Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

²and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

³For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!

⁴Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him,

⁶and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁷When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

⁸Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.

⁹And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones.

¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹²His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.

¹⁴But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”

¹⁵Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized.

¹⁶When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.

¹⁷And a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

¹“Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.

²All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the LORD your God:

³You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

⁴Your offspring will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the newborn of your flocks.

⁵Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.

⁶You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

⁷“The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.

⁸The LORD will grant you a blessing on your barns and on everything you do; he will bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

⁹The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.

¹⁰Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the LORD’s name, and they will stand in awe of you.

¹¹The LORD will make you prosper abundantly with offspring, the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

¹²The LORD will open for you his abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.

¹³The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the LORD your God’s commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them.

¹⁴Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today, and do not follow other gods to worship them.

¹⁵“But if you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all his commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you:

¹⁶You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

¹⁷Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.

¹⁸Your offspring will be cursed, and your land’s produce, the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks.

¹⁹You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

²⁰The LORD will send against you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning me.

²¹The LORD will make pestilence cling to you until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess.

²²The LORD will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought, blight, and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.

²³The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.

²⁴The LORD will turn the rain of your land into falling dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

²⁵The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

²⁶Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, with no one to scare them away.

²⁷“The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured.

²⁸The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and mental confusion,

²⁹so that at noon you will grope as a blind person gropes in the dark. You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help you.

³⁰You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.

³¹Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will help you.

³²Your sons and daughters will be given to another people, while your eyes grow weary looking for them every day. But you will be powerless to do anything.

³³A people you don’t know will eat your land’s produce and everything you have labored for. You will only be oppressed and crushed continually.

³⁴You will be driven mad by what you see.

³⁵The LORD will afflict you with painful and incurable boils on your knees and thighs — from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

³⁶“The LORD will bring you and your king that you have appointed to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone.

³⁷You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.

³⁸“You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it.

³⁹You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.

⁴⁰You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not moisten your skin with oil, because your olives will drop off.

⁴¹You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner.

⁴²Buzzing insects will take possession of all your trees and your land’s produce.

⁴³The resident alien among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower.

⁴⁴He will lend to you, but you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

⁴⁵“All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commands and statutes he gave you.

⁴⁶These curses will be a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever.

⁴⁷Because you didn’t serve the LORD your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything,

⁴⁸you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

⁴⁹The LORD will bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you won’t understand,

⁵⁰a ruthless nation, showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young.

⁵¹They will eat the offspring of your livestock and your land’s produce until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, fresh oil, young of your herds, or newborn of your flocks until they cause you to perish.

⁵²They will besiege you within all your city gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your city gates throughout the land the LORD your God has given you.

⁵³“You will eat your offspring, the flesh of your sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you.

⁵⁴The most sensitive and refined man among you will look grudgingly at his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children,

⁵⁵refusing to share with any of them his children’s flesh that he will eat because he has nothing left during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you in all your towns.

⁵⁶The most sensitive and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her refinement and sensitivity, will begrudge the husband she embraces, her son, and her daughter,

⁵⁷the afterbirth that comes out from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you within your city gates.

⁵⁸“If you are not careful to obey all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, by fearing this glorious and awe-inspiring name — the LORD, your God —

⁵⁹he will bring wondrous plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.

⁶⁰He will afflict you again with all the diseases of Egypt, which you dreaded, and they will cling to you.

⁶¹The LORD will also afflict you with every sickness and plague not recorded in the book of this law, until you are destroyed.

⁶²Though you were as numerous as the stars of the sky, you will be left with only a few people, because you did not obey the LORD your God.

⁶³Just as the LORD was glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so he will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be ripped out of the land you are entering to possess.

⁶⁴Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.

⁶⁵You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit.

⁶⁶Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be in dread night and day, never certain of survival.

⁶⁷In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ — because of the dread you will have in your heart and because of what you will see.

⁶⁸The LORD will take you back in ships to Egypt by a route that I said you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

¹Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

²If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, because you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³My defense to those who examine me is this:

⁴Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?

⁵Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife like the other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas?

⁶Or do only Barnabas and I have no right to refrain from working?

⁷Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?

⁸Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing?

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain. Is God really concerned about oxen?

¹⁰Isn’t he really saying it for our sake? Yes, this is written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing the crop.

¹¹If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?

¹²If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right; instead, we endure everything so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ.

¹³Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?

¹⁴In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.

¹⁵For my part I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that they may be applied in my case. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!

¹⁶For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach  — and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

¹⁷For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a commission.

¹⁸What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.

²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law — though I myself am not under the law  — to win those under the law.

²¹To those who are without the law, like one without the law — though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ — to win those without the law.

²²To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.

²³Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.

²⁴Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.

²⁵Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.

²⁶So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air.

²⁷Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

¹When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them.

³Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne.

⁴The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.

⁵The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

⁶And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. So a third of the sea became blood,

⁹a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water.

¹¹The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

¹²The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light and also a third of the night.

¹³I looked and heard an eagle flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”

¹In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him.

²I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and the plazas. I will seek the one I love. I sought him, but did not find him.

³The guards who go about the city found me. I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”

⁴I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house  — to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

⁵Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.

