Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead.

²So they gave a dinner for him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him.

³Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray him), said,

⁵“Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”

⁶He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.

⁷Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial.

⁸For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

⁹Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead.

¹⁰But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also,

¹¹because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

¹²The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

¹³they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord — the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:

¹⁵Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.

¹⁶His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

¹⁷Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify.

¹⁸This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign.

¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

²⁰Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival.

²¹So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

²²Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

²³Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

²⁴Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.

²⁵The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

²⁶If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷“Now my soul is troubled. What should I say — Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour.

²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

³⁰Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for me, but for you.

³¹Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

³²As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.”

³³He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die.

³⁴Then the crowd replied to him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going.

³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.

³⁷Even though he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.

³⁸This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said: Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

³⁹This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said:

⁴⁰He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.

⁴¹Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke about him.

⁴²Nevertheless, many did believe in him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, so that they would not be banned from the synagogue.

⁴³For they loved human praise more than praise from God.

⁴⁴Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me.

⁴⁵And the one who sees me sees him who sent me.

⁴⁶I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness.

⁴⁷If anyone hears my words and doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

⁴⁸The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my sayings has this as his judge: The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

⁴⁹For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a command to say everything I have said.

⁵⁰I know that his command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.”

¹“Set aside the month of Abib and observe the Passover to the LORD your God, because the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.

²Sacrifice to the LORD your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the LORD chooses to have his name dwell.

³Do not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship — because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry  — so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.

⁴No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.

⁵You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the LORD your God is giving you.

⁶Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the LORD your God chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt.

⁷You are to cook and eat it in the place the LORD your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning.

⁸Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God; do not do any work.

⁹“You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.

¹⁰You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you.

¹¹Rejoice before the LORD your God in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow among you.

¹²Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

¹³“You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.

¹⁴Rejoice during your festival — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates.

¹⁵You are to hold a seven-day festival for the LORD your God in the place he chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and you will have abundant joy.

¹⁶“All your males are to appear three times a year before the LORD your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the LORD empty-handed.

¹⁷Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁸“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

¹⁹Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

²⁰Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.

²¹“Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God,

²²and do not set up a sacred pillar; the LORD your God hates them.

¹Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.

²So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.

⁴For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

⁵Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience.

⁶And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks.

⁷Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

⁸Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

⁹The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.

¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

¹²The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

²This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

³but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

⁴You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

⁵They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.

⁶We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

⁸The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.

¹⁰Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹¹Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.

¹²No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior.

¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God.

¹⁶And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

¹⁷In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love.

¹⁹We love because he first loved us.

²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²¹And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.

¹There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:

²a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot;

³a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build;

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

⁵a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

⁶a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away;

⁷a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;

⁸a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What does the worker gain from his struggles?

¹⁰I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied.

¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

¹³It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him.

¹⁵Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.

¹⁶I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

¹⁷I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

¹⁸I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

¹⁹For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile.

²⁰All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

²¹Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?

²²I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.

²Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.

³There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard.

⁴Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.

⁵It is like a bridegroom coming from his home; it rejoices like an athlete running a course.

⁶It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.

⁸The precepts of the LORD are right, making the heart glad; the command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up.

⁹The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous.

¹⁰They are more desirable than gold — than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey dripping from a honeycomb.

¹¹In addition, your servant is warned by them, and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.

¹²Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

¹³Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed from blatant rebellion.

¹⁴May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

²Whoever lives with integrity fears the LORD, but the one who is devious in his ways despises him.

³The proud speech of a fool brings a rod of discipline, but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of an ox.

⁵An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness utters lies.

⁶A mocker seeks wisdom and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to the perceptive.

⁷Stay away from a foolish person; you will gain no knowledge from his speech.

⁸The sensible person’s wisdom is to consider his way, but the stupidity of fools deceives them.

⁹Fools mock at making reparation, but there is goodwill among the upright.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, and no outsider shares in its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.

¹³Even in laughter a heart may be sad, and joy may end in grief.

¹⁴The disloyal one will get what his conduct deserves, and a good one, what his deeds deserve.

¹⁵The inexperienced one believes anything, but the sensible one watches his steps.

¹⁶A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool is easily angered and is careless.

¹⁷A quick-tempered person acts foolishly, and one who schemes is hated.

¹⁸The inexperienced inherit foolishness, but the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow before those who are good, and the wicked, at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰A poor person is hated even by his neighbor, but there are many who love the rich.

