Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹"Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.

²In My Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.

³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.

⁴And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way."

⁵Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?"

⁶Jesus said to him, " I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

⁷If you had [really] known Me, you would also have known My Father. From now on you know Him, and have seen Him."

⁸Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied."

⁹Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father?'

¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].

¹¹Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed].

¹²I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father.

¹³And I will do whatever you ask in My name [ as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son.

¹⁴If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.

¹⁵"If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—

¹⁷the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.

¹⁸"I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you.

¹⁹After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

²⁰On that day [when that time comes] you will know for yourselves that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

²¹The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him]."

²²Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, "Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?"

²³Jesus answered, "If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him.

²⁴One who does not [really] love Me does not keep My words. And the word (teaching) which you hear is not Mine, but is the Father's who sent Me.

²⁵"I have told you these things while I am still with you.

²⁶But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.

²⁷Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

²⁸You heard Me tell you, 'I am going away, and I am coming back to you.' If you [really] loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going [back] to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

²⁹I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does take place, you may believe and have faith [in Me].

³⁰I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of the world (Satan) is coming. And he has no claim on Me [no power over Me nor anything that he can use against Me];

³¹but so that the world may know [without any doubt] that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me [and act in full agreement with Him]. Get up, let us go from here.

¹"The Levitical priests, the entire tribe of Levi, shall own [privately] no portion [of land] or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord's offerings by fire and His portion.

²They shall have no inheritance [of land] among their countrymen (brothers, brethren); the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.

³"Now this shall be the priests' portion from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach.

⁴You shall also give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine [the first of the season], and your [olive] oil, and the first sheared fleece of your sheep.

⁵For the LORD your God has chosen him, him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the LORD forever.

⁶"Now if a Levite comes from any of your cities throughout Israel where he resides, and comes whenever he wishes to [the sanctuary] the place which the LORD chooses;

⁷then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD.

⁸They shall have equal portions to eat, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers' estates.

⁹"When you enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable (repulsive) practices of those nations.

¹⁰There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire [as a sacrifice], one who uses divination and fortune-telling, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,

¹¹or one who casts a charm or spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or a necromancer [who seeks the dead].

¹²For everyone who does these things is utterly repulsive to the LORD; and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God is driving them out before you.

¹³You shall be blameless (complete, perfect) before the LORD your God.

¹⁴For these nations which you shall dispossess listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners and fortune-tellers, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so.

¹⁵"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your countrymen (brothers, brethren). You shall listen to him.

¹⁶This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb (Mount Sinai) on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear the voice of the LORD my God again, nor see this great fire anymore, so that I will not die.'

¹⁷The LORD said to me, 'They have spoken well.

¹⁸I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

¹⁹It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him [and there will be consequences].

²⁰But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.'

²¹If you say in your heart, 'How will we know and recognize the word which the LORD has not spoken?'

²²When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

¹Now we who are strong [in our convictions and faith] ought to [patiently] put up with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not just please ourselves.

²Let each one of us [make it a practice to] please his neighbor for his good, to build him up spiritually.

³For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written [in Scripture], "The reproaches of those who reproached You (the Father) fell on Me (the Son)."

⁴For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

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

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

⁷Therefore, [continue to] accept and welcome one another, just as Christ has accepted and welcomed us to the glory of [our great] God.

⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant and a minister to the circumcision (Jews) on behalf of God's truth, to confirm and verify the promises made to the fathers,

⁹and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy [to them, since God had no covenant with them]. As it is written and forever remains written, "Therefore I praise You among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name."

¹⁰Again it says, "Rejoice and celebrate, O Gentiles, along with His people."

¹¹And again, "Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him!"

¹²Again Isaiah says, "There shall be a root ofJesse, He who arises to rule [as King] over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope."

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

¹⁴Personally I am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, amply filled with all [spiritual] knowledge, and competent to admonish and counsel and instruct one another.

¹⁵Still, on some points I have written to you very boldly and without reservation to remind you [about them] again, because of the grace that was given to me from God,

¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I minister as a priest the gospel of God, in order that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable [to Him], sanctified [made holy and set apart for His purpose] by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have found [legitimate] reason for boasting in things related [to my service] to God.

