Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After these things Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He revealed Himself in this way:

²Simon Peter, Thomas who was called Didymus, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

³Simon Peter *said to them, “I am going fishing.” They *said to him, “We are also coming with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

⁴But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

⁵So Jesus *said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish to eat, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”

⁶And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find the fish.” So they cast it, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great quantity of fish.

⁷Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved *said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.

⁸But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits away, dragging the net full of fish.

⁹So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already made and fish placed on it, and bread.

¹⁰Jesus *said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”

¹¹So Simon Peter went up and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, 153; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

¹²Jesus *said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to inquire of Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.

¹³Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise.

¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

¹⁵Now when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do youlove Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.”

¹⁶He *said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do youlove Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”

¹⁷He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do youlove Me?” Peter was hurt because He said to him the third time, “Do youlove Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.

¹⁸Truly, truly I tell you, when you were younger, you used to put on your belt and walk wherever you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will put your belt on you, and bring you where you do not want to go.”

¹⁹Now He said this, indicating by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had said this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”

²⁰Peter turned around and *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them—the one who also had leaned back on His chest at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who is betraying You?”

²¹So Peter, upon seeing him, *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”

²²Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

²³Therefore this account went out among the brothers, that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴This is the disciple who is testifying about these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

²⁵But there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written in detail, I expect that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

¹“If there is a dispute between people and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they declare the righteous innocent and pronounce the wicked guilty,

²then it shall be if the wicked person deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and have him beaten in his presence with the number of lashes according to his wrongful act.

³He may have him beaten forty times, but not more, so that he does not have him beaten with many more lashes than these, and that your brother does not become contemptible in your eyes.

⁴“You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.

⁵“When brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall have relations with her and take her to himself as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.

⁶It shall then be that the firstborn to whom she gives birth shall assume the name of his father’s deceased brother, so that his name will not be wiped out from Israel.

⁷But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’

⁸Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’

⁹then his brother’s widow shall come up to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house!’

¹⁰And in Israel his family shall be called by the name, ‘The house of him whose sandal was removed.’

¹¹“If two men, a man and his countryman, have a fight with each other, and the wife of one comes up to save her husband from the hand of the one who is hitting him, and she reaches out with her hand and grasps that man’s genitals,

¹²then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.

¹³“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small.

¹⁴You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.

¹⁵You shall have a correct and honest weight; you shall have a correct and honest measure, so that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

¹⁶For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God.

¹⁷“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you came out of Egypt,

¹⁸how he confronted you on the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.

¹⁹So it shall come about, when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall wipe out the mention of the name Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

¹Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

²Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to form the smallest law courts?

³Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

⁴So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?

⁵I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you anyone wise who will be able to decide between his brothers and sisters,

⁶but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?

⁷Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer the wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

⁸On the contrary, you yourselves do wrong and defraud. And this to your brothers and sisters!

⁹Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,

¹⁰nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

¹¹Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

¹²All things are permitted for me, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

¹³Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, however God will do away with both of them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

¹⁴Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are parts of Christ? Shall I then take away the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? Far from it!

¹⁶Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”

¹⁷But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

¹⁸Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

²⁰For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

¹I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.

²And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?”

³And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

⁴Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

⁵And one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

⁷And He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

⁸When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

⁹And they *sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation.

¹⁰You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,

¹²saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing.”

¹³And I heard every created thing which is in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, or on the sea, and all the things in them, saying, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever.”

¹⁴And the four living creatures were saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

¹Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

²before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain;

³on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

⁴and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.

⁵Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while the mourners move around in the street.

⁶Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

⁷then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

⁸“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “all is futility!”

⁹In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, and masters of these collections are like driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

¹²But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive study is wearying to the body.

¹³The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

¹⁴For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

¹To You, LORD, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit.

²Hear the sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help, When I raise my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

³Do not drag me away with the wicked And with those who practice injustice, Who speak peace with their neighbors, While evil is in their hearts.

⁴Give back to them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices; Give back to them according to the work of their hands; Repay them what is due them.

⁵Because they do not regard the works of the LORD Nor the deeds of His hands, He will tear them down and not build them up.

⁶Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the sound of my pleading.

⁷The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart triumphs, And with my song I shall thank Him.

⁸The LORD is their strength, And He is a refuge of salvation to His anointed.

⁹Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.

¹When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you,

²And put a knife to your throat If you are a person of great appetite.

³Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food.