⁶Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from every fragrant powder of the merchant?

⁷Look! Solomon’s bed surrounded by sixty warriors from the mighty men of Israel.

⁸All of them are skilled with swords and trained in warfare. Each has his sword at his side to guard against the terror of the night.

⁹King Solomon made a carriage for himself with wood from Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, and its seat of purple. Its interior is inlaid with love by the young women of Jerusalem.

¹¹Go out, young women of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother placed on him on the day of his wedding  — the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] LORD, I seek refuge in you; let me never be disgraced. Save me by your righteousness.

²Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me.

³For you are my rock and my fortress; you lead and guide me for your name’s sake.

⁴You will free me from the net that is secretly set for me, for you are my refuge.

⁵Into your hand I entrust my spirit; you have redeemed me, LORD, God of truth.

⁶I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.

⁷I will rejoice and be glad in your faithful love because you have seen my affliction. You know the troubles of my soul

⁸and have not handed me over to the enemy. You have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹Be gracious to me, LORD, because I am in distress; my eyes are worn out from frustration — my whole being as well.

¹⁰Indeed, my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.

¹¹I am ridiculed by all my adversaries and even by my neighbors. I am dreaded by my acquaintances; those who see me in the street run from me.

¹²I am forgotten: gone from memory like a dead person — like broken pottery.

¹³I have heard the gossip of many; terror is on every side. When they conspired against me, they plotted to take my life.

¹⁴But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵The course of my life is in your power; rescue me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors.

¹⁶Make your face shine on your servant; save me by your faithful love.

¹⁷LORD, do not let me be disgraced when I call on you. Let the wicked be disgraced; let them be quiet in Sheol.

¹⁸Let lying lips that arrogantly speak against the righteous in proud contempt be silenced.

¹⁹How great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear you and accomplished in the sight of everyone for those who take refuge in you.

²⁰You hide them in the protection of your presence; you conceal them in a shelter from human schemes, from quarrelsome tongues.

²¹Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me in a city under siege.

²²In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the sound of my pleading when I cried to you for help.

²³Love the LORD, all his faithful ones. The LORD protects the loyal, but fully repays the arrogant.

²⁴Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD.

¹Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor is inappropriate for a fool.

²Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools.

⁴Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.

⁵Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.

⁶The one who sends a message by a fool’s hand cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like lame legs that hang limp.

⁸Giving honor to a fool is like binding a stone in a sling.

⁹A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a stick with thorns, brandished by the hand of a drunkard.

¹⁰The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by is like an archer who wounds everyone.

¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.

¹²Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road — a lion in the public square!”

¹⁴A door turns on its hinges, and a slacker, on his bed.

¹⁵The slacker buries his hand in the bowl; he is too weary to bring it to his mouth!

¹⁶In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser than seven who can answer sensibly.

¹⁷A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows,

¹⁹so is the person who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down.

²¹As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

²²A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.

²³Smooth lips with an evil heart are like glaze on an earthen vessel.

²⁴A hateful person disguises himself with his speech and harbors deceit within.

²⁵When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven detestable things in his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his evil will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone — it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

¹Solomon son of David strengthened his hold on his kingdom. The LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.

²Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel — the family heads.

³Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was in Gibeon because God’s tent of meeting, which the LORD’s servant Moses had made in the wilderness, was there.

⁴Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,

⁵but he put the bronze altar, which Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, in front of the LORD’s tabernacle. Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there.

⁶Solomon offered sacrifices there in the LORD’s presence on the bronze altar at the tent of meeting; he offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask. What should I give you?”

⁸And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and you have made me king in his place.

⁹LORD God, let your promise to my father David now come true. For you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

¹⁰Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of yours?”

¹¹God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king,

¹²wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”

¹³So Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

¹⁵The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.

¹⁶Solomon’s horses came from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders would get them from Kue at the going price.

¹⁷A chariot could be imported from Egypt for fifteen pounds of silver and a horse for nearly four pounds. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

¹In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision.

²In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.

³I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over.

⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,

⁵I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist.

⁶His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

⁷Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid.

⁸I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.

⁹I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

¹⁰Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees.

¹¹He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling.

¹²“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.

¹³But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

¹⁴Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.”

¹⁵While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless.

¹⁶Suddenly one with human likeness touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless.

¹⁷How can someone like me, your servant, speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.”

¹⁸Then the one with a human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.

¹⁹He said, “Don’t be afraid, you who are treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong!” As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come.

²¹However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (No one has the courage to support me against those princes except Michael, your prince.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul — also called Paul — filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas

¹⁰and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”

¹⁶Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm.

¹⁸And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness;

¹⁹and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

²⁰This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him:’ I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’

²³“From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.

²⁴Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵Now as John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But one is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him.

²⁸Though they found no grounds for the death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead,

³¹and he appeared for many days to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

³²And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.

³³God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father.

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure promises of David.

³⁵Therefore he also says in another passage, You will not let your Holy One see decay.

³⁶For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed,

³⁷but the one God raised up did not decay.

³⁸Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you.

³⁹Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

⁴⁰So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴¹Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”

⁴²As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath.

⁴³After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the end of the earth.”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.

⁵¹But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.