¹⁸For I will not [even] presume to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me [as an instrument in His hands], resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles [to the gospel], by word and deed,

¹⁹with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] in the power of the Spirit. So [starting] from Jerusalem and as far away as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel [faithfully preaching the good news] of Christ [where it had not before been preached].

²⁰Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ's name was already known, so that I would not build on another man's foundation;

²¹but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture], "They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand."

²²This [goal—my commitment to this principle] is the reason why I have often been prevented from coming to you [in Rome].

²³But now, with no further place for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you—

²⁴whenever I go [on my trip] to Spain—I hope to see you as I pass through [Rome], and to be helped on my journey there by you, after I have first enjoyed your company for a little while.

²⁵But for now, I am going to Jerusalem to serve the saints (Jewish believers).

²⁶For [Gentile believers in] Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints (Jewish believers) in Jerusalem.

²⁷They were pleased to do it, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual things, then they are indebted to serve them also in [tangible] material things.

²⁸Therefore, when I have finished this [mission] and have safely given to them what has been raised, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

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

³⁰I urge you, believers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join together with me in your prayers to God in my behalf,

³¹[and pray] that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints (Jewish believers) there;

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

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

¹The elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the elect (chosen) lady and her children, whom I love in truth—and not only I, but also all who know and understand the truth—

²because of the truth which lives in our hearts and will be with us forever:

³Grace, mercy, and peace (inner calm, a sense of spiritual well-being) will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, in truth and love.

⁴I was greatly delighted to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father.

⁵Now I ask you, lady, not as if I were writing to you a new commandment, but [simply reminding you of] the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.

⁶And this is love: that we walk in accordance with His commandments and are guided continually by His precepts. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should [always] walk in love.

⁷For many deceivers [heretics, posing as Christians] have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge and confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh (bodily form). This [person, the kind who does this] is the deceiver and the antichrist [that is, the antagonist of Christ].

⁸Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have accomplished together, but that you may receive a full and perfect reward [when He grants rewards to faithful believers].

⁹Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ [that is, one who is not content with what He taught], does not have God; but the one who continues to remain in the teaching [of Christ does have God], he has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [but diminishes or adds to the doctrine of Christ], do not receive or welcome him into your house, and do not give him a greeting or any encouragement;

¹¹for the one who gives him a greeting [who encourages him or wishes him success, unwittingly] participates in his evil deeds.

¹²I have many things to write to you, but I prefer not to do so with paper (papyrus) and black (ink); but I hope to come to you and speak with you face to face, so that your joy may be complete.

¹³The children of your elect (chosen) sister greet you.

¹Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.

²Do not be hasty with your mouth [speaking careless words or vows] or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.

³For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of the fool through many words.

⁴When you make a vow or a pledge to God, do not put off paying it; for God takes no pleasure in fools [who thoughtlessly mock Him]. Pay what you vow.

⁵It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

⁶Do not allow your speech to cause you to sin, and do not say before the messenger (priest) of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of your voice (words) and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For in a multitude of dreams and in a flood of words there is worthlessness. Rather [reverently] fear God [and worship Him with awe-filled respect, knowing who He is].

⁸If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].

⁹After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land.

¹⁰He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness).

¹¹When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what advantage is there to their owners except to see them with their eyes?

¹²The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach (greed) of the rich [who hungers for even more] will not let him sleep.

¹³There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being kept and hoarded by their owner to his own misery.

¹⁴For when those riches are lost in bad investments and he becomes the father of a son, then there is nothing in his hand [for the support of the child].

¹⁵As he came naked from his mother's womb, so he will return as he came; and he will take away nothing from all his labor that he can carry in his hand.

¹⁶This also is a grievous evil—exactly as he was born, so he shall die. So what advantage has he who labors for the wind?

¹⁷All of his life he also eats in darkness [cheerlessly, without sweetness and light], with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.

¹⁹Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, He has also given the power and ability to enjoy them and to receive [this as] his [allotted] portion and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God [to him].