⁴Do not weary yourself to gain wealth; Stop dwelling on it.

⁵When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

⁶Do not eat the bread of a selfish person; Or desire his delicacies;

⁷For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten And waste your compliments.

⁹Do not speak to be heard by a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.

¹²Apply your heart to discipline, And your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child; Though you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

¹⁴You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart also will be glad,

¹⁶And my innermost being will rejoice When your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.

¹⁸Certainly there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way.

²⁰Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

²¹For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

²²Listen to your father, who fathered you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

²⁵Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

²⁶Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well.

²⁸Certainly she lurks as a robber, And increases the treacherous among mankind.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has red eyes?

³⁰Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.

³¹Do not look at wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;

³²In the end it bites like a snake And stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things And your mind will say perverse things.

³⁴And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.

³⁵“They struck me, but I did not become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it. When will I awake? I will seek another drink.”

¹Now this is the number of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all the affairs of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout the months of the year, each division numbering twenty-four thousand:

²Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division for the first month; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

³He was from the sons of Perez, and was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month.

⁴Dodai the Ahohite and his division was in charge of the division for the second month, Mikloth being the chief officer; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

⁵The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

⁶This Benaiah was the mighty man of the thirty, and was in charge of thirty; and over his division was his son Ammizabad.

⁷The fourth, for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

⁸The fifth, for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

⁹The sixth, for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰The seventh, for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹¹The eighth, for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹²The ninth, for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite of the Benjaminites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹³The tenth, for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁴The eleventh, for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁵The twelfth, for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁶Now in charge of the tribes of Israel: chief officer for the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; for the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah;

¹⁷for Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok;

¹⁸for Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; for Issachar, Omri the son of Michael;

¹⁹for Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; for Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel;

²⁰for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;

²¹for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;

²²for Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³But David did not count those twenty years of age and under, because the LORD had said He would multiply Israel as the stars of heaven.

²⁴Joab the son of Zeruiah had begun to count them, but did not finish; and because of this, wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not included in the account of the chronicles of King David.

²⁵Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel was responsible for the king’s storehouses. And Jonathan the son of Uzziah was responsible for the storehouses in the country, the cities, the villages, and the towers.

²⁶Ezri the son of Chelub was responsible for the agricultural workers who tilled the soil.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was responsible for the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite was responsible for the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars.

²⁸Baal-hanan the Gederite was responsible for the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah; and Joash was responsible for the stores of oil.

²⁹Shitrai the Sharonite was responsible for the cattle which were grazing in Sharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys.

³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was responsible for the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite was responsible for the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz the Hagrite was responsible for the flocks. All these were overseers of the property which belonged to King David.

³²Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni tutored the king’s sons.

³³Ahithophel was counselor to the king; and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.

³⁴Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar succeeded Ahithophel; and Joab was the commander of the king’s army.

¹In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and told the following summary of it.

²Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.

³And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

⁴The first was like a lion but had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and set up on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it.

⁵And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said this to it: ‘Arise, devour much meat!’

⁶After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

⁸While I was thinking about the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the previous horns were plucked out before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like human eyes, and a mouth uttering great boasts.

⁹“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.

¹⁰A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were serving Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court convened, And the books were opened.

¹¹Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.

¹²As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.

¹³“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.

¹⁴And to Him was given dominion, Honor, and a kingdom, So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

¹⁵“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.

¹⁶I approached one of those who were standing by and began requesting of him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:

¹⁷‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.

¹⁸But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’

¹⁹“Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet,

²⁰and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of the horns fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and which was larger in appearance than its associates.

²¹I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and prevailing against them,

²²until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

²³“This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it.

²⁴As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will humble three kings.

²⁵And he will speak against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.

²⁶But the court will convene for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.

²⁷Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will serve and obey Him.’

²⁸“At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face became pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

¹Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,

²a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

³About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And he looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;

⁶he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants,

⁸and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;

¹¹and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,

¹²and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky.

¹³A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”

¹⁵Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate;

¹⁸and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

²¹Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.”

²³So he invited them in and gave them lodging. Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up; I, too, am just a man.”

²⁷As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call any person unholy or unclean.

²⁹That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,

³¹and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God.

³²Therefore send some men to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent men to you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

³⁵but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

³⁶The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—

³⁷you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.

³⁸You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

³⁹We are witnesses of all the things that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed,

⁴¹not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

⁴²And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵All the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

⁴⁸And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.