Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

²And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³“ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

¹⁵nor do people light a lamp and put it under abasket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

¹⁸For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, notthe smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!

¹⁹Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teachesothers to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoeverkeeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰“For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’

²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable tothe supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into thefiery hell.

²³Therefore, if you are presenting youroffering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,

²⁴leave youroffering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present youroffering.

²⁵Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison.

²⁶Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the lastquadrans.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;

²⁸but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to be thrown intohell.

³⁰And if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for youto lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to go intohell.

³¹“Now it was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY IS TO GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

³²but I say to you that everyone whodivorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries adivorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘ YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’

³⁴But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, norby Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.

³⁶Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

³⁷But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these isof evil origin.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘EYE FOR EYE, and TOOTH FOR TOOTH.’

³⁹But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also.

⁴⁰And if anyone wants to sue you and take yourtunic, let him have yourcloak also.

⁴¹Whoeverforces you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴²Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’

⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same?

⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹“So it will be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have placed before you, and you call them to mind in all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you,

²and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons,

³then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

⁴If any of your scattered countrymen are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.

⁵The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will be good to you and make you more numerous than your fathers.

⁶“Moreover, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.

⁷And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

⁸And you will again obey the LORD, and follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today.

⁹Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in every work of your hand, in the children of your womb, the offspring of your cattle, and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;

¹⁰if you obey the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

¹¹“For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away.

¹²It is not in heaven, that you could say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’

¹³Nor is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’

¹⁴On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it.

¹⁵“See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity,

¹⁶in that I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it.

¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them,

¹⁸I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and take possession of it.

¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

²⁰by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

¹Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

²Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you.

³But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

⁴Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.

⁵But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

⁶For if a woman does not cover her head, have her also cut her hair off; however, if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, have her cover her head.

⁷For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

⁸For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;

⁹for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.

¹⁰Therefore the woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

¹¹However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

¹²For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.

¹³Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

¹⁴Does even nature itself not teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,

¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her as a covering.

¹⁶But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor have the churches of God.

¹⁷Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.

¹⁹For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

²⁰Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,

²¹for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.

²²What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I do not praise you.

²³For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread;

²⁴and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁵In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

²⁷Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

²⁸But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body.

³⁰For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep.

³¹But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

³²But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

³³So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

³⁴If anyone is hungry, have him eat at home, so that you do not come together for judgment. As to the remaining matters, I will give instructions when I come.

¹I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;

²and he had in his hand a little scroll, which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;

³and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.

⁴When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.”

⁵Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven,

⁶and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will no longer be a delay,

⁷but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.

⁸Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”

⁹And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he *said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”

¹⁰I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

¹¹And they *said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

¹“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends; Drink and drink deeply, lovers.”

²“I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the dew drops of the night.’

³I have taken off my dress, How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, How can I dirty them again?

⁴My beloved extended his hand through the opening, And my feelings were stirred for him.

⁵I arose to open to my beloved; And my hands dripped with myrrh, And my fingers with drops of myrrh, On the handles of the bolt.

⁶I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and had gone! My heart went out to him as he spoke. I searched for him but I did not find him; I called him but he did not answer me.

⁷The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, They struck me and wounded me; The guards of the walls took my shawl away from me.

⁸Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, As to what you will tell him: For I am lovesick.”

⁹“What kind of beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? What kind of beloved is your beloved, That you make us swear in this way?”

¹⁰“My beloved is dazzling and reddish, Outstanding among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is like gold, pure gold; His locks are like clusters of dates And black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves Beside streams of water, Bathed in milk, And perched in their setting.

¹³His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, Banks of herbal spices; His lips are lilies Dripping with drops of myrrh.

¹⁴His hands are rods of gold Set with topaz; His abdomen is panels of ivory Covered with sapphires.

¹⁵His thighs are pillars of alabaster Set on pedestals of pure gold; His appearance is like Lebanon, Choice as the cedars.

¹⁶His mouth is full of sweetness. And he is wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, You daughters of Jerusalem.”

¹Sing for joy in the LORD, you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.

²Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.

³Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

⁴For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

⁶By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their lights.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He puts the depths in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

⁹For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The LORD nullifies the plan of nations; He frustrates the plans of peoples.

¹¹The plan of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen for His own inheritance.

¹³The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of mankind;

¹⁴From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.

¹⁶The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not rescued by great strength.

¹⁷A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who wait for His faithfulness,

¹⁹To rescue their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

²¹For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name.

²²Let Your favor, LORD, be upon us, Just as we have waited for You.

¹The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

²Due to a wrongdoing of a land its leaders are many, But by a person of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.

³A poor man who oppresses the helpless Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

⁴Those who abandon the Law praise the wicked, But those who keep the Law strive against them.

⁵Evil people do not understand justice, But those who seek the LORD understand everything.

⁶Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity, Than a person who is crooked, though he is rich.

⁷He who keeps the Law is a discerning son, But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.

⁸One who increases his wealth by interest of any kind, Collects it for one who is gracious to the poor.

⁹One who turns his ear away from listening to the Law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰One who leads the upright astray in an evil way Will himself fall into his own pit, But the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich person is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, But when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

¹³One who conceals his wrongdoings will not prosper, But one who confesses and abandons them will find compassion.

¹⁴How blessed is the person who fears always, But one who hardens his heart will fall into disaster.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

¹⁶A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding, But a person who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

¹⁷A person who is burdened with the guilt of human blood Will be a fugitive until death; no one is to support him!

¹⁸One who walks blamelessly will receive help, But one who is crooked will fall all at once.

¹⁹One who works his land will have plenty of food, But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

²⁰A faithful person will abound with blessings, But one who hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

²²A person with an evil eye hurries after wealth And does not know that poverty will come upon him.

²³One who rebukes a person will afterward find more favor Than one who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴He who robs his father or his mother And says, “There is no wrong done,” Is the companion of a person who destroys.

²⁵An arrogant person stirs up strife, But one who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

²⁶One who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But one who walks wisely will flee to safety.

²⁷One who gives to the poor will never lack anything, But one who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked rise, people hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

²He began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.

³Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits.

⁴The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height twenty; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold.

⁵He overlaid the main room with juniper wood and overlaid it with fine gold; and he ornamented it with palm trees and chains.

⁶Further, he overlaid the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.

⁷He also overlaid the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

⁸Then he made the room of the Most Holy Place: its length across the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

⁹The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰Then he made two sculptured cherubim in the room of the Most Holy Place and overlaid them with gold.

¹¹The wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits; the wing of one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub.

¹²The wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing, of five cubits, was attached to the wing of the first cherub.

¹³The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they stood on their feet facing the main room.

¹⁴He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he worked cherubim into it.

¹⁵He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital on the top of each was five cubits.

¹⁶He made chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains.

¹⁷He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz.

¹“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.

²And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

³And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

⁴But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time; many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”

⁵Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the stream and the other on that bank of the stream.

⁶And someone said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”

⁷And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish smashing the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

⁸But as for me, I heard but did not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?”

⁹And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words will be kept secret and sealed up until the end time.

¹⁰Many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.

¹¹And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

¹²Blessed is the one who is patient and attains to the 1,335 days!

¹³But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will rest and rise for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”

¹Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had a heated argument and debate with them, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

³Therefore, after being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.

¹⁵The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN TABERNACLE OF DAVID, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

¹⁷SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

¹⁸SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.

²¹For from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

²³and they sent this letter with them: “The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching, upsetting your souls,

²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message.

³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters in peace to those who had sent them out.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.

³⁸But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.