Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹" I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

²Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit].

³You are already clean because of the word which I have given you [the teachings which I have discussed with you].

⁴Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me.

⁵ I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

⁶If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

⁸My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.

⁹I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you].

¹⁰If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love.

¹¹I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing.

¹²"This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.

¹³No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.

¹⁴You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you.

¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father.

¹⁶You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.

¹⁷This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.

¹⁸"If the world hates you [and it does], know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

¹⁹If you belonged to the world, the world would love [you as] its own and would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world. And because of this the world hates you.

²⁰Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

²¹But they will do all these [hurtful] things to you for My name's sake [because you bear My name and are identified with Me], for they do not know the One who sent Me.

²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have [the guilt of their] sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

²³The one who hates Me also hates My Father.

²⁴If I had not done among them the works (attesting miracles) which no one else [ever] did, they would not have [the guilt of their] sin; but now [the fact is that] they have both seen [these works] and have hated Me [and continue to hate Me] and My Father as well.

²⁵But [this is so] that the word which has been written in their Law would be fulfilled, 'They hated Me without a cause.'

²⁶"But when the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about Me.

²⁷But you will testify also and be My witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

¹"When the LORD your God cuts off (destroys) the nations whose land He is giving you, and you dispossess them and live in their cities and in their houses,

²you shall designate three cities for yourself in the central area of the land, which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

³You shall prepare and maintain for yourself the roads [to these cities], and divide the territory of your land into three parts, so that anyone who kills another unintentionally may escape there [for asylum].

⁴"Now this is the case of the offender (manslayer) who may escape there and live [protected from vengeance]: when he kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him previously—

⁵as [for example] when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, but the iron head slips off the wooden handle and hits his companion and he dies—the offender may escape to one of these cities and live;

⁶otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the offender in the heat of anger, and overtake him, because it is a long way, and take his life, even though he did not deserve to die, since he did not hate his neighbor beforehand.

⁷Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities [of refuge] for yourself.'

⁸"If the LORD your God enlarges your border, as He has sworn to your fathers to do, and gives you all the land which He promised to give to your fathers—

⁹if you keep and carefully observe all these commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk [that is, to live each and every day] always in His ways—then you shall add three more cities [of refuge] for yourself, besides these three,

¹⁰so that innocent blood will not be shed [by blood avengers] in your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and blood guilt will not be on you [for the death of an innocent man].

¹¹"But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait and ambush for him and attacks him and strikes him down so that he dies, and the assailant escapes to one of these cities,

¹²then the elders of his own city shall send for him and have him taken back from there and turn him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may be put to death.

¹³You shall not pity him [the guilty one], but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

¹⁴"You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the forefathers [who first divided the territory] have set, in the land which you will inherit in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

¹⁵"A single witness shall not appear in a trial against a man for any wrong or any sin which he has committed; [only] on the testimony or evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be confirmed.

¹⁶If a malicious witness rises up against a man to [falsely] accuse him of wrongdoing,

¹⁷then both parties to the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office at that time.

¹⁸The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness, and he has accused his brother falsely,

¹⁹then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

²⁰Those who remain will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.

²¹You shall not show pity [to the guilty one]: it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

¹Now I introduce and commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess (servant) of the church at Cenchrea,

²that you may receive her in the Lord [with love and hospitality], as God's people ought to receive one another. And that you may help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many, including myself.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴who risked their own necks [endangering their very lives] for my life. To them not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

⁵Also greet the church that meets in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor].

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked so hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and [once] my fellow prisoners, who are held in high esteem in the estimation of the apostles, and who were [believers] in Christ before me.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, the one tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet my beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, an eminent and choice man in the Lord, also his mother [who has been] a mother to me as well.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all God's people who are with them.

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations [for others] to commit sin, [acting in ways] contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them.

¹⁸For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting [the innocent and the naive].

¹⁹For the report of your obedience has reached everyone, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The [wonderful] grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²²I, Tertius, the writer (scribe) of this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church here, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

²⁴[The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

²⁵Now to Him who is able to establish and strengthen you [in the faith] according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery [of the plan of salvation] which has been kept secret for long ages past,

²⁶but now has been disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the eternal God, leading them to obedience to the faith,

²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forevermore! Amen.

¹The elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the beloved and esteemed Gaius, whom I love in truth.

²Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

³For I was greatly pleased when [some of the] brothers came [from time to time] and testified to your [faithfulness to the] truth [of the gospel message], that is, how you are walking in truth.

⁴I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my [spiritual] children are living [their lives] in the truth.

⁵Beloved, you are acting faithfully in what you are providing for the brothers, and especially when they are strangers;

⁶and they have testified before the church of your love and friendship. You will do well to [assist them and] send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

⁷For these [traveling missionaries] went out for the sake of the Name [of Christ], accepting nothing [in the way of assistance] from the Gentiles.

⁸So we ought to support such people [welcoming them as guests and providing for them], so that we may be fellow workers for the truth [that is, for the gospel message of salvation].

⁹I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to put himself first, does not accept what we say and refuses to recognize my authority.

¹⁰For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, unjustly accusing us with wicked words and unjustified charges. And not satisfied with this, he refuses to receive the [missionary] brothers himself, and also forbids those who want to [welcome them] and puts them out of the church.

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all].

¹²Demetrius has received a good testimony and commendation from everyone—and from the truth [the standard of God's word] itself; and we add our testimony and speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³I had many things [to say when I began] to write to you, but I prefer not to put it down with pen (reed) and black (ink);

¹⁴but I hope to see you soon, and we will speak face to face.

¹⁵Peace be to you. The friends [here] greet you. Greet the friends [personally] by name.

¹There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:

²a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

³If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he is not respected and is not given a proper burial [he is not laid to rest in the sepulcher of his fathers], then I say, "Better the miscarriage than he,

⁴for the miscarriage comes in futility (in vain) and passes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.

⁵It has not seen the sun nor had any knowledge; yet it has more rest and is better off than he.

⁶Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice over and yet has seen no good and experienced no enjoyment—do not both go to one place [the grave]?"

⁷All the labor of man is for his mouth [for self-preservation and enjoyment], and yet the desire [of his soul] is not satisfied.

⁸For what advantage has the wise man over the fool [for being worldly-wise is not the secret to happiness]? What advantage has the poor man who has learned how to walk [publicly] among the living [with men's eyes on him; for being poor is not the secret to happiness either]?

⁹What the eyes see [enjoying what is available] is better than [craving] what the soul desires. This too is futility and chasing after the wind.

¹⁰Whatever exists has already been named [long ago], and it is known what [a frail being] man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is mightier than he.

¹¹For there are many other words that increase futility. What then is the advantage for a man?

¹²For who [ limited by human wisdom] knows what is good for man during his lifetime, during the few days of his futile life? He spends them like a shadow [staying busy, but achieving nothing of lasting value]. For who can tell a man what will happen after him [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun [after his life is over]?

¹To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijeleth Hashshahar (The Doe of the Dawn). A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

²O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.

³But You are holy, O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].

⁴In You our fathers trusted [leaned on, relied on, and were confident]; They trusted and You rescued them.

⁵They cried out to You and were delivered; They trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed.

⁶But I am [treated as] a worm [insignificant and powerless] and not a man; I am the scorn of men and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me laugh at me and mock me; They [insultingly] open their lips, they shake their head, saying,

⁸"He trusted and committed himself to the LORD, let Him save him. Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him."

⁹Yet You are He who pulled me out of the womb; You made me trust when on my mother's breasts.

¹⁰I was cast upon You from birth; From my mother's womb You have been my God.

¹¹Do not be far from me, for trouble is near; And there is no one to help.

¹²Many [enemies like] bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

¹³They open wide their mouths against me, Like a ravening and a roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; It is melted [by anguish] within me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; And my [dry] tongue clings to my jaws; And You have laid me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me; A gang of evildoers has encircled me, They pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones; They look, they stare at me.

¹⁸They divide my clothing among them And cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹But You, O LORD, do not be far from me; O You my help, come quickly to my assistance.

²⁰Rescue my life from the sword, My only life from the paw of the dog (the executioner).

²¹Save me from the lion's mouth; From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.

²²I will tell of Your name to my countrymen; In the midst of the congregation I will praise You.

²³You who fear the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence], praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him. Fear Him [with submissive wonder], all you descendants of Israel.

²⁴For He has not despised nor detested the suffering of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He listened.

²⁵My praise will be of You in the great assembly. I will pay my vows [made in the time of trouble] before those who [reverently] fear Him.

