Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling.

²They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.

³They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me.

⁴But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

⁵But now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’

⁶Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

⁷Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.

⁸When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment:

⁹About sin, because they do not believe in me;

¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me;

¹¹and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹²“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.

¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.

¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

¹⁵Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.

¹⁶“A little while and you will no longer see me; again a little while and you will see me.”

¹⁷Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this he’s telling us: ‘A little while and you will not see me; again a little while and you will see me’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’ ?”

¹⁸They said, “What is this he is saying, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”

¹⁹Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me; again a little while and you will see me’?

²⁰Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

²¹When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world.

²²So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.

²³“In that day you will not ask me anything. Truly I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

²⁴Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

²⁵“I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.

²⁶On that day you will ask in my name, and I am not telling you that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

²⁷For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

²⁸I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹His disciples said, “Look, now you’re speaking plainly and not using any figurative language.

³⁰Now we know that you know everything and don’t need anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”

³¹Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe?

³²Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

³³I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

¹“When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

²When you are about to engage in battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army.

³He is to say to them: ‘Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.

⁴For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’

⁵“The officers are to address the army, ‘Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

⁶Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

⁷Has any man become engaged to a woman and not married her? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man marry her.’

⁸The officers will continue to address the army and say, ‘Is there any man who is afraid or cowardly? Let him leave and return home, so that his brothers won’t lose heart as he did.’

⁹When the officers have finished addressing the army, they will appoint military commanders to lead it.

¹⁰“When you approach a city to fight against it, make an offer of peace.

¹¹If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced laborers for you and serve you.

¹²However, if it does not make peace with you but wages war against you, lay siege to it.

¹³When the LORD your God hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.

¹⁴But you may take the women, dependents, animals, and whatever else is in the city — all its spoil — as plunder. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁵This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and are not among the cities of these nations.

¹⁶However, you must not let any living thing survive among the cities of these people the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

¹⁷You must completely destroy them — the Hethite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite — as the LORD your God has commanded you,

¹⁸so that they won’t teach you to do all the detestable acts they do for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.

¹⁹“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. Do not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you?

²⁰But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce food. You may cut them down to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.

¹Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:

²To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord — both their Lord and ours.

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus,

⁵that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge.

⁶In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,

⁷so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

¹¹For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you.

¹²What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?

¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵so that no one can say you were baptized in my name.

¹⁶I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else.

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

¹⁸For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.

¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent.

²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?

²¹For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.

²²For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom,

²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.

²⁴Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,

²⁵because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

²⁷Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

²⁸God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world  — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

²⁹so that no one may boast in his presence.

³⁰It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us — our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,

³¹in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

¹Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James: To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.

²May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

³Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.

⁴For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

⁵Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;

⁶and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.

⁷Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

⁸In the same way these people — relying on their dreams — defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.

⁹Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

¹⁰But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct — like irrational animals — by these things they are destroyed.

¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

¹²These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn — fruitless, twice dead and uprooted.

¹³They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.

¹⁴It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones

¹⁵to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.”

¹⁶These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.

¹⁷But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.”

¹⁹These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.

²⁰But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

²²Have mercy on those who waver;

²³save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

²⁴Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,

²⁵to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

¹A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

²It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, since that is the end of all mankind, and the living should take it to heart.

³Grief is better than laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

⁴The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

⁵It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools,

⁶for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

⁷Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the mind.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

⁹Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

¹⁰Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” since it is not wise of you to ask this.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun,

¹²because wisdom is protection as silver is protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

¹³Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.

¹⁵In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.

¹⁶Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.

²⁰There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.

²¹Don’t pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you,

²²for in your heart you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me.

²⁴What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it?

²⁵I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and examine wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.

²⁶And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap: her heart a net and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷“Look,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation,

²⁸which my soul continually searches for but does not find: I found one person in a thousand, but none of those was a woman.

²⁹Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes.”

¹A psalm of David. [1] The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need.

²He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.

³He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

⁴Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

⁶Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live.

¹One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound wisdom.

²A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions.

³When a wicked person comes, contempt also comes, and along with dishonor, derision.

⁴The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters, a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.

