Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.

²Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

³Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.”

⁴Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

⁵He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

⁶At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

⁷Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea,

⁸Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.

⁹Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him.

¹⁰He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him.

¹¹And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!”

¹²But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.

¹³Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him.

¹⁴Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach,

¹⁵giving them authority to cast out demons.

¹⁶These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he named Peter),

¹⁷James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder” ),

¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (the zealot ),

¹⁹Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

²⁰One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat.

²¹When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.

²²But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”

²³Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked.

²⁴“A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.

²⁵Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

²⁶And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive.

²⁷Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger — someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

²⁸“I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven,

²⁹but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.”

³⁰He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”

³¹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them.

³²There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”

³³Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

³⁴Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers.

³⁵Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

¹Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

²“Take your son, your only son — yes, Isaac, whom you love so much — and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

³The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.

⁴On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

⁵“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

⁶So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together,

⁷Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

⁸“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

⁹When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

¹⁰And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.

¹¹At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

¹²“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

¹³Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

¹⁴Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

¹⁵Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven.

¹⁶“This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that

¹⁷I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.

¹⁸And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — all because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.

²⁰Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons.

²¹The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans),

²²Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

²³(Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah,

²⁴Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

¹Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.

²You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

³All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

⁴But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,

⁵that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

⁶For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

⁷So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

⁸God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

⁹Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

¹⁰For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

¹¹Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.

¹²In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

¹³But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

¹⁵He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.

¹⁶Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

¹⁷He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.

¹⁸Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

¹⁹So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.

²⁰Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

²¹We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

²²Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

¹All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching.

²If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved. False Teaching and True Riches Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them.

³Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.

⁴Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.

⁵These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

⁶Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

⁷After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.

⁸So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

⁹But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

¹¹But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

¹²Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

¹³And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate,

¹⁴that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

¹⁵For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

¹⁶He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.

¹⁷Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

¹⁸Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.

¹⁹By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

²⁰Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.

²¹Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all.

¹Then Job spoke again:

²“My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud.

³If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court.

⁴I would lay out my case and present my arguments.

⁵Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me.

⁶Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing.

⁷Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.

⁸I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him.

⁹I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed.

¹⁰“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

¹¹For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside.

¹²I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.

¹³But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does.

¹⁴So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny.

¹⁵No wonder I am so terrified in his presence. When I think of it, terror grips me.

¹⁶God has made me sick at heart; the Almighty has terrified me.

¹⁷Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.

¹Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.

²Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers.

³They have set an ambush for me. Fierce enemies are out there waiting, LORD, though I have not sinned or offended them.

⁴I have done nothing wrong, yet they prepare to attack me. Wake up! See what is happening and help me!

⁵O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, wake up and punish those hostile nations. Show no mercy to wicked traitors. Interlude

⁶They come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.

⁷Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths; their words cut like swords. “After all, who can hear us?” they sneer.

⁸But LORD, you laugh at them. You scoff at all the hostile nations.

⁹You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, are my fortress.

¹⁰In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

¹¹Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons; stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees, O Lord our shield.

¹²Because of the sinful things they say, because of the evil that is on their lips, let them be captured by their pride, their curses, and their lies.

¹³Destroy them in your anger! Wipe them out completely! Then the whole world will know that God reigns in Israel. Interlude

¹⁴My enemies come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.

¹⁵They scavenge for food but go to sleep unsatisfied.

¹⁶But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.

¹⁷O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

¹While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you.

²If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat;

³don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.

⁴Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.

⁵In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.

⁶Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies.

⁷They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.

⁸You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted.

⁹Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice.

¹⁰Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you.

¹²Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.

¹³Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them.

¹⁴Physical discipline may well save them from death.

¹⁵My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice!

¹⁶Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.

¹⁷Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD.

¹⁸You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.

¹⁹My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course.

²⁰Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,

²¹for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags.

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

²³Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

²⁴The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

²⁵So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy.

²⁶O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

²⁷A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.

²⁸She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful.

²⁹Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks.

³¹Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.

³²For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper.

³³You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things.

³⁴You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.

³⁵And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?”

¹Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

²He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.

³In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them.

⁴He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple.

⁵He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.

⁶Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him.

⁷They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

⁸“That is why the LORD’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes.

⁹Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and our sons and daughters and wives have been captured.

¹⁰But now I will make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.

¹¹My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.”

¹²Then these Levites got right to work: From the clan of Kohath: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. From the clan of Merari: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. From the clan of Gershon: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.

