Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then some 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 bread.”

³And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

⁴For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘THE ONE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TOBE PUT TO DEATH.’

⁵But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has beengiven to God,”

⁶he is not tohonor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

⁷You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

⁸‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

⁹AND IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’ ”

¹⁰After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand!

¹¹It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

¹²Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

¹³But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.

¹⁴Leave them alone; they are blind guidesof blind people. And if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

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

¹⁶Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding?

¹⁷Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and iseliminated?

¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, andslanderous statements.

²⁰These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

²¹Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

²³But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us!”

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

²⁵But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶Yet He answered and said, “It is notgood to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at once.

²⁹Departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there.

³⁰And large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

³¹So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

³²Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel compassion for thepeople, because theyhave remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

³³The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”

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

³⁵And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;

³⁶and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

³⁷And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.

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

³⁹And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.

¹After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”

²But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

³Abram also said, “Since You have given me no son, one who has been born in my house is my heir.”

⁴Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

⁵And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

⁶Then he believed in the LORD; and He credited it to him as righteousness.

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

⁸But he said, “Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?”

⁹So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

¹¹And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹²Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.

¹³Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

¹⁴But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

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

¹⁶Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

¹⁷Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which passed between these pieces.

¹⁸On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

¹⁹the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite,

²⁰the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim,

²¹the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”

¹Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves.

²Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

³For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “THE TAUNTS OF THOSE WHO TAUNT YOU HAVE FALLEN ON ME.”

⁴For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus,

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

⁷Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God.

⁸For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers,

⁹and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written: “THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING PRAISES TO YOUR NAME.”

¹⁰Again he says, “REJOICE, YOU GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.”

¹¹And again, “PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM.”

¹²Again Isaiah says, “THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM WILL THE GENTILES HOPE.”

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

¹⁴And concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.

¹⁵But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given to me from God,

¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.

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

¹⁹in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

²⁰And in this way I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, so that I would not build on another person’s foundation;

²¹but just as it is written: “THEY WHO HAVE NOT BEEN TOLD ABOUT HIM WILL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD WILL UNDERSTAND.”

²²For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you;

²³but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you

²⁴whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while—

²⁵but now, I am going to Jerusalem, serving the saints.

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

²⁷For they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to do them a service also in material things.

²⁸Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

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

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

³¹that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;

³²so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and relax in your company.

³³Now 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 life in Christ Jesus,

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

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

⁴longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.

⁵For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

⁶For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,

⁹who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

¹⁰but has now been revealed by 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, an apostle, and a teacher.

¹²For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

¹³Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

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

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

¹⁷but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me—

¹⁸the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?

³Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which do not benefit?

⁴Indeed, you do away with reverence, And hinder meditation before God.

⁵For your wrongdoing teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the cunning.

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

⁷“Were you the first person to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸Do you hear the secret discussion of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?

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

¹¹Are the consolations of God too little for you, Or the word spoken gently to you?

¹²Why does your heart take you away? And why do your eyes wink,

¹³That you can turn your spirit against God And produce such words from your mouth?

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

¹⁵Behold, He has no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

¹⁶How much less one who is detestable and corrupt: A person who drinks malice like water!

¹⁷“I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

¹⁸What wise people have told, And have not concealed from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them.

²⁰The wicked person writhes in pain all his days, And the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.

²¹Sounds of terror are in his ears; While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword.

²³He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

²⁴Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

²⁵Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.

²⁶He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.

²⁷For he has covered his face with his fat, And put fat on his waist.

²⁸He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.

²⁹He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his property will not stretch out on the earth.

³⁰He will not escape from darkness; The flame will dry up his shoot, And he will go away by the breath of His mouth.

³¹Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For his reward will be emptiness.

³²It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.

³³He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

³⁵They conceive harm and give birth to wrongdoing, And their mind prepares deception.”

¹LORD, who may reside in Your tent? Who may settle on Your holy hill?

²One who walks with integrity, practices righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.

³He does not slander with his tongue, Nor do evil to his neighbor, Nor bring shame on his friend;

⁴A despicable person is despised in his eyes, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He takes an oath to his own detriment, and does not change;

⁵He does not lend his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. One who does these things will never be shaken.

