Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So Pilate then took Jesus and had Him flogged.

²And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple cloak on Him;

³and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapped Him in the face again and again.

⁴And then Pilate came out again and *said to them, “See, I am bringing Him out to you so that you will know that I find no grounds at all for charges in His case.”

⁵Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!”

⁶So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him; for I find no grounds for charges in His case!”

⁷The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He made Himself out to be the Son of God!”

⁸Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;

⁹and he entered the Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰So Pilate *said to Him, “Are you not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”

¹¹Jesus answered him, “You would have no authorityover Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”

¹²As a result of this, Pilate made efforts to release Him; but the Jews shouted, saying, “If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!”

¹³Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement—but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

¹⁴Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Look, your King!”

¹⁵So they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”

¹⁶So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

¹⁷They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha.

¹⁸There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.

¹⁹Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁰Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek.

²¹So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’ ”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece.

²⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEMSELVES, AND THEY CAST LOTS FOR MY CLOTHING.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

²⁵Now beside the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

²⁶So when Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

²⁷Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.

²⁸After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, *said, “I am thirsty.”

²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.

³⁰Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

³¹Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away.

³²So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with Him;

³³but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

³⁴Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

³⁵And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.

³⁶For these things took place so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.”

³⁷And again another Scripture says, “THEY WILL LOOK AT HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.”

³⁸Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, requested of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.

³⁹Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras weight.

⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

⁴¹Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

⁴²Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

¹“No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off may enter the assembly of the LORD.

²No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the assembly of the LORD.

³No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the assembly of the LORD,

⁴because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

⁵Nevertheless, the LORD your God was unwilling to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you.

⁶You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

⁷“You shall not loathe an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not loathe an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land.

⁸The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

⁹“When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall be on guard against every evil thing.

¹⁰“If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp.

¹¹But when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp.

¹²“You shall also have a place allocated outside the camp, so that you may go out there to relieve yourself,

¹³and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn and cover up your excrement.

¹⁴Since the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to defeat your enemies before you, your camp must be holy; so He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.

¹⁵“You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.

¹⁶He shall live with you in your midst, in the place that he chooses in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.

¹⁷“None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute.

¹⁸You shall not bring the earnings of a prostitute or the money for a dog into the house of the LORD your God as payment for any vowed offering, because both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.

¹⁹“You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest.

²⁰You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

²¹“When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly require it of you, and it will be a sin for you.

²²However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin for you.

²³You shall be careful and perform what goes out of your lips, since in fact you have vowed a voluntary offering to the LORD your God, whatever you have promised.

²⁴“When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes until you are satisfied; but you are not to put any in your basket.

²⁵“When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you are not to use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

¹This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

³But to me it is an insignificant matter that I would be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

⁴For I am not aware of anything against myself; however I am not vindicated by this, but the one who examines me is the Lord.

⁵Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of human hearts; and then praise will come to each person from God.

⁶Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos on your account, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.

⁷For who considers you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind.

¹⁰We are fools on account of Christ, but you are prudent in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are without honor!

¹¹Up to this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless;

¹²and we labor, working with our own hands; when we are verbally abused, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

¹³when we are slandered, we reply as friends; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

¹⁴I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

¹⁵For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁶Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me.

¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.

²⁰For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power.

²¹What do you desire? That I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

¹“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead.

²Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

³So rememberwhat you have received and heard; andkeep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

⁴But you have a fewpeople in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

⁵The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

⁶The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

⁸‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have followed My word, and have not denied My name.

⁹Behold, Iwill make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

¹⁰Because you have kept Myword of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of thetesting, that hour which is about to come upon the wholeworld, totest those who live on the earth.

¹¹I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

¹²The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

¹³The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:

¹⁵‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

¹⁶So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

¹⁷Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,

¹⁸I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁹Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

²¹The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.

²²The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

¹Dead flies turn a perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more potent than wisdom and honor.

²A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish person’s heart directs him toward the left.

³Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your place, because composure puts great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler:

⁶foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places.

⁷I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

⁸One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall.

⁹One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success.

¹¹If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer.

¹²Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;

¹³the beginning of his talking is foolishness, and the end of it is evil insanity.

