Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

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

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

⁴Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:

⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

⁶Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

⁸And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.”

⁹Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been granted to know themysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so thatwhile seeing they may not see, andwhile hearing they may not understand.

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

¹²And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

¹³Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root;they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation theyfall away.

¹⁴And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the wordwith a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit withperseverance.

¹⁶“Now no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what hethinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁹Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

²²Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.

²³But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

²⁴They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

²⁵And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

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

²⁷And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

²⁸And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”

²⁹For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert.

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

³¹And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

³²Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs. And He gave them permission.

³³And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country.

³⁵And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

³⁶Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been made well.

³⁷And all the people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.

³⁸But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰And as Jesus was returning, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.

⁴¹And a man named Jairus came, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house;

⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,

⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had left Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith hasmade you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will bemade well.”

⁵¹When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother.

⁵²Now they were all weeping and mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”

⁵³And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.

⁵⁴He, however, took her by the hand and spoke forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!”

⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat.

⁵⁶Her parents were amazed; but He instructed 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 seek omens, rather he turned his attention toward the wilderness.

²And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

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

⁴The declaration of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

⁵How pleasant are your tents, Jacob, Your dwelling places, Israel!

⁶Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside a river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.

⁷Water will flow from his buckets, And his seed will be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones, And smash them with his arrows.

⁹He crouches, he lies down like a lion, And like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

¹¹So flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor.”

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

¹³‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the LORD, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the LORD speaks, I will speak’?

¹⁴So now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”

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

¹⁶The declaration 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, yet having his eyes uncovered:

¹⁷I see him, but not now; I look at him, but not near; A star shall appear from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall smash the forehead of Moab, And overcome all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁸And Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, While Israel performs valiantly.

¹⁹One from Jacob shall rule, And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”

²⁰And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his end shall be destruction.”

²¹And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, “Your dwelling place is enduring, And your nest is set in the cliff.

²²Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation; How long will Asshur keep you captive?”

²³Then he took up his discourse and said, “Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?

²⁴But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress Eber; So they also will come to destruction.”

²⁵Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.

¹For I want you to know how great a struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,

²that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and that they would attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

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

⁴I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments.

⁵For even though I am absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your orderly manner and the stability of your faith in Christ.

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

⁷having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

⁸See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.

⁹For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

¹⁰and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority;

¹¹and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of 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 working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

¹³And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings,

¹⁴having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

¹⁵When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

¹⁶Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day—

¹⁷things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

¹⁸Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

¹⁹and not holding firmly to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

²⁰If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

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

²²(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of man?

²³These are matters which do have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

¹It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching,

³not overindulging in wine, not a bully, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.

⁴He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

⁵(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),

⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into condemnation incurred by the devil.

⁷And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not insincere, not prone to drink much wine, not greedy for money,

⁹but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰These men must also first be tested; then have them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

¹¹Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

¹²Deacons must be husbands of one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.

¹³For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long;

¹⁵but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one should act in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

¹⁶Beyond question, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in 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 extinguished, The grave is ready for me.

²Mockers are certainly with me, And my eye gazes on their provocation.

³“Make a pledge for me with Yourself; Who is there that will be my guarantor?

⁴For You have kept their hearts away from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them.

⁵He who informs against friends for a share of the spoils, The eyes of his children also will perish.

⁶“But He has made me a proverb among the people, And I am one at whom people spit.

⁷My eye has also become inexpressive because of grief, And all my body parts are like a shadow.

⁸The upright will be appalled at this, And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless.

⁹Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, And the one who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

¹⁰But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days are past, my plans are torn apart, The wishes of my heart.

¹²They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

¹³If I hope for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness;

¹⁴If I call to the grave, ‘You are my father’; To the maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’;

¹⁵Where then is my hope? And who looks at my hope?

¹⁶Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?”

¹LORD, I call upon You; hurry to me! Listen to my voice when I call to You!

²May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The raising of my hands as the evening offering.

³Set a guard, LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.

⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness With people who do wrong; And may I not taste their delicacies.

⁵May the righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me; It is oil for the head; My head shall not refuse it, For my prayer is still against their evil deeds.

⁶Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.

⁷As when one plows and breaks open the earth, Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

⁸For my eyes are toward You, GOD, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

⁹Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me, And from the snares of those who do wrong.

