Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.

²Then he began to speak, and taught 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 meek, for they will inherit the earth.

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

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 children of God.

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

¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

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

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.

¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’

²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,

²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.

²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

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 has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’

³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;

⁴⁰and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;

⁴¹and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.

⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone 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 be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

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

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

⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,

²and return to the LORD your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today,

³then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the LORD your God has scattered you.

⁴Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, 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 that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.

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

⁷The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on the adversaries who took advantage of you.

⁸Then you shall again obey the LORD, observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today,

⁹and the LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,

¹⁰when you obey the LORD your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

¹¹Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.

¹²It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?”

¹³Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?”

¹⁴No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

¹⁵See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.

¹⁶If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.

¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,

¹⁸I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,

²⁰loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

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

²I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.

³But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ.

⁴Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head,

⁵but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head — it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved.

⁶For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil.

⁷For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man.

⁸Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man.

⁹Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man.

¹⁰For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

¹¹Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman.

¹²For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God.

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

¹⁴Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him,

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

¹⁶But if anyone is disposed to be contentious — we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.

¹⁷Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.

¹⁸For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it.

¹⁹Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine.

²⁰When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper.

²¹For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk.

²²What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!

²³For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread,

²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁵In the same way he took the cup also, 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.

²⁷Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord.

²⁸Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.

³⁰For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

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

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

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

³⁴If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for your condemnation. About the other things I will give instructions when I come.

¹And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.

²He held a little scroll open in his hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

³he gave a great shout, like a lion roaring. And when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded.

⁴And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”

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

⁶and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will be no more delay,

⁷but in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

⁸Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

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

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

¹¹Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

¹I come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I gather my myrrh with my spice, I eat my honeycomb with my honey, I drink my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love.

²I slept, but my heart was awake. Listen! my beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.”

³I had put off my garment; how could I put it on again? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them?

⁴My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost being yearned for him.

⁵I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt.

⁶I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and was gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but did not find him; I called him, but he gave no answer.

⁷Making their rounds in the city the sentinels found me; they beat me, they wounded me, they took away my mantle, those sentinels of the walls.

⁸I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him this: I am faint with love.

⁹What is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?

¹⁰My beloved is all radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves beside springs of water, bathed in milk, fitly set.

¹³His cheeks are like beds of spices, yielding fragrance. His lips are lilies, distilling liquid myrrh.

¹⁴His arms are rounded gold, set with jewels. His body is ivory work, encrusted with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs are alabaster columns, set upon bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars.

¹⁶His speech is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

¹Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright.

²Praise the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.

³Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

⁶By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps 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 came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

¹¹The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind.

¹⁴From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth —

¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

¹⁹to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

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

²¹Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

²²Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²When a land rebels it has many rulers; but with an intelligent ruler there is lasting order.

³A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law struggle against them.

⁵The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.

⁶Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.

⁷Those who keep the law are wise children, but companions of gluttons shame their parents.

⁸One who augments wealth by exorbitant interest gathers it for another who is kind to the poor.

⁹When one will not listen to the law, even one’s prayers are an abomination.

¹⁰Those who mislead the upright into evil ways will fall into pits of their own making, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.

¹¹The rich is wise in self-esteem, but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked prevail, people go into hiding.

¹³No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the one who is never without fear, but one who is hard-hearted will fall into calamity.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

¹⁶A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.

¹⁷If someone is burdened with the blood of another, let that killer be a fugitive until death; let no one offer assistance.

¹⁸One who walks in integrity will be safe, but whoever follows crooked ways will fall into the Pit.

¹⁹Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread, but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

²⁰The faithful will abound with blessings, but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good — yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong.

²²The miser is in a hurry to get rich and does not know that loss is sure to come.

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

²⁴Anyone who robs father or mother and says, “That is no crime,” is partner to a thug.

²⁵The greedy person stirs up strife, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be enriched.

²⁶Those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely.

²⁷Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.

²⁸When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding; but when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹Solomon 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 designated, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

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

³These are Solomon’s measurements for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits.

⁴The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, across the width of the house; and its height was one hundred twenty cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold.

⁵The nave he lined with cypress, covered it with fine gold, and made palms and chains on it.

⁶He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold from Parvaim.

⁷So he lined the house with gold — its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

⁸He made the most holy place; its length, corresponding to the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; he overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold.

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

¹⁰In the most holy place he made two carved cherubim and overlaid them with gold.

¹¹The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, five cubits long, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub;

¹²and of this cherub, one wing, five cubits long, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also five cubits long, was joined to the wing of the first cherub.

¹³The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits; the cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave.

¹⁴And Solomon made the curtain of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and worked cherubim into it.

¹⁵In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each.

¹⁶He made encircling chains and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

¹⁷He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right, the other on the left; the one on the right he called Jachin, and the one on the left, Boaz.

¹“At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.

²Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

³Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

⁴But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.”

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

⁶One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was upstream, “How long shall it be until the end of these wonders?”

⁷The man clothed in linen, who was upstream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven. And I heard him swear by the one who lives forever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things would be accomplished.

⁸I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?”

⁹He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end.

¹⁰Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

¹¹From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.

¹²Happy are those who persevere and attain the thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

¹³But you, go your way, and rest; you shall rise for your reward at the end of the days.”

¹Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders.

³So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.

⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.

⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.

⁸And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us;

⁹and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.

¹⁰Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

¹²The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they finished speaking, James replied, “My brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name.

¹⁵This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,

¹⁶‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up,

¹⁷so that all other peoples may seek the Lord — even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things

¹⁸known from long ago.’

¹⁹Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood.

²¹For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues.”

²²Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers,

²³with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,

²⁵we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

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

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When its members read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation.

³²Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.

³³After they had been there for some time, they were sent off in peace by the believers to those who had sent them.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and there, with many others, they taught and proclaimed the word of the Lord.

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

³⁹The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.