¹³From the family of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel. From the family of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah.

¹⁴From the family of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei. From the family of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the LORD, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the LORD’s instructions in their work.

¹⁶The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the LORD to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year, and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the LORD’s Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the LORD itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days.

¹⁸Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: “We have cleansed the entire Temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils.

¹⁹We have also recovered all the items discarded by King Ahaz when he was unfaithful and closed the Temple. They are now in front of the altar of the LORD, purified and ready for use.”

²⁰Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went to the Temple of the LORD.

²¹They brought seven bulls, seven rams, and seven male lambs as a burnt offering, together with seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the Temple, and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice the animals on the altar of the LORD.

²²So they killed the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Next they killed the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. And finally, they did the same with the male lambs.

²³The male goats for the sin offering were then brought before the king and the assembly of people, who laid their hands on them.

²⁴The priests then killed the goats as a sin offering and sprinkled their blood on the altar to make atonement for the sins of all Israel. The king had specifically commanded that this burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁵King Hezekiah then stationed the Levites at the Temple of the LORD with cymbals, lyres, and harps. He obeyed all the commands that the LORD had given to King David through Gad, the king’s seer, and the prophet Nathan.

²⁶The Levites then took their positions around the Temple with the instruments of David, and the priests took their positions with the trumpets.

²⁷Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the LORD were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, the former king of Israel.

²⁸The entire assembly worshiped the LORD as the singers sang and the trumpets blew, until all the burnt offerings were finished.

²⁹Then the king and everyone with him bowed down in worship.

³⁰King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the psalms written by David and by Asaph the seer. So they offered joyous praise and bowed down in worship.

³¹Then Hezekiah declared, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Temple of the LORD.” So the people brought their sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings, too.

³²The people brought to the LORD 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 male lambs for burnt offerings.

³³They also brought 600 cattle and 3,000 sheep and goats as sacred offerings.

³⁴But there were too few priests to prepare all the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious about purifying themselves than the priests had been.

³⁵There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great deal of fat from the many peace offerings. So the Temple of the LORD was restored to service.

³⁶And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly.

¹Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said, “Strike the tops of the Temple columns, so that the foundation will shake. Bring down the roof on the heads of the people below. I will kill with the sword those who survive. No one will escape!

²“Even if they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down.

³Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.

⁴Even if their enemies drive them into exile, I will command the sword to kill them there. I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to help them.”

⁵The Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, touches the land and it melts, and all its people mourn. The ground rises like the Nile River at floodtime, and then it sinks again.

⁶The LORD’s home reaches up to the heavens, while its foundation is on the earth. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The LORD is his name!

⁷“Are you Israelites more important to me than the Ethiopians? ” asks the LORD. “I brought Israel out of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Crete and led the Arameans out of Kir.

⁸“I, the Sovereign LORD, am watching this sinful nation of Israel. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will never completely destroy the family of Israel, ” says the LORD.

⁹“For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.

¹⁰But all the sinners will die by the sword — all those who say, ‘Nothing bad will happen to us.’

¹¹“In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory.

¹²And Israel will possess what is left of Edom and all the nations I have called to be mine. ” The LORD has spoken, and he will do these things.

¹³“The time will come,” says the LORD, “when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine!

¹⁴I will bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again. They will plant vineyards and gardens; they will eat their crops and drink their wine.

¹⁵I will firmly plant them there in their own land. They will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.

¹Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man” ), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas ), and Saul.

²One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”

³So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

⁴So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus.

⁵There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

⁶Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.

⁹Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye.

¹⁰Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?

¹¹Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

¹²When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services.

¹⁵After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

¹⁶So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

¹⁷“The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery.

¹⁸He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

¹⁹Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.

²⁰All this took about 450 years. “After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

²²But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

²³“And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!

²⁴Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.

²⁵As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon — and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers — you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles — this message of salvation has been sent to us!

²⁷The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath.

²⁸They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

²⁹“When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead!

³¹And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

³²“And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,

³³and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. ’

³⁴For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’

³⁵Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’

³⁶This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.

³⁷No, it was a reference to someone else — someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

³⁸“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

³⁹Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight — something the law of Moses could never do.

⁴⁰Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

⁴¹‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’ ”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week.

⁴³Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.

⁴⁹So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

⁵⁰Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.

⁵¹So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium.

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