Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.

²And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.

³And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

⁴But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go.

⁵Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”

⁶And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

⁷So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:

⁸“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;

⁹and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

¹¹For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.

¹³But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁵Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

¹⁶Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,

¹⁷and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’

¹⁸But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’

¹⁹And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’

²⁰Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

²¹So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’

²²And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’

²³Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

²⁴For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”

²⁵Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,

²⁶“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

²⁷And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—

²⁹lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

³⁰saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?

³¹Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

³²Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

³³So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

³⁴“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

³⁵It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

¹Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded:

²If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

³“Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth,

⁴and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand.

⁵But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her.

⁶“If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself,

⁷and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand.

⁸But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her.

⁹“Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

¹⁰“If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath,

¹¹and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand.

¹²But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD will release her.

¹³Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void.

¹⁴Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them.

¹⁵But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”

¹⁶These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.

¹Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

²For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

³For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

⁴For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

⁵and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

⁶Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,

⁷again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

⁹There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

¹⁰For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

¹¹Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

¹²For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

¹³And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

¹But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

³unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,

⁴traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

⁶For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,

⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;

⁹but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

¹⁰But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,

¹¹persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

¹²Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

¹³But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of my groaning.

³Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!

⁴I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me.

⁶Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me.

⁷There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸“Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

⁹When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

¹⁰But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

¹¹My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.

¹²I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.

¹³“But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does.

¹⁴For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him.

¹⁵Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.

¹⁶For God made my heart weak, And the Almighty terrifies me;

¹⁷Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.

¹Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

²The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

³He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

⁴He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.

⁵Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

⁶The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.

⁷Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God,

⁸Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

⁹He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry.

¹⁰He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

¹¹The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you.

¹⁴He makes peace in your borders, And fills you with the finest wheat.

¹⁵He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.

¹⁶He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes;

¹⁷He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold?

¹⁸He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.

²⁰He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the LORD!

¹When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;

²And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.

³Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.

⁴Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!

⁵Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

⁶Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies;

⁷For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

⁸The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words.

⁹Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;

¹¹For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.

¹²Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;

¹⁶Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;

¹⁸For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way.

²⁰Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

²²Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.

²⁵Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.

²⁶My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.

²⁷For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well.

²⁸She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?

³⁰Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.

³¹Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;

³²At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things.

³⁴Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:

³⁵“They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

²And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

³For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

⁴He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.”

⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

⁶Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

⁷He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

⁸and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

⁹But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

¹⁰And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying,

¹¹“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations ( he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols),

¹²therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.

¹³And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

¹⁴So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies,

¹⁵because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ ”

¹⁶Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

¹⁷Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh—all that he did, and the sin that he committed—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

¹⁸So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

¹⁹Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

²⁰And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.

²¹So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them.

²²He forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.

²³Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house.

²⁴But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

²⁵Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁶And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.

¹Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.

³And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Put on a pot, set it on, And also pour water into it.

⁴Gather pieces of meat in it, Every good piece, The thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice cuts;

⁵Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it.”

⁶‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has fallen.

⁷For her blood is in her midst; She set it on top of a rock; She did not pour it on the ground, To cover it with dust.

⁸That it may raise up fury and take vengeance, I have set her blood on top of a rock, That it may not be covered.”

⁹‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the bloody city! I too will make the pyre great.

¹⁰Heap on the wood, Kindle the fire; Cook the meat well, Mix in the spices, And let the cuts be burned up.

¹¹“Then set the pot empty on the coals, That it may become hot and its bronze may burn, That its filthiness may be melted in it, That its scum may be consumed.

¹²She has grown weary with lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire!

¹³In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, You will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.

¹⁴I, the LORD, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you,” Says the Lord GOD.’ ”

¹⁵Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.

¹⁷Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

²⁰Then I answered them, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²¹‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

²²And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow.

²³Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.

²⁴Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ”

²⁵‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters:

²⁶that on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears?

²⁷On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”

¹Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

²And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

³and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’

⁴Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.

⁵And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.

⁶But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.

⁷‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’

⁸Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

⁹“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him

¹⁰and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

¹³And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.

¹⁵So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers.

¹⁶And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

¹⁷“But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt

¹⁸till another king arose who did not know Joseph.

¹⁹This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.

²⁰At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.

²¹But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.

²²And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

²³“Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.

²⁴And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.

²⁵For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

²⁶And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’

²⁷But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’

²⁹Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.

³⁰“And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.

³¹When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,

³²saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look.

³³‘Then the LORD said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.

³⁴I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’

³⁵“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

³⁷“This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

³⁸“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

³⁹whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

⁴¹And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

⁴²Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,

⁴⁵which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,

⁴⁶who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But Solomon built Him a house.

⁴⁸“However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

⁴⁹‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?

⁵⁰Has My hand not made all these things?’

⁵¹“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,

⁵³who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

⁵⁴When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

⁵⁶and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;

⁵⁸and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.