⁵It is not good to show partiality to the guilty, denying an innocent person justice.

⁶A fool’s lips lead to strife, and his mouth provokes a beating.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his devastation, and his lips are a trap for his life.

⁸A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.

⁹The one who is lazy in his work is brother to a vandal.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected.

¹¹The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall.

¹²Before his downfall a person’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

¹³The one who gives an answer before he listens — this is foolishness and disgrace for him.

¹⁴A person’s spirit can endure sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?

¹⁵The mind of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it.

¹⁶A person’s gift opens doors for him and brings him before the great.

¹⁷The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

¹⁸Casting the lot ends quarrels and separates powerful opponents.

¹⁹An offended brother is harder to reach than a fortified city, and quarrels are like the bars of a fortress.

²⁰From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips.

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

²²A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.

²³The poor person pleads, but the rich one answers roughly.

²⁴One with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

¹Then David said, “This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

²So David gave orders to gather the resident aliens that were in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God’s house.

³David supplied a great deal of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the fittings, together with an immeasurable quantity of bronze,

⁴and innumerable cedar logs because the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David.

⁵David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly great and famous and glorious in all the lands. Therefore, I will make provision for it.” So David made lavish preparations for it before his death.

⁶Then he summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel.

⁷“My son,” David said to Solomon, “It was in my heart to build a house for the name of the LORD my God,

⁸but the word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for my name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before me.

⁹But a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.

¹⁰He is the one who will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

¹¹“Now, my son, may the LORD be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as he said about you.

¹²Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when he puts you in charge of Israel so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.

¹³Then you will succeed if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁴“Notice I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD  — 3,775 tons of gold, 37,750 tons of silver, and bronze and iron that can’t be weighed because there is so much of it. I have also provided timber and stone, but you will need to add more to them.

¹⁵You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work

¹⁶in gold, silver, bronze, and iron — beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.”

¹⁷Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon:

¹⁸“The LORD your God is with you, isn’t he? And hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has handed the land’s inhabitants over to me, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and his people.

¹⁹Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Get started building the LORD God’s sanctuary so that you may bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant and the holy articles of God to the temple that is to be built for the name of the LORD.”

¹In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him.

²So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,

³he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.”

⁴The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): “May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump.

⁶But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. So make the dream and its interpretation known to me.”

⁷They answered a second time, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will make known the interpretation.”

⁸The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final.

⁹If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you. You have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered the king, “No one on earth can make known what the king requests. Consequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, medium, or Chaldean.

¹¹What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

¹²Because of this, the king became violently angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

¹³The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.

¹⁴Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁵He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

¹⁶So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter,

¹⁸urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.

¹⁹The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens

²⁰and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him.

²¹He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

²²He reveals the deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him.

²³I offer thanks and praise to you, God of my fathers, because you have given me wisdom and power. And now you have let me know what we asked of you, for you have let us know the king’s mystery.

²⁴Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

²⁵Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles who can let the king know the interpretation.”

²⁶The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?”

²⁷Daniel answered the king: “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about.

²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:

²⁹Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has let you know what will happen.

³⁰As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

³¹“Your Majesty, as you were watching, suddenly a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying.

³²The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze,

³³its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.

³⁴As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.

³⁵Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

³⁷Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of the heavens has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.

³⁸Wherever people live — or wild animals, or birds of the sky — he has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

³⁹“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth.

⁴⁰A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others.

⁴¹You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron — it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,

⁴²and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay — part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle.

⁴³You saw the iron mixed with clay — the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.

⁴⁴“In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.

⁴⁵You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell facedown, worshiped Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him.

⁴⁷The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

⁴⁸Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

²However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

⁴Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

⁵When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

⁶The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸“Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

¹⁰Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

¹²Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them.

¹⁴Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers — multitudes of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶In addition, a multitude came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.”

²¹Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full council of the Israelites — and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

²²But when the servants got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported,

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

²⁵Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

²⁶Then the commander went with the servants and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them.

²⁷After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked,

²⁸“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

³¹God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

³⁵He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men.

³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail;

³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

⁴⁰After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

⁴¹Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.

⁴²Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.