²⁶The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations will bow down and worship before You,

²⁸For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord's And He rules over the nations.

²⁹All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust (the dead) will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

³⁰Posterity will serve Him; They will tell of the Lord to the next generation.

³¹They will come and declare His righteousness To a people yet to be born—that He has done it [and that it is finished].

¹Better is a dry morsel [of food served] with quietness and peace Than a house full of feasting [served] with strife and contention.

²A wise servant will rule over the [unworthy] son who acts shamefully and brings disgrace [to the family] And [the worthy servant] will share in the inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens closely to wicked lips; And a liar pays attention to a destructive and malicious tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor taunts his Maker, And he who rejoices at [another's] disaster will not go unpunished.

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of aged men, And the glory of children is their fathers [who live godly lives].

⁷Excellent speech does not benefit a fool [who is spiritually blind], Much less do lying lips benefit a prince.

⁸A bribe is like a bright, precious stone in the eyes of its owner; Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.

¹⁰A reprimand goes deeper into one who has understanding and a teachable spirit Than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹A rebellious man seeks only evil; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet a [ferocious] bear robbed of her cubs Rather than the [angry, narcissistic] fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever returns evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam; first it trickles and then it gushes]; Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous Are both repulsive to the LORD.

¹⁶Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no common sense or even a heart for it?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man lacking common sense gives a pledge And becomes guarantor [for the debt of another] in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹He who loves transgression loves strife and is quarrelsome; He who [proudly] raises his gate seeks destruction [because of his arrogant pride].

²⁰He who has a crooked mind finds no good, And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

²¹He who becomes the parent of a fool [who is spiritually blind] does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool [who is spiritually blind] has no joy.

²²A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked man receives a bribe from the [hidden] pocket To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴[Skillful and godly] wisdom is in the presence of a person of understanding [and he recognizes it], But the eyes of a [thickheaded] fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief and anguish to his father And bitterness to her who gave birth to him.

²⁶It is also not good to fine the righteous, Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷He who has knowledge restrains and is careful with his words, And a man of understanding and wisdom has a cool spirit (self-control, an even temper).

²⁸Even a [callous, arrogant] fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips he is regarded as sensible (prudent, discreet) and a man of understanding.

¹Satan [the adversary] stood up against Israel and incited David to count [the population of] Israel.

²So David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, "Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me their total, so that I may know it."

³Joab said, "May the LORD add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why then does my lord require this? Why will he bring guilt on Israel?"

⁴But the king's word prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.

⁵Then Joab gave the total of the census of the people to David. And all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and in Judah 470,000 men who drew the sword.

⁶But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, because the king's order was detestable to Joab.

⁷Now God was displeased with this act [of arrogance and pride], and He struck Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. But now, I beseech You, take away the wickedness and guilt of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly."

⁹And the LORD said to Gad, David's seer,

¹⁰"Go and tell David, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "I offer you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you [as punishment for your sin]."'"

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Choose for yourself

¹²either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your enemies, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the LORD and plague in the land, and the angel of the LORD bringing destruction throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me."

¹³David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

¹⁴So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell.

¹⁵God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying it, the LORD looked, and relented concerning the catastrophe and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough; now remove your hand [of judgment]." And the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶Then David raised his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered in sackcloth, fell on their faces.

¹⁷David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father's house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."

¹⁸Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹So David went up at Gad's word, which he spoke in the name of the LORD.

²⁰Now Ornan was threshing wheat, and he turned back and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves.

²¹As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw him, and went out from the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

²²Then David said to Ornan, "Give me the site of this threshing floor, so that I may build an altar on it to the LORD. You shall charge me the full price for it, so that the plague may be averted from the people."

²³Ornan said to David, "Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. See, I will give you the oxen also for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges (heavy wooden platforms) for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all."

²⁴But King David said to Ornan, "No, I will certainly pay the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing."

²⁵So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site.

²⁶Then David built an altar to the LORD there and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called on the LORD, and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷Then the LORD commanded the [avenging] angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.

²⁹For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.

³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the LORD.

¹In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

²The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles of the house of God; and he brought them into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and brought the articles into the treasury of his god.

