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

³Honor widows who are actually widows;

⁴but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show proper respect for their own family and to give back compensation to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.

⁵Now she who is actually a widow and has been left alone has set her hope on God, and she continues in requests and prayers night and day.

⁶But she who indulges herself in luxury is dead, even while she lives.

⁷Give these instructions as well, so that they may be above reproach.

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

⁹A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,

¹⁰having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.

¹¹But refuse to register younger widows, for when they feel physical desires alienating them from Christ, they want to get married,

¹²thereby incurring condemnation, because they have ignored their previous pledge.

¹³At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also they become gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.

¹⁴Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, have children, manage their households, and give the enemy no opportunity for reproach;

¹⁵for some have already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are actually widows.

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

¹⁸For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE IT IS THRESHING,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

¹⁹Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

²⁰Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

²¹I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.

²²Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

²³Do not go on drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴The sins of some people are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.

²⁵Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

¹“Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it.

²What you know I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³“But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God.

⁴But you smear me with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

⁵Oh that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom!

⁶Please hear my argument, And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.

⁷Will you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what is deceitful for Him?

⁸Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?

⁹Will it go well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

¹⁰He will certainly punish you If you secretly show partiality.

¹¹Will His majesty not terrify you, And the dread of Him fall upon you?

¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Be silent before me so that I may speak; Then let come upon me what may.

¹⁴Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands?

¹⁵Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.

¹⁶This also will be my salvation, For a godless person cannot come before His presence.

¹⁷Listen carefully to my speech, And let my declaration fill your ears.

¹⁸Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated.

¹⁹Who could contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.

²⁰“Only two things I ask that You do not do to me, Then I will not hide from Your face:

²¹Remove Your hand from me, And may the dread of You not terrify me.

²²Then call and I will answer; Or let me speak, then reply to me.

²³How many are my guilty deeds and sins? Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.

²⁴Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy?

²⁵Will You scare away a scattered leaf? Or will You pursue the dry chaff?

²⁶For You write bitter things against me And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet,

²⁸While I am decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

¹How long, LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

²How long am I to feel anxious in my soul, With grief in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

⁴And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵But I have trusted in Your faithfulness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

⁶I will sing to the LORD, Because He has looked after me.

¹A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

³One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the lazy one craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made prosperous.

⁵A righteous person hates a false statement, But a wicked person acts disgustingly and shamefully.

⁶Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness brings the sinner to ruin.

⁷There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained from nothing dwindles, But one who gathers by labor increases it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³One who despises the word will do badly, But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is their own disaster.

¹⁶Every prudent person acts with knowledge, But a fool displays foolishness.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into adversity, But a faithful messenger brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects discipline, But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

²⁰One who walks with wise people will be wise, But a companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

²²A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

²⁵The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

¹Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and a very large amount of the land remains to be possessed.

²This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites;

³from the Shihor which is east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the five governors of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite

⁴to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorite;

⁵and the land of the Gebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

⁶All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive out from the sons of Israel; only allot it to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you.

⁷Now therefore, apportion this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

⁸With the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD gave to them;

⁹from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon;

¹⁰and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon;

¹¹and Gilead, and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah;

¹²all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses struck them and drove them out.

¹³But the sons of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; instead, Geshur and Maacath live among Israel to this day.

¹⁴Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

¹⁵So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families.

¹⁶Their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba;

¹⁷Heshbon and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,

¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,

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

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

²¹even all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the leaders of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the leaders of Sihon, who lived in the land.

²²The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their dead.

²³The border of the sons of Reuben was the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁴Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad according to their families.

²⁵Their territory was Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is opposite Rabbah;

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

²⁷and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east.

²⁸This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁹Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families.

³⁰Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities;

³¹also half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.

³²These are the territories which Moses apportioned as an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east.

³³But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had promised to them.

¹The pronouncement concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:

²Lift up a flag on the bare hill, Raise your voice to them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.

³I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have also called for My warriors Who boast in My eminence, To execute My anger.

⁴A sound of a roar on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of an uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The LORD of armies is mustering the army for battle.

⁵They are coming from a distant country, From the farthest horizons, The LORD and the weapons of His indignation, To destroy the whole land.

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

⁷Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every human heart will melt.

⁸They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.

⁹Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

¹⁰For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.

¹¹So I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their wrongdoing; I will also put an end to the audacity of the proud And humiliate the arrogance of the tyrants.

¹²I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir.

¹³Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of armies In the day of His burning anger.

¹⁴And it will be that, like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with no one to gather them, Each of them will turn to his own people, And each of them will flee to his own land.

¹⁵Anyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

¹⁶Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives raped.

¹⁷Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

¹⁸And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children.

¹⁹And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

²⁰It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds allow their flocks to lie down there.

²¹But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.

²²Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come, And her days will not be prolonged.

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

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

³Then, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

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

⁵When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.

⁶When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him,

¹⁰and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

¹¹Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”

¹⁶Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.

¹⁸For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.

¹⁹When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years.

²⁰After these things 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 He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’

²³From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,

²⁴after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶“Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.

²⁹When they had carried out everything that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead;

³¹and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

³²And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,

³³that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU.’

³⁴As for the fact that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and faithful mercies of DAVID.’

³⁵Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.’

³⁶For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, and was buried among his fathers and underwent decay;

³⁷but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

³⁹and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

⁴⁰Therefore, see that the thing spoken of in the Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴¹‘LOOK, YOU SCOFFERS, AND BE ASTONISHED, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’ ”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these things spoken to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The next Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE APPOINTED YOU AS A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’ ”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

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