Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him.

²And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³And so He told them this parable, saying,

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

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

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

⁷I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

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

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

¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹And He said, “A man had two sons.

¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate thatis coming to me.’ And so he divided hiswealth between them.

¹³And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate inwild living.

¹⁴Now when he hadspent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began doing without.

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

¹⁶And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything.

¹⁷But when he came tohis senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying herefrom hunger!

¹⁸I will set out and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, andin your sight;

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired laborers.” ’

²⁰So he set out and came tohis father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran andembraced him and kissed him.

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

²²But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, andput a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet;

²³and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate;

²⁴for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.

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

²⁸But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

²⁹But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have neverneglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

³⁰but when this son of yours came, who has devoured yourwealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’

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

³²But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the sons of Israel; afterward you will be gathered to your people.”

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

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

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

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

⁷So they made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.

⁸They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of those killed: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

⁹And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and they plundered all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their property.

¹⁰Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their encampments.

¹¹And they took all the plunder and all the spoils, both of people and of livestock.

¹²They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab which are by the Jordan, opposite Jericho.

¹³And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp.

¹⁴But 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.

¹⁵And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women?

¹⁶Behold, they caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to be unfaithful to the LORD in the matter of Peor, so that the plague took place among the congregation of the LORD!

¹⁷Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

¹⁸However, all the girls who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves.

¹⁹And as for you, camp outside the camp for seven days; whoever has killed a person and whoever has touched anyone killed, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day.

²⁰And you shall purify for yourselves every garment, every article of leather, every work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”

²¹Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the Law which the LORD has commanded Moses:

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

²³everything that can withstand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it will be clean, only it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot withstand the fire you shall pass through the water.

²⁴And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and you will be clean; and afterward you may enter the camp.”

²⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁶“You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the spoils that were captured, both of people and of livestock;

²⁷and divide the spoils between the warriors who went to battle and all the congregation.

²⁸Also, collect a tribute tax for the LORD from the men of war who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep;

²⁹take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the LORD.

³⁰And from the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn from every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep, from all the animals; and give them to the Levites who perform the duty of the tabernacle of the LORD.”

³¹Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³²Now the spoils that remained from the plunder which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep,

³³seventy-two thousand cattle,

³⁴sixty-one thousand donkeys,

³⁵and of captive people, of the women who had not known a man intimately, in all were thirty-two thousand people.

³⁶The half, the share of those who went to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500,

³⁷the LORD’S tribute tax of the sheep was 675;

³⁸the cattle were thirty-six thousand, from which the LORD’S tribute tax was seventy-two;

³⁹the donkeys were 30,500, from which the LORD’S tribute tax was sixty-one;

⁴⁰and the captive people were sixteen thousand, from whom the LORD’S tribute tax was thirty-two persons.

⁴¹And Moses gave the tribute tax, which was the LORD’S offering, to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴²As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who had gone to war—

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

⁴⁴thirty-six thousand cattle,

⁴⁵30,500 donkeys,

⁴⁶and the captive people were sixteen thousand—

⁴⁷from the sons of Israel’s half Moses took one drawn from every fifty, both of people and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the tabernacle of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴⁸Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses,

⁴⁹and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of the men of war who are under our authority, and no man of us is missing.

⁵⁰So we have brought as an offering to the LORD what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”

⁵¹Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of crafted articles.

⁵²All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.

⁵³The men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself.

⁵⁴So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD.

¹For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of people in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins;

²he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is clothed in weakness;

³and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins for himself, as well as for the people.

⁴And no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God, just as Aaron also was.

⁵So too Christ did not glorify Himself in becoming a high priest, but it was He who said to Him, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU”;

⁶just as He also says in another passage, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”

⁷In the days of His humanity, He offered up both prayers and pleas with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His devout behavior.

⁸Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

⁹And having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him,

¹⁰being designated by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹¹Concerning him we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become poor listeners.

¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.

¹I solemnly exhort 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; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.

³For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,

⁴and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

⁵But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, 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 course, I have kept the faith;

⁸in the future there is reserved 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.

⁹Make every effort to come to me soon;

¹⁰for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

¹²But I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

¹³When you come, bring the overcoat which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

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

¹⁵Be on guard against him yourself too, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

¹⁶At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.

¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to 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, but I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

²¹Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

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

¹“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, And why do those who know Him not see His days?

²People remove landmarks; They seize and devour flocks.

³They drive away the donkeys of orphans; They seize the widow’s ox as a pledge.

⁴They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land have to hide themselves together.

⁵Behold, like wild donkeys in the wilderness They go out scavenging for food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert.

⁶They harvest their feed in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold.

⁸They are wet from the mountain rains, And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.

⁹Others snatch an orphan from the breast, And they seize it as a pledge against the poor.

¹⁰The poor move about naked without clothing, And they carry sheaves, while going hungry.

¹¹Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but go thirsty.

¹²From the city people groan, And the souls of the wounded cry for help; Yet God does not pay attention to the offensiveness.

¹³“Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor stay in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is like a thief.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’ And he disguises his face.

¹⁶In the darkness they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light.

