Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.

²For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.

³This is because they have never known the Father or me.

⁴Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.

⁵“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.

⁶Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you.

⁷But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.

⁸And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

⁹The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.

¹⁰Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.

¹¹Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

¹²“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.

¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

¹⁴He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

¹⁶“In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”

¹⁷Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’?

¹⁸And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”

¹⁹Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again.

²⁰I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.

²¹It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.

²²So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.

²³At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.

²⁴You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

²⁵“I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father.

²⁶Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf,

²⁷for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.

²⁸Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”

²⁹Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively.

³⁰Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”

³¹Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe?

³²But the time is coming — indeed it’s here now — when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

³³I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

¹“When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you!

²When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops.

³He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them.

⁴For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

⁵“Then the officers of the army must address the troops and say, ‘Has anyone here just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, you may go home! You might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate your house.

⁶Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go home! You might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit.

⁷Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? Well, you may go home and get married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her.’

⁸“Then the officers will also say, ‘Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.’

⁹When the officers have finished speaking to their troops, they will appoint the unit commanders.

¹⁰“As you approach a town to attack it, you must first offer its people terms for peace.

¹¹If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor.

¹²But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town.

¹³When the LORD your God hands the town over to you, use your swords to kill every man in the town.

¹⁴But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁵“But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter.

¹⁶In those towns that the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing.

¹⁷You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you.

¹⁸This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the LORD your God.

¹⁹“When you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies, that you should attack them?

²⁰You may only cut down trees that you know are not valuable for food. Use them to make the equipment you need to attack the enemy town until it falls.

¹This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

²I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

³May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

⁴I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

⁵Through him, God has enriched your church in every way — with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge.

⁶This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.

⁷Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

⁹God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

¹¹For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters.

¹²Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter, ” or “I follow only Christ.”

¹³Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

¹⁴I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵for now no one can say they were baptized in my name.

¹⁶(Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.)

¹⁷For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News — and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

¹⁸The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

¹⁹As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

²⁰So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

²¹Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

²²It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.

²³So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

²⁴But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

²⁵This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

²⁶Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.

²⁷Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

²⁸God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

²⁹As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

³⁰God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

³¹Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”

¹This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.

²May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

³Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

⁴I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.

⁶And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.

⁷And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.

⁸In the same way, these people — who claim authority from their dreams — live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.

⁹But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.)

¹⁰But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.

¹¹What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.

¹²When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.

¹³They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.

¹⁴Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones

¹⁵to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

¹⁶These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.

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

¹⁸They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires.

¹⁹These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

²⁰But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,

²¹and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

²²And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.

²³Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

²⁴Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.

²⁵All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

¹A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born.

²Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies — so the living should take this to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.

⁴A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

⁵Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.

⁶A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.

⁸Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.

⁹Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.

¹⁰Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.

¹¹Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.

¹²Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.

¹³Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?

¹⁴Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.

¹⁵I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.

¹⁶So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?

¹⁷On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?

¹⁸Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.

¹⁹One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!

²⁰Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

²¹Don’t eavesdrop on others — you may hear your servant curse you.

²²For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.

²³I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work.

²⁴Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.

²⁵I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.

²⁷“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle.

²⁸Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!

²⁹But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

²He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

³He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

⁴Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

⁵You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

⁶Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

¹Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.

²Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.

³Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt.

⁴Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

⁵It is not right to acquit the guilty or deny justice to the innocent.

⁶Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating.

⁷The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips.

⁸Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.

⁹A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.

¹¹The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

¹²Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor.

¹³Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.

¹⁴The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?

¹⁵Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.

¹⁶Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!

¹⁷The first to speak in court sounds right — until the cross-examination begins.

¹⁸Flipping a coin can end arguments; it settles disputes between powerful opponents.

¹⁹An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.

²⁰Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.

²¹The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

²²The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD.

²³The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults.

²⁴There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

¹Then David said, “This will be the location for the Temple of the LORD God and the place of the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings!”

²So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God.

³David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and he gave more bronze than could be weighed.

⁴He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.

⁵David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the LORD must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.

⁶Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁷“My son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God,” David told him.

⁸“But the LORD said to me, ‘You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name.

⁹But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. 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 Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

¹¹“Now, my son, may the LORD be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the LORD your God.

¹²And may the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the LORD your God as you rule over Israel.

¹³For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the LORD gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!

¹⁴“I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the LORD — nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver, and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more.

¹⁵You have a large number of skilled stonemasons and carpenters and craftsmen of every kind.

¹⁶You have expert goldsmiths and silversmiths and workers of bronze and iron. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you!”

¹⁷Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon in this project.

¹⁸“The LORD your God is with you,” he declared. “He has given you peace with the surrounding nations. He has handed them over to me, and they are now subject to the LORD and his people.

¹⁹Now seek the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the LORD God so that you can bring the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the LORD’s name.”

¹One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.

²He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king,

³he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”

⁴Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

⁵But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!

⁶But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!”

⁷They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

⁸The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say,

⁹‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”

¹⁰The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer!

¹¹The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”

¹²The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.

¹³And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.

¹⁴When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion.

¹⁵He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened.

¹⁶Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.

¹⁷Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.

¹⁸He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.

²⁰He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.

²¹He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.

²²He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.

²³I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”

²⁴Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”

²⁵Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”

²⁶The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”

²⁷Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.

²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.

²⁹“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.

³⁰And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.

³¹“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight.

³²The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,

³³its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay.

³⁴As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.

³⁵The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.

³⁶“That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means.

³⁷Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.

³⁸He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.

³⁹“But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.

⁴⁰Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.

⁴¹The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron.

⁴²But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.

⁴³This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.

⁴⁴“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.

⁴⁵That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him.

⁴⁷The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”

⁴⁸Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.

⁴⁹At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

¹But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.

²He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.

⁴The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

⁵As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.

⁶Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

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

⁸Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”

¹⁰Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

¹²The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.

¹⁴Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord — crowds of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.

¹⁶Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them,

²⁰“Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!”

²¹So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council — the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.

²²But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported,

²³“The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”

²⁴When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.

²⁵Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”

²⁶The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.

²⁷Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.

³¹Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

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

³³When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.

³⁴But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.

³⁵Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!

³⁶Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.

³⁷After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸“So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

⁴⁰The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.

⁴¹The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

⁴²And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”