¹⁴Yet the fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?

¹⁵The labor of a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city.

¹⁶Woe to you, land whose king is a boy, and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks.

¹⁹People prepare a meal for enjoyment, wine makes life joyful, and money is the answer to everything.

²⁰Furthermore, in your bedroom do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.

¹Vindicate me, LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

²Examine me, LORD, and put me to the test; Refine my mind and my heart.

³For Your goodness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.

⁴I do not sit with deceitful people, Nor will I go with pretenders.

⁵I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.

⁶I will wash my hands in innocence, And I will go around Your altar, LORD,

⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.

⁸LORD, I love the dwelling of Your house, And the place where Your glory remains.

⁹Do not take my soul away along with sinners, Nor my life with men of bloodshed,

¹⁰In whose hands is a wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me, and be gracious to me.

¹²My foot stands on level ground; In the congregations I will bless the LORD.

¹The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases.

²Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD examines the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, But everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.

⁶The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Bringing the wicked to ruin.

¹³One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor Will also call out himself, and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.

¹⁵The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But terror to those who practice injustice.

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.

²¹One who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

²⁴“Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names, One who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy one puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

²⁶All day long he is craving, While the righteous gives and does not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish, But a person who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked person displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals; and the number of those who performed this service was:

²Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

³Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all, under the direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the LORD.

⁴Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.

⁵All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer to exalt him according to the words of God, for God gave fourteen sons and three daughters to Heman.

⁶All of these were under the direction of their father to sing in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king.

⁷Their number who were trained in singing to the LORD, with their relatives, all who were skillful, was 288.

⁸They cast lots for their duties, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the pupil.

⁹Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, the second for Gedaliah, he with his relatives and sons were twelve;

¹⁰the third to Zaccur, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹¹the fourth to Izri, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹⁴the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁰for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²¹for the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²²for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²³for the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁴for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁵for the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁶for the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁷for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁸for the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

²⁹for the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

³⁰for the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

³¹for the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve.

¹Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

²While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink out of them.

³Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank out of them.

⁴They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵Suddenly the fingers of a human hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.

⁶Then the king’s face became pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints loosened and his knees began knocking together.

⁷The king called aloud to bring in the sorcerers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king began speaking and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Anyone who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.”

⁸Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.

⁹Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were perplexed.

¹⁰The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen began to speak and said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale.

¹¹There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—appointed him chief of the soothsayer priests, sorcerers, Chaldeans, and diviners.

¹²This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of riddles, and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.”

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

¹⁴Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.

¹⁵Just now the wise men and the sorcerers were brought in before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the message.

¹⁶But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Then Daniel replied and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.

¹⁸O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, greatness, honor, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.

¹⁹Now because of the greatness which He granted him, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages trembled and feared in his presence; whomever he wished, he killed, and whomever he wished, he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled.

²⁰But when his heart was arrogant and his spirit became so overbearing that he behaved presumptuously, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his dignity was taken away from him.

²¹He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of animals, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whomever He wishes.

²²Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,

²³but you have risen up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

²⁴Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

²⁵“Now this is the inscription that was written: ‘MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN.’

²⁶This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

²⁷‘TEKĒL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.

²⁸‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.

³¹So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.

¹Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.

²Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him.

³But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.

⁴Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places preaching the word.

⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them.

⁶The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.

⁷For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed.

⁸So there was much rejoicing in that city.

⁹Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;

¹⁰and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.”

¹¹And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic arts.

¹²But when they believed Philip as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.

¹³Now even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was repeatedly amazed.

¹⁴Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,

¹⁵who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶(For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

¹⁷Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,

¹⁹saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money!

²¹You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

²²Therefore, repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart will be forgiven you.

²³For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of unrighteousness.”

²⁴But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)

²⁷So he got ready and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

²⁸and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”

³⁰Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED LIKE A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND LIKE A LAMB THAT IS SILENT BEFORE ITS SHEARER, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

³³IN HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL DESCRIBE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EARTH.”

³⁴The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

³⁶As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

³⁷

³⁸And he ordered that the chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.