²¹The one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever shows kindness to the poor will be happy.

²²Don’t those who plan evil go astray? But those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

²³There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the foolishness of fools produces foolishness.

²⁵A truthful witness rescues lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.

²⁸A large population is a king’s splendor, but a shortage of people is a ruler’s devastation.

²⁹A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.

³⁰A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.

³¹The one who oppresses the poor person insults his Maker, but one who is kind to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous one has a refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom resides in the heart of the discerning; she is known even among fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵A king favors a prudent servant, but his anger falls on a disgraceful one.

¹After this, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its surrounding villages from Philistine control.

²He also defeated the Moabites, and they became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

³David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah at Hamath when he went to establish his control at the Euphrates River.

⁴David captured one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, hamstrung all the horses, and kept a hundred chariots.

⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men.

⁶Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.

⁷David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer’s officers and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸From Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer’s cities, David also took huge quantities of bronze, from which Solomon made the bronze basin, the pillars, and the bronze articles.

⁹When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah,

¹⁰he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Hadoram brought all kinds of gold, silver, and bronze items.

¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all the nations — from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.

¹²Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Salt Valley.

¹³He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.

¹⁴So David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness for all his people.

¹⁵Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was court historian;

¹⁶Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was court secretary;

¹⁷Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were the chief officials at the king’s side.

¹“This is what the Lord GOD says: The gate of the inner court that faces east is to be closed during the six days of work, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon.

²The prince should enter from the outside by way of the gate’s portico and stand at the gate’s doorpost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He will bow in worship at the gate’s threshold and then depart, but the gate is not to be closed until evening.

³The people of the land will also bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons.

⁴“The burnt offering that the prince presents to the LORD on the Sabbath day is to be six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram.

⁵The grain offering will be half a bushel with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs will be whatever he wants to give, as well as a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

⁶On the day of the New Moon, the burnt offering is to be a young, unblemished bull, as well as six lambs and a ram without blemish.

⁷He will provide a grain offering of half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he can afford with the lambs, together with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

⁸When the prince enters, he is to go in by way of the gate’s portico and go out the same way.

⁹“When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed times, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship is to go out by way of the south gate, and whoever enters by way of the south gate is to go out by way of the north gate. No one may return through the gate by which he entered, but is to go out by the opposite gate.

¹⁰When the people enter, the prince will enter with them, and when they leave, he will leave.

¹¹At the festivals and appointed times, the grain offering will be half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he wants to give with the lambs, along with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

¹²“When the prince makes a freewill offering, whether a burnt offering or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to the LORD, the gate that faces east is to be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or fellowship offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate is to be closed after he leaves.

¹³“You are to offer an unblemished year-old male lamb as a daily burnt offering to the LORD; you will offer it every morning.

¹⁴You are also to prepare a grain offering every morning along with it: three quarts, with one-third of a gallon of oil to moisten the fine flour — a grain offering to the LORD. This is a permanent statute to be observed regularly.

¹⁵They will offer the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.

¹⁶“This is what the Lord GOD says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance.

¹⁷But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom, when it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it is theirs.

¹⁸The prince must not take any of the people’s inheritance, evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of my people will be displaced from his own property.”

¹⁹Then he brought me through the entrance that was at the side of the gate, into the priests’ holy chambers, which faced north. I saw a place there at the far western end.

²⁰He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.”

²¹Next he brought me into the outer court and led me past its four corners. There was a separate court in each of its corners.

²²In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, 70 feet long by 52½ feet wide. All four corner areas had the same dimensions.

²³There was a stone wall around the inside of them, around the four of them, with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides.

²⁴He said to me: “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the people’s sacrifices.”

¹I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach

²until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

³After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about;

⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”

⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

¹⁰While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.

¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem — a Sabbath day’s journey away.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴They all were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters  — the number of people who were together was about a hundred and twenty — and said:

¹⁶“Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David foretold about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

¹⁸Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages. He fell headfirst, his body burst open and his intestines spilled out.

¹⁹This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama (that is, Field of Blood).

²⁰“For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his dwelling become desolate; let no one live in it; and Let someone else take his position.

²¹“Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us —

²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us — from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴Then they prayed, “You, Lord, know everyone’s hearts; show which of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take the place in this apostolic ministry that Judas left to go where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias and he was added to the eleven apostles.