¹⁷For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

¹⁸“They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their plot of land on the earth is cursed. They do not turn toward the vineyards.

¹⁹Dryness and heat snatch away the snow waters, As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.

²⁰A mother will forget him; The maggot feeds sweetly until he is no longer remembered. And injustice will be broken like a tree.

²¹He wrongs the infertile woman, And does no good for the widow.

²²But He drags off the mighty by His power; He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

²³He provides them with security, and they are supported; And His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low, and like everything they are gathered up; Like the heads of grain they wither.

²⁵Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?”

¹Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!

²Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His heavenly armies!

³Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!

⁴Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!

⁵They are to praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.

⁶He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree, and it will not pass away.

⁷Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters, and all the ocean depths;

⁸Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

⁹Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars;

¹⁰Animals and all cattle; Crawling things and winged fowl;

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples; Rulers and all judges of the earth;

¹²Both young men and virgins; Old men and children.

¹³They are to praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones, For the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!

¹Do not be envious of evil people, Nor desire to be with them;

²For their minds plot violence, And their lips talk of trouble.

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

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

⁵A wise man is strong, And a person of knowledge increases power.

⁶For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in an abundance of counselors there is victory.

⁷Wisdom is too exalted for a fool, He does not open his mouth at the gate.

⁸One who plans to do evil, People will call a schemer.

⁹The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to humanity.

¹⁰If you show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress, Your strength is meager.

¹¹Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!

¹²If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He who weighs the hearts not consider it? And does He who watches over your soul not know it? And will He not repay a person according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good; Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

¹⁴Know that wisdom is the same for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in ambush, you wicked person, against the home of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place;

¹⁶For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of disaster.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁸Otherwise, the LORD will see and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

¹⁹Do not get upset because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked;

²⁰For there will be no future for the evil person; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank,

²²For their disaster will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?

²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴One who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Peoples will curse him, nations will scold him;

²⁵But for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶One who gives a right answer Kisses the lips.

²⁷Prepare your work outside, And make it ready for yourself in the field; Afterward, then, build your house.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor for no reason, And do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “I shall do the same to him as he has done to me; I will repay the person according to his work.”

³⁰I passed by the field of a lazy one, And by the vineyard of a person lacking sense,

³¹And behold, it was completely overgrown with weeds; Its surface was covered with weeds, And its stone wall was broken down.

³²When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.

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

³⁴Then your poverty will come like a drifter, And your need like an armed man.

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD and walked entirely in the way of his father David, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

³Now in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,

⁴“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and have him count all the money brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

⁵And have them hand it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and have them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the LORD to repair the damage to the house:

⁶to the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house.

⁷However, no accounting shall be made with them for the money handed over to them, because they deal honestly.”

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

⁹Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have handed it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD.”

¹⁰Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

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

¹²Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,

¹³“Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for the wrath of the LORD that burns against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book, to act in accordance with everything that is written regarding us.”

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

¹⁵Then she said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,

¹⁶“This is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am going to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.

¹⁷Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.’ ”

¹⁸But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, this is what you shall say to him: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Regarding the words which you have heard,

¹⁹since your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become an object of horror and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,’ declares the LORD.”

²⁰Therefore, behold, I am going to gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not look at all the devastation that I am going to bring on this place.’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

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

²“Son of man, set your face against the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them,

³and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile,

⁴therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

⁵I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

⁶For this is what the Lord GOD says: “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel,

⁷therefore, behold, I have reached out with My hand against you and I will give you as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the lands. I will exterminate you. So you will know that I am the LORD.”

⁸‘The Lord GOD says this: “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’

⁹therefore, behold, I am going to deprive the flank of Moab of its cities, of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim;

¹⁰and I will give it as a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the people of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations.

¹¹So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the LORD.”

¹²‘The Lord GOD says this: “Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,”

¹³therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will also reach out with My hand against Edom and eliminate human and animal life from it. And I will turn it into ruins; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

¹⁴And I will inflict My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom in accordance with My anger and My wrath; so they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because the Philistines have acted in revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,”

¹⁶therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am going to reach out with My hand against the Philistines and eliminate the Cherethites; and I will destroy the remnant of the seacoast.

¹⁷I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the LORD, when I inflict My vengeance on them.” ’ ”

¹Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.

²Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him.

³But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.

⁴Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places preaching the word.

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

⁶The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.

⁷For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed.

⁸So there was much rejoicing in that city.

⁹Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;

¹⁰and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.”

¹¹And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic arts.

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

¹³Now even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was repeatedly amazed.

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

¹⁵who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶(For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

¹⁷Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving 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 this authority to me as well, so that everyone 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 acquire the gift of God with money!

²¹You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

²²Therefore, repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart will be forgiven you.

²³For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of unrighteousness.”

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

²⁵So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)

²⁷So he got ready and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

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

²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”

³⁰Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

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

³²Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED LIKE A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND LIKE A LAMB THAT IS SILENT BEFORE ITS SHEARER, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

³³IN HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL DESCRIBE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EARTH.”

³⁴The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

³⁶As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

³⁷

³⁸And he ordered that the chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.

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