Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”

³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

⁴For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

⁵But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”

⁶he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

⁷ You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

⁸ “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

¹⁰And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:

¹¹ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?

¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?

¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

²⁰ These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

²¹And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

²²And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”

²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.”

²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

²⁹Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

³⁰And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,

³¹so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

³³And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”

³⁴And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

³⁵And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,

³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

³⁷And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

³⁹And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

¹After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

²But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

³And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

⁴And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

⁵And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

⁶And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

⁷And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

⁸But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

⁹He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.

¹¹And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹²As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

¹³Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

¹⁴But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

¹⁵As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

¹⁶And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

¹⁷When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

¹⁸On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

¹⁹the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

²⁰the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

²¹the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

¹We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

²Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

³For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

⁴For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

⁶that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

⁸For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

⁹and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

¹⁰And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

¹⁴I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

¹⁵But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God

¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience — by word and deed,

¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God — so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;

²⁰and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation,

²¹but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

²²This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

²³But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you,

²⁴I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.

²⁵At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.

²⁶For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

²⁷For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

²⁸When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.

²⁹I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,

³¹that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

³²so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

³³May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.

⁴As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.

⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,

⁷for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

⁹who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

¹⁰and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

¹¹for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,

¹²which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

¹³Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

¹⁵You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,

¹⁷but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me —

¹⁸may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day! — and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

³Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?

⁴But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God.

⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?

¹⁰Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father.

¹¹Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?

¹²Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,

¹³that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?

¹⁴What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

¹⁵Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight;

¹⁶how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!

¹⁷“I will show you; hear me, and what I have seen I will declare

¹⁸(what wise men have told, without hiding it from their fathers,

¹⁹to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them).

²⁰The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.

²¹Dreadful sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, and he is marked for the sword.

²³He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;

²⁴distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.

²⁵Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,

²⁶running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;

²⁷because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist

²⁸and has lived in desolate cities, in houses that none should inhabit, which were ready to become heaps of ruins;

²⁹he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the earth;

³⁰he will not depart from darkness; the flame will dry up his shoots, and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.

³¹Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment.

³²It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not be green.

³³He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine, and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.

³⁵They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit.”

¹O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

²He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;

³who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

⁴in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

⁵who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

¹A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!

¹²A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.

¹³A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

¹⁴The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

¹⁸A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

¹⁹The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

²²Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

²³To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.

²⁵The LORD tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow's boundaries.

²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.

²⁷Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.

³¹The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

³²Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

³³The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

¹The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.

²And their south boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward.

³It goes out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka,

⁴passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary.

⁵And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.

⁶And the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah and passes along north of Beth-arabah. And the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

⁷And the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. And the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh and ends at En-rogel.

⁸Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.

⁹Then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).

¹⁰And the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to Beth-shemesh and passes along by Timnah.

¹¹The boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron and passes along to Mount Baalah and goes out to Jabneel. Then the boundary comes to an end at the sea.

¹²And the west boundary was the Great Sea with its coastline. This is the boundary around the people of Judah according to their clans.

¹³According to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak).

¹⁴And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak.

¹⁵And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. Now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher.

¹⁶And Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.”

¹⁷And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

¹⁸When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”

¹⁹She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans.

²¹The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme south, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

²²Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,

²³Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,

²⁴Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

²⁵Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor),

²⁶Amam, Shema, Moladah,

²⁷Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet,

²⁸Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,

²⁹Baalah, Iim, Ezem,

³⁰Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,

³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,

³²Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

³³And in the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,

³⁴Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam,

³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,

³⁶Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad,

³⁸Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,

⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish,

⁴¹Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴²Libnah, Ether, Ashan,

⁴³Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,

⁴⁴Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages.

⁴⁵Ekron, with its towns and its villages;

⁴⁶from Ekron to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

⁴⁷Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coastline.

⁴⁸And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,

⁴⁹Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir),

⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,

⁵¹Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages.

⁵²Arab, Dumah, Eshan,

⁵³Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah,

⁵⁴Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,

⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,

⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor,

⁵⁹Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages.

⁶⁰Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

⁶¹In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah,

⁶²Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi: six cities with their villages.

⁶³But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

¹An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.

²He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;

³in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.

⁴Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.

⁵My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;

⁶the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.

⁷Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.

⁸For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.

⁹For the waters of Dibon are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.

¹But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

⁵But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

⁷And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,

⁹and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

¹²And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶“‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,

¹⁷that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things

¹⁸known from of old.’

¹⁹Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,

²⁰but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

²¹For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

²³with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,

²⁵it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:

²⁹that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

³²And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.

³³And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.