Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

²And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³So he told them this parable:

⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

⁶And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

⁷Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

⁸“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

⁹And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

¹⁰Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.

¹²And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.

¹³Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

¹⁴And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.

¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

¹⁶And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!

¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.

¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

²¹And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.

²³And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.

²⁴For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

²⁷And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’

²⁸But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,

²⁹but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

³⁰But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

³¹And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

³²It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

³So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian.

⁴You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.”

⁵So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

⁶And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

⁷They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male.

⁸They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

⁹And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.

¹⁰All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,

¹¹and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast.

¹²Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

¹³Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.

¹⁴And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.

¹⁵Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live?

¹⁶Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

¹⁷Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

¹⁸But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.

¹⁹Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.

²⁰You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats' hair, and every article of wood.”

²¹Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded Moses:

²²only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

²³everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.

²⁴You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp.”

²⁵The LORD said to Moses,

²⁶“Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation,

²⁷and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.

²⁸And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.

²⁹Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD.

³⁰And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD.”

³¹And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

³²Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep,

³³72,000 cattle,

³⁴61,000 donkeys,

³⁵and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.

³⁶And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep,

³⁷and the LORD's tribute of sheep was 675.

³⁸The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 72.

³⁹The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD's tribute was 61.

⁴⁰The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 32 persons.

⁴¹And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

⁴²From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army —

⁴³now the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep,

⁴⁴36,000 cattle,

⁴⁵and 30,500 donkeys,

⁴⁶and 16,000 persons —

⁴⁷from the people of Israel's half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

⁴⁸Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses

⁴⁹and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.

⁵⁰And we have brought the LORD's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”

⁵¹And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles.

⁵²And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.

⁵³(The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.)

⁵⁴And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.

¹For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

²He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

³Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

⁴And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

⁶as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

⁸Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

⁹And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

¹⁰being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

¹¹About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

¹³for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

¹I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

³For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

⁴and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

⁵As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

⁸Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

⁹Do your best to come to me soon.

¹⁰For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

¹²Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

¹⁵Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!

¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

²⁰Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.

²¹Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

¹“Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days?

²Some move landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them.

³They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

⁴They thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves.

⁵Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert the poor go out to their toil, seeking game; the wasteland yields food for their children.

⁶They gather their fodder in the field, and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.

⁷They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.

⁸They are wet with the rain of the mountains and cling to the rock for lack of shelter.

⁹(There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and they take a pledge against the poor.)

¹⁰They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves;

¹¹among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil; they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.

¹²From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God charges no one with wrong.

¹³“There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he veils his face.

¹⁶In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light.

¹⁷For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

¹⁸“You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader turns toward their vineyards.

¹⁹Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned.

²⁰The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they are no longer remembered, so wickedness is broken like a tree.’

²¹“They wrong the barren, childless woman, and do no good to the widow.

²²Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life.

²³He gives them security, and they are supported, and his eyes are upon their ways.

²⁴They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like the heads of grain.

²⁵If it is not so, who will prove me a liar and show that there is nothing in what I say?”

¹Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!

²Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!

³Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.

⁶And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

⁷Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps,

⁸fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!

⁹Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹²Young men and maidens together, old men and children!

¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the LORD!

¹Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,

²for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.

³By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;

⁴by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

⁵A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

⁶for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.

⁸Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer.

⁹The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

¹⁰If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

¹¹Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

¹²If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;

¹⁶for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

¹⁸lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

¹⁹Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked,

²⁰for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,

²²for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

²³These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging is not good.

²⁴Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,

²⁵but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips.

²⁷Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

²⁸Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

³⁰I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,

³¹and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

³²Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.

³³A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,

³⁴and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

¹Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

²And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

³In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying,

⁴“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people.

⁵And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house

⁶(that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house.

⁷But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

⁸And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

⁹And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD.”

¹⁰Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

¹¹When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.

¹²And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,

¹³“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.

¹⁵And she said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me,

¹⁶Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.

¹⁷Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.

¹⁸But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard,

¹⁹because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD.

²⁰Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

¹The word of the LORD came to me:

²“Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

³Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile,

⁴therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.

⁵I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

⁶For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel,

⁷therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

⁸“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’

⁹therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.

¹⁰I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations,

¹¹and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

¹²“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them,

¹³therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.

¹⁴And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,

¹⁶therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast.

¹⁷I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

¹And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

²Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

³But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

⁴Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

⁶And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.

⁷For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.

⁸So there was much joy in that city.

⁹But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

¹⁰They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”

¹¹And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

¹³Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

¹⁴Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,

¹⁵who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

¹⁶for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁷Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,

¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

²¹You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

²²Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

²³For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

²⁴And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.

²⁷And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

²⁸and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

³⁰So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.

³³In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

³⁷

³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

³⁹And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.