Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

²saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

⁴and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

⁹After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

¹¹And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

¹²And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt

¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

¹⁷Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

¹⁹But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

²⁰saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.”

²¹And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.

²³And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

¹Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today.

²And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster.

³And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

⁴And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster.

⁵And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them;

⁶you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God,

⁷and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God.

⁸And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

⁹Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God.

¹⁰You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”

¹¹That day Moses charged the people, saying,

¹²“When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

¹³And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

¹⁴And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:

¹⁵“‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁶“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁷“‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁸“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁹“‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁰“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's nakedness.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²¹“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²²“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²³“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁴“‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁵“‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁶“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

²If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

³But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

⁴Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

⁵For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” —

⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

⁷However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

⁸Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

⁹But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

¹⁰For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?

¹¹And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.

¹²Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

¹³Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

²Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,

³saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

⁶12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

⁷12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

⁸12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

⁹After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

¹²saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”

¹⁴I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

¹⁶They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

¹⁷For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

¹I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

²As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.

³As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁴He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

⁵Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love.

⁶His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me!

⁷I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.

⁸The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.

⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice.

¹⁰My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away,

¹¹for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

¹²The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.

¹⁴O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

¹⁵Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”

¹⁶My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains.

¹I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

²O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.

³O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

⁴Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.

⁵For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

⁶As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”

⁷By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

⁸To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:

⁹“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?

¹⁰Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!”

¹¹You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

¹²that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

¹These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

²It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

³As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel;

⁵take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great,

⁷for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen

⁸do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another's secret,

¹⁰lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

¹²Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

¹⁵With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

¹⁶If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

¹⁸A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

²⁰Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

²²for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

²⁴It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

²⁵Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.

²⁸A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

¹And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God.

²So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble.

³Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God:

⁴3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,

⁵and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?”

⁶Then the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work.

⁷They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron.

⁸And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

⁹Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

¹⁰Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

¹¹Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

¹²Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

¹³And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.

¹⁵For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.

¹⁶O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.

¹⁷I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

¹⁸O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.

¹⁹Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.”

²⁰Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.

²¹And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

²²And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. Solomon Anointed King And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest.

²³Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

²⁴All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon.

²⁵And the LORD made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

²⁶Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

²⁷The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

²⁸Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place.

²⁹Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer,

³⁰with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.

¹In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans —

²in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

³Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

⁴I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

⁵we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.

⁶We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

⁷To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.

⁸To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

⁹To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him

¹⁰and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

¹¹All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

¹²He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

¹³As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.

¹⁴Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

¹⁵And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.

¹⁷Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

¹⁸O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

¹⁹O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

²⁰While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God,

²¹while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.

²²He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding.

²³At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

²⁴“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.

²⁵Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

²⁶And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

²⁷And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

¹About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

²He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

³and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

⁴And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

⁶Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

⁸And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

⁹And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.

¹¹When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

¹²When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

¹³And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.

¹⁵They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”

¹⁶But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.

¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

¹⁹And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

²⁰Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.

²¹On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them.

²²And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”

²³Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

²⁴But the word of God increased and multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.