¹A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise makes knowledge pleasant, But the mouth of fools spouts foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.

⁴A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who complies with rebuke is sensible.

⁶Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves the one who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is severe punishment for one who abandons the way; One who hates a rebuke will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of mankind!

¹²A scoffer does not love one who rebukes him; He will not go to the wise.

¹³A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the needy are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure, and turmoil with the treasure.

¹⁷Better is a portion of vegetables where there is love, Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

¹⁹The way of the lazy one is like a hedge of thorns, But the path of the upright is a highway.

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

²¹Foolishness is joy to one who lacks sense, But a person of understanding walks straight.

²²Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.

²³A person has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the wise, So that he may keep away from Sheol below.

²⁵The LORD will tear down the house of the proud, But He will set the boundary of the widow.

²⁶Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD, But pleasant words are pure.

²⁷He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, 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.

³⁰Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news refreshes the bones.

³¹One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke Will stay among the wise.

³²One who neglects discipline rejects himself, But one who listens to a rebuke acquires understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

¹Now the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at the extreme south.

²Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south.

³Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued to Zin, then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned to Karka.

⁴It continued to Azmon and proceeded to the brook of Egypt, and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border.

⁵The eastern border was the Salt Sea, as far as the mouth of the Jordan. And the border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.

⁶Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

⁷And the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and it ended at En-rogel.

⁸Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is opposite the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim toward the north.

⁹And from the top of the mountain the border turned to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border turned to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).

¹⁰The border turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through Timnah.

¹¹Then the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. And the border turned to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the border ended at the sea.

¹²The western border was at the Great Sea, even its coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.

¹³Now he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, in accordance with the command of the LORD to Joshua, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron).

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

¹⁵Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir previously was Kiriath-sepher.

¹⁶And Caleb said, “The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.”

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

¹⁸And it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”

¹⁹Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me springs of water also.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.

²¹Now the cities at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel, Eder, and Jagur,

²²Kinah, Dimonah, and Adadah,

²³Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan,

²⁴Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth,

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

²⁶Amam, Shema, and Moladah,

²⁷Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, and Beth-pelet,

²⁸Hazar-shual, Beersheba, and Biziothiah,

²⁹Baalah, Iim, and Ezem,

³⁰Eltolad, Chesil, and Hormah,

³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah,

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

³³In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah,

³⁴Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam,

³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,

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

³⁷Zenan, Hadashah, and Migdal-gad,

³⁸Dilean, Mizpeh, and Joktheel,

³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, and Eglon,

⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahmas, and Chitlish,

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

⁴²Libnah, Ether, and Ashan,

⁴³Iphtah, Ashnah, and Nezib,

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

⁴⁵Ekron, with its towns and its villages;

⁴⁶from Ekron even 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, as far as the brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its coastline.

⁴⁸In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, and Socoh,

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

⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,

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

⁵²Arab, Dumah, and Eshan,

⁵³Janum, Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah,

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

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and Juttah,

⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, and Zanoah,

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

⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, and 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, and Secacah,

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

⁶³Now as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

¹The pronouncement concerning Moab: Certainly in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined; Certainly in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.

²The people have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.

³In their streets they have put on sackcloth; On their housetops and in their public squares Everyone is wailing, overcome with weeping.

⁴Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out, Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz; Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; His soul trembles within him.

⁵My heart cries out for Moab; His fugitives are as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping; Indeed, on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their collapse.

⁶For the waters of Nimrim are desolate. Indeed, the grass is withered, the new growth has died, There is no greenery.

⁷Therefore the abundance which they have acquired and stored up, They carry it off over the brook of Arabim.

⁸For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab, Its wailing goes as far as Eglaim and its howling to Beer-elim.

⁹For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; I will certainly bring added woes upon Dimon, A lion upon the fugitives of Moab and the remnant of the land.

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

²And after Paul and Barnabas had a heated argument and debate with them, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

³Therefore, after being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

⁷After 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 would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.

¹⁵The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN TABERNACLE OF DAVID, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

¹⁷SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

¹⁸SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.

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

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

²³and they sent this letter with them: “The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching, upsetting your souls,

²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

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

²⁷Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

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

³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message.

³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters in peace to those who had sent them out.

³⁴

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

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.

³⁸But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

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