¹⁰May the wicked fall into their own nets, While I pass by safely.

¹Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it Than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

⁵One who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; One who rejoices at disaster will not go unpunished.

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the old, And the glory of sons is their fathers.

⁷Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool, Much less are lying lips to a prince.

⁸A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner; Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹One who conceals an offense seeks love, But one who repeats a matter separates close friends.

¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding Than a hundred blows into a fool.

¹¹A rebellious person seeks only evil, So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a person meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his foolishness.

¹³One who returns evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

¹⁵One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no sense?

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

¹⁸A person lacking in sense shakes hands And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹One who loves wrongdoing loves strife; One who makes his doorway high seeks destruction.

²⁰One who has a crooked mind finds nothing good, And one who is corrupted in his language falls into evil.

²¹He who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked person accepts a bribe from an inside pocket To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴Wisdom is in the presence of one who has understanding, 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 gave birth to him.

²⁶It is also not good to fine the righteous, Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷One who withholds his words has knowledge, And one who has a cool spirit is a person of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

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

²He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

³He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his father Amaziah had done.

⁴Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁵And the LORD afflicted the king, so that he had leprosy to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king’s son was in charge of the household, judging the people of the land.

⁶Now as for 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 lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Jotham became king in his place.

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

⁹He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

¹⁰Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him in the presence of the people and killed him, and reigned in his place.

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

¹²This is the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” And so it was.

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

¹⁴Then Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him and became king in his place.

¹⁵Now as for the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he formed, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

¹⁶Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open up to him; so he attacked it and ripped up all its women who were pregnant.

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

¹⁸He did evil in the sight of the LORD; for all his days he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

¹⁹Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his rule.

²⁰Then Menahem collected the money from Israel, from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land.

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

²²And Menahem lay down with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.

²³In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for two years.

²⁴He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

²⁵Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in the castle of the king’s house with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he killed him and became king in his place.

²⁶Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and everything 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 became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for twenty years.

²⁸He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

²⁹In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he led their populations into exile to Assyria.

³⁰And Hoshea the son of Elah formed a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him and put him to death, and he became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

³¹Now as for 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 became king.

³³He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴He did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Uzziah had done.

³⁵Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD.

³⁶Now as for the rest of the acts of Jotham which 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 Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.

³⁸And Jotham lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“What do you people mean by using this proverb about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt’?

³As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore.

⁴Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

⁵“But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness,

⁶if he does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period—

⁷and if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,

⁸and if he does not lend money at interest or take interest, if he keeps his hand from injustice and executes true justice between one person and another,

⁹if he walks in My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will certainly live,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁰“However, he may father a violent son who sheds blood, and does any one of these things to a brother

¹¹(though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and defiles his neighbor’s wife,

¹²oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but raises his eyes to the idols and commits abomination,

¹³lends money at interest and takes interest; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he shall certainly be put to death; his blood will be on himself.

¹⁴“Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has seen them and does not do likewise.

¹⁵He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,

¹⁶nor oppressed anyone, nor retained a pledge, nor committed robbery; instead, he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,

¹⁷he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; he will not die for his father’s guilt, he will certainly live.

¹⁸As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his guilt.

¹⁹“Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live.

²⁰The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

²¹“But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.

²²All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.

²³Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord GOD, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?

²⁴“But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.

²⁵Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?

²⁶When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has committed he dies.

²⁷But when a wicked person turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.

²⁸Since he understood and turned away from all his offenses which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.

²⁹But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?

³⁰“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you.

³¹Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel?

³²For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live!”

¹The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,

²until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.

³To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God.

⁴Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;

⁵for John baptizedwith water, but you will be baptizedwith the Holy Spiritnot many days from now.”

⁶So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority;

⁸but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

⁹And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight.

¹⁰And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them,

¹¹and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

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

¹³When they had entered the city, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying, that is, Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴All these were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹⁵At this time Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 people was there together), and said,

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

¹⁷For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.”

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

¹⁹And it became known to all the residents of Jerusalem; as a result that field was called Hakeldama in their own language, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘MAY HIS RESIDENCE BE MADE DESOLATE, AND MAY THERE BE NONE LIVING IN IT’; and, ‘MAY ANOTHER TAKE HIS OFFICE.’

²¹Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—

²²beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

²³So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias.

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

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

²⁶And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.