Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,

²and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

³and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

⁴And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,

⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.

⁶And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

⁸And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,

¹⁰he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

¹²The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

¹³And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.

¹⁴And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

¹⁵As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

¹⁶ “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸ Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

¹⁹Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.

²⁰And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.”

²¹But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

²²One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out,

²³and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.

²⁴And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.

²⁵He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.

²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”

²⁹For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)

³⁰Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.

³¹And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

³²Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.

³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

³⁵Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

³⁶And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.

³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.

⁴¹And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house,

⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.

⁴³And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.

⁴⁴She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.”

⁵⁰But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”

⁵¹And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.

⁵²And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”

⁵³And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”

⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.

⁵⁶And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

¹When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness.

²And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,

³and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

⁴the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered:

⁵How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!

⁶Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.

⁷Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows.

⁹He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”

¹⁰And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times.

¹¹Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor.”

¹²And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me,

¹³‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’?

¹⁴And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

¹⁵And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

¹⁶the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered:

¹⁷I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁸Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly.

¹⁹And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!”

²⁰Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.”

²¹And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, “Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock.

²²Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned when Asshur takes you away captive.”

²³And he took up his discourse and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?

²⁴But ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asshur and Eber; and he too shall come to utter destruction.”

²⁵Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

¹For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,

²that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ,

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

⁵For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

⁶Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

⁹For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

¹⁰and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

¹¹In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

¹⁴by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

¹⁶Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

¹⁷These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

¹⁸Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations —

²¹“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”

²²(referring to things that all perish as they are used) — according to human precepts and teachings?

²³These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

¹The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

²Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

⁴He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,

⁵for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

⁷Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

⁹They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

¹¹Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

¹²Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

¹³For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,

¹⁵if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

¹“My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me.

²Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation.

³“Lay down a pledge for me with you; who is there who will put up security for me?

⁴Since you have closed their hearts to understanding, therefore you will not let them triumph.

⁵He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property — the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶“He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one before whom men spit.

⁷My eye has grown dim from vexation, and all my members are like a shadow.

⁸The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.

⁹Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.

¹⁰But you, come on again, all of you, and I shall not find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart.

¹²They make night into day: ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’

¹³If I hope for Sheol as my house, if I make my bed in darkness,

¹⁴if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

¹⁵where then is my hope? Who will see my hope?

¹⁶Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust?”

¹O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

²Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

³Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

⁴Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!

⁵Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

⁶When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.

⁷As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

⁸But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!

⁹Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.

¹Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

³The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.

⁷Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.

⁸A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.

⁹Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

²⁰A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

²¹He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

¹In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign.

²He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

³And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

⁴Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

⁵And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the household, governing the people of the land.

⁶Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

⁷And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place.

⁸In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months.

⁹And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

¹⁰Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibleam and put him to death and reigned in his place.

¹¹Now the rest of the deeds of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

¹²(This was the promise of the LORD that he gave to Jehu, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.)

¹³Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria.

¹⁴Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and he struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and put him to death and reigned in his place.

¹⁵Now the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and the conspiracy that he made, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

¹⁶At that time Menahem sacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on, because they did not open it to him. Therefore he sacked it, and he ripped open all the women in it who were pregnant.

¹⁷In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria.

¹⁸And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

¹⁹Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power.

²⁰Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land.

²¹Now the rest of the deeds of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²²And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.

²³In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years.

²⁴And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

²⁵And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the people of Gilead, and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house with Argob and Arieh; he put him to death and reigned in his place.

²⁶Now the rest of the deeds of Pekahiah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

²⁷In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years.

²⁸And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

²⁹In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria.

³⁰Then Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and struck him down and put him to death and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

³¹Now the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

³²In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign.

³³He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done.

³⁵Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD.

³⁶Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

³⁷In those days the LORD began to send Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.

³⁸Jotham slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

¹The word of the LORD came to me:

²“What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge’?

³As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.

⁴Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

⁵“If a man is righteous and does what is just and right —

⁶if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity,

⁷does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,

⁸does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man,

⁹walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully — he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁰“If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things

¹¹(though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife,

¹²oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination,

¹³lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

¹⁴“Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:

¹⁵he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife,

¹⁶does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,

¹⁷withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live.

¹⁸As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

¹⁹“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.

²⁰The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

²¹“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

²²None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.

²³Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

²⁴But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

²⁵“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

²⁶When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.

²⁷Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.

²⁸Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.

³¹Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?

³²For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

¹In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,

²until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

³He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

¹¹and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

¹³And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,

¹⁶“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.

¹⁹And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

²³And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.