²⁰For he will not often consider the [troubled] days of his life, because God keeps him occupied and focused on the joy of his heart [and the tranquility of God indwells him].

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O LORD the king will delight in Your strength, And in Your salvation how greatly will he rejoice!

²You have given him his heart's desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

³For You meet him with blessings of good things; You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

⁴He asked life of You, And You gave it to him, Long life forever and evermore.

⁵His glory is great because of Your victory; Splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.

⁶For You make him most blessed [and a blessing] forever; You make him joyful with the joy of Your presence.

⁷For the king [confidently] trusts in the LORD, And through the lovingkindness (faithfulness, goodness) of the Most High he will never be shaken.

⁸Your hand will reach out and defeat all your enemies; Your right hand will reach those who hate you.

⁹You will make them as [if in] a blazing oven in the time of your anger; The LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire will devour them.

¹⁰Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from the sons of men.

¹¹For they planned evil against You; They devised a [malevolent] plot And they will not succeed.

¹²For You will make them turn their backs [in defeat]; You will aim Your bowstring [of divine justice] at their faces.

¹³Be exalted, LORD, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your power.

¹The plans and reflections of the heart belong to man, But the [wise] answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions], But the LORD weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].

³Commit your works to the LORD [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].

⁴The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked [according to their role] for the day of evil.

⁵Everyone who is proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting and exceedingly offensive to the LORD; Be assured he will not go unpunished.

⁶By mercy and lovingkindness and truth [not superficial ritual] wickedness is cleansed from the heart, And by the fear of the LORD one avoids evil.

⁷When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness Than great income [gained] with injustice.

⁹A man's mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], But the LORD directs his steps and establishes them.

¹⁰A divine decision [given by God] is on the lips of the king [as His representative]; His mouth should not be unfaithful or unjust in judgment.

¹¹A just balance and [honest] scales are the Lord's; All the weights of the bag are His concern [established by His eternal principles].

¹²It is repulsive [to God and man] for kings to behave wickedly, For a throne is established on righteousness (right standing with God).

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And he who speaks right is loved.

¹⁴The wrath of a king is like a messenger of death, But a wise man will appease it.

¹⁵In the light of the king's face is life, And his favor is like a cloud bringing the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright turns away and departs from evil; He who guards his way protects his life (soul).

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud (haughty, arrogant).

²⁰He who pays attention to the word [of God] will find good, And blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who trusts [confidently] in the LORD.

²¹The wise in heart will be called understanding, And sweet speech increases persuasiveness and learning [in both speaker and listener].

²²Understanding (spiritual insight) is a [refreshing and boundless] wellspring of life to those who have it, But to give instruction and correction to fools is foolishness.

²³The heart of the wise instructs his mouth [in wisdom] And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweet and delightful to the soul and healing to the body.

²⁵There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, But its end is the way of death.

²⁶The appetite of a worker works for him, For his hunger urges him on.

²⁷A worthless man devises and digs up evil, And the words on his lips are like a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse man spreads strife, And one who gossips separates intimate friends.

²⁹A violent and exceedingly covetous man entices his neighbor [to sin], And leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰He who [slyly] winks his eyes does so to plot perverse things; And he who compresses his lips [as if in a secret signal] brings evil to pass.

³¹The silver-haired head is a crown of splendor and glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.

³²He who is slow to anger is better and more honorable than the mighty [soldier], And he who rules and controls his own spirit, than he who captures a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.

¹Then it happened at the end of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army and ravaged and devastated the land of the Ammonites, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem [with Bathsheba]. Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it.

²David took the crown of their king from his head and found that it weighed a talent of gold and that there was a precious stone in it; so it was set on David's head. He also brought a very great amount of spoil (plunder) out of the city [of Rabbah].

³He brought out the people who were in it, and put them [to work] with saws, iron picks, and axes. David dealt in this way with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴Now it came about after this that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued.

⁵There was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

⁶Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants.

⁷When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him.

⁸These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

¹"Now these are the names of the tribes: from the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, beside Hamath, and running from the east to the west, Dan, one portion.

²Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion.

³Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali, one portion.