³And the [Babylonian] king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some from the royal family and from the nobles,

⁴young men without blemish and handsome in appearance, skillful in all wisdom, endowed with intelligence and discernment, and quick to understand, competent to stand [in the presence of the king] and able to serve in the king's palace. He also ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

⁵The king assigned a daily ration for them from his finest food and from the wine which he drank. They were to be educated and nourished this way for three years so that at the end of that time they were [prepared] to enter the king's service.

⁶Among them from the sons of Judah were: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

⁷The commander of the officials gave them [Babylonian] names: Daniel he named Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abed-nego.

⁸But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile (taint, dishonor) himself with the king's finest food or with the wine which the king drank; so he asked the commander of the officials that he might [be excused so that he would] not defile himself.

⁹Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,

¹⁰and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has prearranged your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the young men who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king."

¹¹But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

¹²"Please, test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

¹³Then let our appearance and the appearance of the young men who eat the king's finest food be observed and compared by you, and deal with your servants in accordance with what you see."

¹⁴So the man listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

¹⁵At the end of ten days it seemed that they were looking better and healthier than all the young men who ate the king's finest food.

¹⁶So the overseer continued to withhold their fine food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.

¹⁷As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all kinds of literature and wisdom; Daniel also understood all kinds of visions and dreams.

¹⁸At the end of the time set by the king to bring all the young men in [before him], the commander of the officials presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹The king spoke with them, and among them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were [selected and] assigned to stand before the king and enter his personal service.

²⁰In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the [learned] magicians and enchanters (Magi) in his whole realm.

²¹And Daniel remained there until the first year of [the reign of] King Cyrus [over Babylon; now this was at the end of the seventy-year exile of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) in Babylonia, as foretold by Jeremiah].

¹And while Peter and John were talking to the people, the priests and the captain [who was in charge of the temple area and] of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²being extremely disturbed and thoroughly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

³So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, because it was evening.

⁴But many of those who heard the message [of salvation] believed [in Jesus and accepted Him as the Christ]. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000.

⁵On the next day, their magistrates and elders and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all others who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, "By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?"

⁸Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court],

⁹if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health,

¹⁰let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became thechief Cornerstone.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]."

¹³Now when the men of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) saw the confidence and boldness of Peter and John, and grasped the fact that they were uneducated and untrained [ordinary] men, they were astounded, and began to recognize that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But after ordering them to step out of the Council [chamber], they began to confer among themselves,

¹⁶saying, "What are we to do with these men? For the fact that an extraordinary miracle has taken place through them is public knowledge and clearly evident to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But to keep it from spreading further among the people and the nation, let us [sternly] warn them not to speak again to anyone in this name."

¹⁸So they sent for them, and commanded them not to speak [as His representatives] or teach at all in the name of Jesus [using Him as their authority].

¹⁹But Peter and John replied to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must judge [for yourselves];

²⁰for we, on our part, cannot stop telling [people] about what we have seen and heard."

²¹When the rulers and Council members had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because [of their fear] of the people, for they were all praising and glorifying and honoring God for what had happened;

²²for the man to whom this sign (attesting miracle) of healing had happened was more than forty years old.

²³After Peter and John were released, they returned to their own [people] and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, "O Sovereign Lord [having complete power and authority], it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them,

²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said, 'Why did the nations (Gentiles) become arrogant and rage, And the peoples devise futile things [against the Lord]?

²⁶'The kings of the earth took their stand [to attack], And the rulers were assembled together Against the Lord and against His Anointed (the Christ, the Messiah).'

²⁷For in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined [before the creation of the world] to occur [and so without knowing it, they served Your own purpose].

²⁹And now, Lord, observe their threats [take them into account] and grant that Your bond-servants may declare Your message [of salvation] with great confidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders (attesting miracles) take place through the name [and the authority and power] of Your holy Servant and Son Jesus."

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were meeting together was shaken [a sign of God's presence]; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and courage.

³²Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one [of them] claimed that anything belonging to him was [exclusively] his own, but everything was common property and for the use of all.

³³And with great ability and power the apostles were continuously testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace [God's remarkable lovingkindness and favor and goodwill] rested richly upon them all.

³⁴There was not a needy person among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them, and bringing the proceeds of the sales

³⁵and placing the money down at the apostles' feet. Then it was distributed to each as anyone had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite and native of Cyprus, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷sold a field belonging to him and brought the money and set it at the apostles' feet.