Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³So he told them this parable:

⁴“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

⁵When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.

⁶And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and 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 of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?

⁹When 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 in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.

¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

¹⁴When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout 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 to his fields to feed the pigs.

¹⁶He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!

¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;

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

²⁰So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹Then 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 slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe — the best one — and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

²³And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;

²⁴for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

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

²⁶He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.

²⁷He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’

²⁸Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.

²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.

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

³¹Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always 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 come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

³So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your number 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 of the tribes of Israel to the war.”

⁵So out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe were conscripted, twelve thousand armed for battle.

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

⁷They did battle against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every male.

⁸They killed the kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, in addition to others who were slain by them; and they also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

⁹The Israelites took the women of Midian and their little ones captive; and they took all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods as booty.

¹⁰All their towns where they had settled, and all their encampments, they burned,

¹¹but they took all the spoil and all the booty, both people and animals.

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

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

¹⁴Moses became 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 allowed all the women to live?

¹⁶These women here, on Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites act treacherously against the LORD in the affair of Peor, so that 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 a man by sleeping with him.

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

¹⁹Camp outside the camp seven days; whoever of you has killed any person or touched a corpse, purify yourselves and your captives on the third and on the seventh day.

²⁰You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, everything made of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”

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

²²gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead —

²³everything that can withstand fire, shall be passed through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless it shall also be purified with the water for purification; and whatever cannot withstand fire, shall be passed through the water.

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

²⁵The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁶“You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the ancestral houses of the congregation make an inventory of the booty captured, both human and animal.

²⁷Divide the booty into two parts, between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.

²⁸From the share of the warriors who went out to battle, set aside as tribute for the LORD, one item out of every five hundred, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, or goats.

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

³⁰But from the Israelites’ half you shall take one out of every fifty, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, or goats — all the animals — and give them to the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”

³¹Then Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses:

³²The booty remaining from the spoil that the troops had taken totaled six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,

³³seventy-two thousand oxen,

³⁴sixty-one thousand donkeys,

³⁵and thirty-two thousand persons in all, women who had not known a man by sleeping with him.

³⁶The half-share, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep and goats,

³⁷and the LORD’s tribute of sheep and goats was six hundred seventy-five.

³⁸The oxen were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.

³⁹The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.

⁴⁰The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

⁴¹Moses gave the tribute, the offering for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴²As for the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from that of the troops,

⁴³the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep and goats,

⁴⁴thirty-six thousand oxen,

⁴⁵thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

⁴⁶and sixteen thousand persons.

⁴⁷From the Israelites’ half Moses took one of every fifty, both of persons and of animals, and gave them to the Levites who had charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; 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 said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the warriors who are under our command, and not one of us is missing.

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

⁵¹Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all in the form of crafted articles.

⁵²And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.

⁵³(The troops had all taken plunder for themselves.)

⁵⁴So 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 Israelites before the LORD.

¹Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

²He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness;

³and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

⁴And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one 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, according to the order of Melchizedek.”

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

⁸Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;

⁹and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

¹⁰having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹¹About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding.

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

¹³for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness.

¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you:

²proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.

³For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires,

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

⁵As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

⁶As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.

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

⁸From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for 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.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

¹²I have sent Tychicus 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 pay him back for his deeds.

¹⁵You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.

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

¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, 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 attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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

²⁰Erastus remained in Corinth; Trophimus I left ill in Miletus.

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

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

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

²The wicked remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them.

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

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

⁵Like wild asses in the desert they go out to their toil, scavenging in the wasteland food for their young.

⁶They reap in a field not their own and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

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 want of shelter.

⁹“There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast, and take as a pledge the infant of the poor.

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

¹¹between their terraces they press out oil; they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst.

¹²From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

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 at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he disguises 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“Swift are they on the face of the waters; their portion in the land is cursed; 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 harm the 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; his eyes are upon their ways.

²⁴They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they wither and fade like the mallow; 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 host!

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.

⁶He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

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

⁸fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!

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

¹⁰Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!

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

¹²Young men and women alike, old and young together!

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

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

¹Do not envy the wicked, nor desire to be with them;

²for their minds devise violence, and their lips talk of mischief.

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

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

⁵Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones, and those who have knowledge than those who have strength;

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

⁷Wisdom is too high for fools; in the gate they do not open their mouths.

⁸Whoever plans to do evil will be called a mischief-maker.

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

¹⁰If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength being small;

¹¹if you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death, those who go staggering to the slaughter;

¹²if you say, “Look, 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 all according to their deeds?

¹³My child, 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, you will find a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against the home of the righteous; do no violence to the place where the righteous live;

¹⁶for though they fall seven times, they will rise again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble,

¹⁸or else the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from them.

¹⁹Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not envy the wicked;

²⁰for the evil have no future; the lamp of the wicked will go out.

²¹My child, fear the LORD and the king, and do not disobey either of them;

²²for disaster comes from them suddenly, and who knows the ruin that both can bring?

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

²⁴Whoever says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” 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.

²⁶One who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips.

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

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

²⁹Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me; I will pay them back for what they have done.”

³⁰I passed by the field of one who was lazy, by the vineyard of a stupid person;

³¹and see, 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 warrior.

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

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

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

⁴“Go up to the high priest Hilkiah, and have him count the entire sum of the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people;

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

⁶that is, to the carpenters, to the builders, to the masons; and let them use it to buy 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.”

⁸The high priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.” When Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, he read it.

⁹Then 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 workers who have oversight of the house of the LORD.”

¹⁰Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” Shaphan then read it aloud to the king.

¹¹When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

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

¹³“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, 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 ancestors did not obey the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

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

¹⁵She declared to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,

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

¹⁷Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods, so that they have provoked 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 as 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 because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the LORD.

²⁰Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring on this place.” They took the message back to the king.

¹The word of the LORD came to me:

²Mortal, 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 it went into exile;

⁴therefore I am handing you over to the people of the east for a possession. They shall set their encampments among you and pitch their tents 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 shall 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 you against the land of Israel,

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

⁸Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab said, The house of Judah is like all the other nations,

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

¹⁰I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the east as a possession. Thus Ammon shall be remembered no more among the nations,

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

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

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

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

¹⁵Thus says the Lord GOD: Because with unending hostilities the Philistines acted in vengeance, and with malice of heart took revenge in destruction;

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

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

¹And Saul approved of their killing him. Saul Persecutes the Church That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.

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

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

⁴Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word.

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

⁶The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did,

⁷for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured.

⁸So there was great joy in that city.

⁹Now a certain man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great.

¹⁰All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”

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

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

¹³Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.

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

¹⁵The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit

¹⁶(for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus).

¹⁷Then Peter and John 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 also this power 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 God’s gift with money!

²¹You have no part or share in this, 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 the chains of wickedness.”

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

²⁵Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.)

²⁷So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

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

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

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

³¹He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside 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 silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.

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

³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

³⁷

³⁸He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

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

⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.