⁴Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion.

⁵Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion.

⁶Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben, one portion.

⁷Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

⁸"And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment and contribution of land which you shall set apart and offer, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length like one of the [tribal] portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.

⁹The allotment [of land] that you shall set apart and offer to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width.

¹⁰The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, and toward the west 10,000 in width, and toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst of it.

¹¹It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, and who did not go astray when the children (descendants) of Israel went astray as the [other] Levites did.

¹²And this [land offering] shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy portion beside the border of the [other] Levites.

¹³Alongside the border of the priests, the [other] Levites shall have 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the width 10,000.

¹⁴And they shall not sell any of it or exchange it, or allow this choice portion of land to pass to others; for it is holy to the LORD.

¹⁵"The remaining [strip of] 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length shall be for the city's common (secular) use, for a place in which to live and for open country. The city shall be in the midst of it.

¹⁶These shall be the measurements of it: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500.

¹⁷The city shall have open country: toward the north 250 cubits, and toward the south 250, toward the east 250, and toward the west 250.

¹⁸The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be 10,000 cubits to the east and 10,000 to the west; and it shall be beside the holy allotment. The produce from it shall be food for the workers of the city.

¹⁹The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel shall cultivate it.

²⁰The whole allotment shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall set apart the holy allotment, a square, with the property of the city.

²¹"The remainder, on both sides of the holy allotment and of the property possessed by the city, shall belong to the prince. In front of the 25,000 cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the 25,000 toward the west border, alongside the [tribal] portions, it shall be for the prince. The holy allotment with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the midst of it.

²²Exclusive of the property of the Levites and of the property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince.

²³"As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion.

²⁴Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion.

²⁵Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion.

²⁶Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion.

²⁷Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.

²⁸And beside the border of Gad, at the south side, southward, the border shall extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook [of Egypt], to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea.

²⁹This is the land which you shall divide by lot among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance, and these are their several portions," says the Lord GOD.

³⁰"These are the exits of the city: on the north side, [which is to extend] 4,500 cubits by measurement,

³¹there shall also be gates of the city, named after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.

³²On the east side, 4,500 cubits, also three gates: one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.

³³On the south side, 4,500 cubits, by measurement, also three gates: one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.

³⁴On the west side, 4,500 cubits, three gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

³⁵The distance around the city shall be 18,000 (4 x 4,500) cubits; and the name of the city from that day [and ever after] shall be, 'The LORD is There.'"

¹Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.),

²and a man who had been unable to walk from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, so that he could beg alms from those entering the temple.

³So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking [them] for coins.

⁴But Peter, along with John, stared at him intently and said, "Look at us!"

⁵And the man began to pay attention to them, eagerly expecting to receive something from them.

⁶But Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have I give to you: In the name (authority, power) of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—[begin now to] walk and go on walking!"

⁷Then he seized the man's right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong and steady,

⁸and with a leap he stood up and began to walk; and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹All the people saw him walking and praising God;

¹⁰and they recognized him as the very man who usually sat begging for coins at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement and were mystified at what had happened to him.

¹¹Now while he was still holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly amazed, ran together and crowded around them at the covered porch called Solomon's portico.

¹²And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, "You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant and Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], the One whom you handed over and disowned and rejected before Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

¹⁴But you disowned and denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.

¹⁵But you killed the Prince (Author, Originator, Source) of life, whom God raised [bodily] from the dead. To this [fact] we are witnesses [for we have seen the risen Christ].

¹⁶And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health and complete wholeness in your presence.

¹⁷"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance [not fully aware of what you were doing], just as your rulers did also.

¹⁸And so God has fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (Messiah, Anointed) would suffer.

¹⁹So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day];

²⁰and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you,

²¹whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

²²Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophetlike me from your countrymen; you shall listen to Him and obey everything He tells you.

²³And it will be that every person that does not listen to and heed that Prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

²⁴Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also announced these days.

²⁵You are the sons (descendants) of the prophets and [heirs] of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed (descendant) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'

²⁶It was for you first of all that God raised up His Servant and Son [Jesus], and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways."