Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹"For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard.

²When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place;

⁴and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right (an appropriate wage).' And they went.

⁵He went out about the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), and did the same thing.

⁶And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'

⁷They answered him, 'Because no one hired us.' He told them, 'You go into the vineyard also.'

⁸"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [to be hired] and ending with the first [to be hired].'

⁹Those who had been hired at the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) came and received a denarius each [a day's wage].

¹⁰Now when the first [to be hired] came, they thought they would get more; but each of them also received a denarius.

¹¹When they received it, they protested and grumbled at the owner of the estate,

¹²saying, 'These men who came last worked [only] one hour, and yet you have made them equal [in wages] to us who have carried [most of] the burden and [worked in] the scorching heat of the day.'

¹³But the owner of the estate replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go, but I choose to give to this last man [hired] the same as I give to you.

¹⁵Am I not lawfully permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'

¹⁶So those who are last [in this world] shall be first [in the world to come], and those who are first, last."

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve [disciples] aside, and along the way He said to them,

¹⁸"Listen carefully: we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and they will [judicially] condemn Him and sentence Him to death,

¹⁹and will hand Him over to the Gentiles (Roman authorities) to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised [to life] on the third day."

²⁰Then [Salome] the mother of Zebedee's children [James and John] came up to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down [in respect], asked a favor of Him.

²¹And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit [in positions of honor and authority] one on Your right and one on Your left."

²²But Jesus replied, "You do not realize what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup [of suffering] that I am about to drink?" They answered, "We are able."

²³He said to them, "You will drink My cup [of suffering]; but to sit on My right and on My left this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father."

²⁴And when the [other] ten heard this, they were resentful and angry with the two brothers.

²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles have absolute power and lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them].

²⁶It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

²⁷and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your [willing and humble] slave;

²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin]."

²⁹As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

³⁰And two blind men were sitting by the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David (Messiah)!"

³¹The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David (Messiah) have mercy on us!"

³²Jesus stopped and called them, and asked, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

³³They answered Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened."

³⁴Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him [as His disciples].

¹Now the whole earth spoke one language and used the same words (vocabulary).

²And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there.

³They said one to another, "Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly [in a kiln, to harden and strengthen them]." So they used brick for stone [as building material], and they used tar (bitumen, asphalt) for mortar.

⁴They said, "Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the LORD instructed]."

⁵Now the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

⁶And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one [unified] people, and they all have the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do [in rebellion against Me], and now no evil thing they imagine they can do will be impossible for them.

⁷Come, let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) go down and there confuse and mix up their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

⁸So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the surface of the entire earth; and they stopped building the city.

⁹Therefore the name of the city was Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the entire earth; and from that place the LORD scattered and dispersed them over the surface of all the earth.

¹⁰These are the records of the generations of Shem [from whom Abraham descended]. Shem was a hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood.

¹¹And Shem lived five hundred years after Arpachshad was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹²When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah.

¹³Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after Shelah was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber.

¹⁵Shelah lived four hundred and three years after Eber was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg.

¹⁷And Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after Peleg was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu.

¹⁹And Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after Reu was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

²⁰When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug.

²¹And Reu lived two hundred and seven years after Serug was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

²²When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor.

²³And Serug lived two hundred years after Nahor was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

²⁴When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah.

²⁵And Nahor lived a hundred and nineteen years after Terah was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

²⁶After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram and Nahor and Haran [his firstborn].

²⁷Now these are the records of the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram (Abraham), Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.

²⁸Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

²⁹Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai (later called Sarah), and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.

³⁰But Sarai was barren; she did not have a child.

³¹Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there.

³²Terah lived two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.

¹Now I, Paul, urge you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am meek [so they say] when with you face to face, but bold [outspoken and fearless] toward you when absent!

²I ask that when I do come I will not be driven to the boldness that I intend to show toward those few who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh [like men without the Spirit].

³For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man.

⁴The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

⁵We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,

⁶being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete.

⁷You are looking [only] at the outward appearance of things. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, he should reflect and consider this, that just as he is Christ's, so too are we.

⁸For even though I boast rather freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed [of the truth],

⁹nor do I want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters;

¹⁰for they say, "His letters are weighty and forceful and impressive, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible [of no account]."

¹¹Let such people realize that what we say by word in letters when we are absent, is the same as what we are in action when present.

¹²We do not have the audacity to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with some who [supply testimonials to] commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they lack wisdom and behave like fools.

¹³We, on the other hand, will not boast beyond our proper limit, but [will keep] within the limits of our commission (territory, authority) which God has granted to us as a measure, which reaches and includes even you.

¹⁴We are not overstepping the limits of our province, as if we did not [legitimately] reach to you, for we were the [very] first to come even as far as you with the good news of Christ.

¹⁵We do not go beyond our proper limit, boasting in the work of other men, but we have the hope that as your faith [in Christ and His divine power] continues to grow, our field among you may be greatly expanded [but still within the limits of our commission],

¹⁶so that we may preach the gospel even in the lands beyond you, but not to boast in work already accomplished in another one's field of activity.

¹⁷However, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

¹⁸For it is not he who commends and praises himself who is approved [by God], but it is the one whom the Lord commends and praises.

¹Then Job responded,

²"No doubt you are the [only wise] people [in the world], And wisdom will die with you!

³"But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these [of God's wisdom and might]?

⁴"I am a joke to my friends; I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him— A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

⁵"He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune, But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

⁶"The tents of the destroyers prosper; And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure, Whom God brings into their power.

⁷"Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character]; And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

⁸Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.

⁹"Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life] That the hand of the LORD has done this,

¹⁰In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

¹¹"Does the ear not put words to the test, Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?

¹²"With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with long life is understanding.

¹³"But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

¹⁴"Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

¹⁵"Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.

¹⁶"With Him are might and sound wisdom, The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].

¹⁷"He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.

¹⁸"He loosens the bond of kings And binds their loins with a loincloth.

¹⁹"He makes priests walk barefoot, And He overturns men firmly seated and secure.

²⁰"He deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes away the discernment and discretion of the aged.

²¹"He pours contempt on princes and nobles And loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them].

²²"He uncovers mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darkness And brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light.

²³"He makes nations great, and He destroys them; He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive].

²⁴"He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth And makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste.

²⁵"They grope in darkness without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man."

¹A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain.

²Fair and beautiful in elevation, the joy of all the earth, Is Mount Zion [the City of David] in the far north, The city of the great King.

³God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold.

⁴For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They [came and] passed by together.

⁵They saw it, then they were amazed; They were stricken with terror, they fled in alarm.

⁶Panic seized them there, And pain, as that of a woman in childbirth.

⁷With the east wind You shattered the ships of Tarshish.

⁸As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish her forever. Selah.

⁹We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple.

¹⁰As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness (rightness, justice).

¹¹Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your [righteous] judgments.

¹²Walk about Zion, go all around her; Count her towers,

¹³Consider her ramparts, Go through her palaces, That you may tell the next generation [about her glory].

¹⁴For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even until death.

¹Whoever loves instruction and discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof and correction is stupid.

²A good man will obtain favor from the LORD, But He will condemn a man who devises evil.

³A man will not be established by wickedness, But the root of the [consistently] righteous will not be moved.

⁴A virtuous and excellent wife [worthy of honor] is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him [with her foolishness] is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts and purposes of the [consistently] righteous are just (honest, reliable), But the counsels and schemes of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The [malevolent] words of the wicked lie in wait for [innocent] blood [to slander], But the mouth of the upright will rescue and protect them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown [by their evil] and are no more, But the house of the [consistently] righteous will stand [securely].

⁸A man will be commended according to his insight and sound judgment, But the one who is of a perverse mind will be despised.

⁹Better is he who is lightly esteemed and has a servant, Than he who [boastfully] honors himself [pretending to be what he is not] and lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man has kind regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows worthless things lacks common sense and good judgment.

¹²The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields richer fruit.

¹³An evil man is [dangerously] ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble.

¹⁴A man will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a man's hands will return to him [as a harvest].

¹⁵The way of the [arrogant] fool [who rejects God's wisdom] is right in his own eyes, But a wise and prudent man is he who listens to counsel.

¹⁶The [arrogant] fool's anger is quickly known [because he lacks self-control and common sense], But a prudent man ignores an insult.

¹⁷He who speaks truth [when he testifies] tells what is right, But a false witness utters deceit [in court].

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is [credited] only for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.

²¹No harm befalls the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are extremely disgusting to the LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

²³A shrewd man is reluctant to display his knowledge [until the proper time], But the heart of [over-confident] fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the negligent and lazy will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, But a good (encouraging) word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous man is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy man does not catch and roast his prey, But the precious possession of a [wise] man is diligence [because he recognizes opportunities and seizes them].

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death [but immortality—eternal life].

¹Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and was allied by marriage with Ahab.

²Some years later he went down to [visit] Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.

³Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me to [fight against] Ramoth-gilead?" He answered, "I am as you are, and my people as your people [your hopes and concerns are ours]; we will be with you in the battle."

⁴Further, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire first for the word of the LORD."

⁵Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for God will hand it over to the king."

⁶But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the LORD still here by whom we may inquire?"

⁷The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he never prophesies [anything] good for me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla" And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so [perhaps this time it will be different]."

⁸Then the king of Israel called for an officer and said, "Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly."

⁹Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, arrayed in their robes; they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'With these you shall gore the Arameans (Syrians) until they are destroyed.'"

¹¹All the prophets prophesied this, saying, "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed; the LORD will hand it over to the king."

¹²The messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him, "Listen, the words of the prophets are of one accord, foretelling a favorable outcome for the king. So just let your word be like one of them and speak favorably."

¹³But Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, I will [only] speak what my God says."

¹⁴When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?" And he said, "Go up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you."

¹⁵Then the king said to him, "How many times must I warn you (make you swear an oath) to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"

¹⁶Then Micaiah said, "I saw all [the people of] Israel Scattered on the mountains, As sheep that have no shepherd; And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each one return to his house in peace.'"

¹⁷Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good in regard to me, but [only] evil?"

¹⁸So Micaiah said, "Therefore, hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host (army) of heaven standing on His right and on His left.

¹⁹Then the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall [defeated] at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this and another said that.

²⁰Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' The LORD said to him, 'By what means?'

²¹He said, 'I will go out and be a deceptive spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then the LORD said, 'You are to entice him and also succeed. Go and do so.'

²²Now, you see, the LORD put a deceptive spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours; and the LORD has [actually] proclaimed disaster against you."

²³Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go [when he departed] from me to speak to you?"

²⁴Micaiah said, "Behold, you will see on that day when you go into an inner room [desperately trying] to hide yourself."

²⁵Then the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son,

²⁶and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this man in prison and feed him just enough bread and water to survive until I return in peace (safely)."'"

²⁷But Micaiah said, "If you actually return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me." And he added, "Listen [to what I have said], you people, all of you."

²⁸So [Ahab] the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead.

²⁹The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, " I will disguise myself and will go into battle, but you put on your [royal] robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.

³⁰Now the king of Aram (Syria) had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Do not fight with the small or the great, but only with the king of Israel."

³¹So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat [of Judah], they said, "It is the king of Israel!" So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat called out [for God's help], and the LORD helped him; and God diverted them away from him.

³²When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³³Then a certain man drew his bow at random and struck [Ahab] the king of Israel between the scales of his armor. So Ahab said to his chariot driver, "Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I am seriously wounded."

³⁴The battle raged that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans (Syrians) until the evening, and at sunset he died.

¹The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

²Hear this, O elders, Listen closely, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing as this occurred in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers?

³Tell your children about it, And let your children tell their children, And their children the next generation.

⁴What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten [in judgment of Judah].

⁵Awake [from your intoxication], you drunkards, and weep; Wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because of the [fresh] sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth.

⁶For a [pagan and hostile] nation has invaded My land [like locusts], Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.

⁷It has made My vine (My people) a waste and object of horror, And splintered and broken My fig tree. It has stripped them completely bare and thrown them away; Their branches have become white.

⁸Wail like a virgin [bride] clothed with sackcloth For the bridegroom of her youth [who has died].

⁹The [daily] grain offering and the drink offering are cut off From the house of the LORD; The priests mourn Who minister to the LORD.

¹⁰The field is ruined, The ground mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine is dried up, The fresh oil fails.

¹¹Be ashamed, O farmers; Wail, O vinedressers, For the wheat and for the barley, Because the harvest of the field has perished.

¹²The vine dries up And the fig tree fails; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, All the trees of the field dry up, Indeed, joy dries up and withdraws From the sons of men.

¹³Clothe yourselves with sackcloth And lament (cry out in grief), O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing], O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.

¹⁴Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD [in penitent pleadings].

¹⁵Alas for the day! For the [judgment] day of the LORD is at hand, And it will come [upon the nation] as a destruction from the Almighty.

¹⁶Has not the food been cut off before our eyes, Joy and gladness from the house of our God?

¹⁷The seeds [of grain] shrivel under the clods, The storehouses are desolate and empty, The barns are in ruins Because the grain is dried up.

¹⁸How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered and wander aimlessly Because they have no pasture; Even the flocks of sheep suffer.

¹⁹O LORD, I cry out to You, For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

²⁰Even the wild animals pant [in longing] for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place,

²and suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

³There appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were being distributed [among them], and they rested on each one of them [as each person received the Holy Spirit].

⁴And they were all filled [that is, diffused throughout their being] with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (different languages), as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out [clearly and appropriately].

⁵Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout and God-fearing men from every nation under heaven.

⁶And when this sound was heard, a crowd gathered, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing those in the upper room speaking in his own language or dialect.

⁷They were completely astonished, saying, "Look! Are not all of these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸Then how is it that each of us hears in our own language or native dialect?

⁹[Among us there are] Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and people of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia [Minor],

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and the visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes (Gentile converts to Judaism),

¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we all hear them speaking in our [native] tongues about the mighty works of God!"

¹²And they were beside themselves with amazement and were greatly perplexed, saying one to another, "What could this mean?"

¹³But others were laughing and joking and ridiculing them, saying, "They are full of sweet wine and are drunk!"

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be explained to you; listen closely and pay attention to what I have to say.

¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is [only] the third hour of the day (9:00 a.m.);

¹⁶but this is [the beginning of] what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷'And it shall be in the last days,' says God, 'That I will pour out My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see [divinely prompted] visions, And your old men shall dream [divinely prompted] dreams;

¹⁸Even on My bond-servants, both men and women, I will in those days pour out My Spirit And they shall prophesy.

¹⁹'And I will bring about wonders in the sky above And signs (attesting miracles) on the earth below, Blood and fire and smoking vapor.

²⁰'The sun shall be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

²¹'And it shall be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord Jesus] shall be saved (rescued spiritually).'

²²"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man accredited and pointed out and attested to you by God with [the power to perform] miracles and wonders and signs which God worked through Him in your [very] midst, just as you yourselves know—

²³this Man, when handed over [to the Roman authorities] according to the predetermined decision and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross and put to death by the hands of lawless and godless men.

²⁴But God raised Him up, releasing Him and bringing an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in death's power.

²⁵For David says of Him, 'I saw the Lord constantly before me; For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken [from my state of security].

²⁶'Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue exulted exceedingly; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope [that is, will encamp in anticipation of the resurrection];

²⁷'For You will not forsake me and abandon my soul to Hades (the realm of the dead), Nor let Your Holy One undergo decay [after death].

²⁸'You have made known to me the ways of life; You will fill me [infusing my soul] with joy with Your presence.'

²⁹"Brothers, I may confidently and freely say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰And so, being a prophet and knowing fully that God had sworn to him with an oath that He would seat one of his descendants on his throne,

³¹he foresaw and spoke [prophetically] of the resurrection of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), that He was not abandoned [in death] to Hades (the realm of the dead), nor did His body undergo decay.

³²God raised this Jesus [bodily from the dead], and of that [fact] we are all witnesses.

³³Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this [blessing] which you both see and hear.

³⁴For David did not ascend into the heavens, yet he himself says, 'The Lord [the Father] said to my LORD [the Son], "Sit at My right hand,

³⁵Until I make Your enemies afootstool for Your feet."'

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel recognize beyond all doubt that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (Messiah, Anointed)—this Jesus whom you crucified."

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart [with remorse and anxiety], and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what are we to do?"

³⁸And Peter said to them, "Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all who are far away [including the Gentiles], as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself."

⁴⁰And Peter solemnly testified and continued to admonish and urge them with many more words, saying, " Be saved from this crooked and unjust generation!"

⁴¹So then, those who accepted his message were baptized; and on that day about3,000 souls were added [to the body of believers].

⁴²They were continually and faithfully devoting themselves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to eating meals together and to prayers.

⁴³A sense of awe was felt by everyone, and many wonders and signs (attesting miracles) were taking place through the apostles.

⁴⁴And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole].

⁴⁵And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing the proceeds with all [the other believers], as anyone had need.

⁴⁶Day after day they met in the temple [area] continuing with one mind, and breaking bread in various private homes. They were eating their meals together with joy and generous hearts,

⁴⁷praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.