Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When he had concluded saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum.

²A centurion’s servant, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die.

³When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, requesting him to come and save the life of his servant.

⁴When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for you to grant this,

⁵because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”

⁶Jesus went with them, and when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, since I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

⁷That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

⁸For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel.”

¹⁰When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant in good health.

¹¹Afterward he was on his way to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him.

¹²Just as he neared the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was also with her.

¹³When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don’t weep.”

¹⁴Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!”

¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

¹⁶Then fear came over everyone, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.”

¹⁷This report about him went throughout Judea and all the vicinity.

¹⁸Then John’s disciples told him about all these things. So John summoned two of his disciples

¹⁹and sent them to the Lord, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

²⁰When the men reached him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

²¹At that time Jesus healed many people of diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people.

²²He replied to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,

²³and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

²⁴After John’s messengers left, he began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

²⁵What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who are splendidly dressed and live in luxury are in royal palaces.

²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.

³⁰But since the Pharisees and experts in the law had not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves. )

³¹“To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other: We played the flute for you, but you didn’t dance; we sang a lament, but you didn’t weep!

³³For John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

³⁵Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

³⁶Then one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

³⁷And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume

³⁸and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears. She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume.

³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him — she’s a sinner!”

⁴⁰Jesus replied to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He said, “Say it, teacher.”

⁴¹“A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

⁴²Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.” “You have judged correctly,” he told him.

⁴⁴Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair.

⁴⁵You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in.

⁴⁶You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume.

⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

⁴⁸Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹Those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

¹When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other?

²Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.”

³So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

⁵The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

⁷When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.

⁸Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

⁹Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness of the land.”

¹⁰“No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said.

¹¹“We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.”

¹²“No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”

¹³But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.”

¹⁴Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’

¹⁵This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

¹⁶Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

¹⁷So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.

¹⁸On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God  — do this and you will live.

¹⁹If you are honest, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households.

²⁰Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.

²¹Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”

²²But Reuben replied: “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!”

²³They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.

²⁴He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

²⁵Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out.

²⁶They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left there.

²⁷At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver there at the top of his bag.

²⁸He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them:

³⁰“The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

³¹But we told him: We are honest and not spies.

³²We were twelve brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.

³³The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

³⁴Bring back your youngest brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the country.’”

³⁵As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.

³⁶Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!”

³⁷Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”

³⁸But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”

¹Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

²a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.

³For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

⁴Now if he were on earth, he wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law.

⁵These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.

⁶But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.

⁷For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one.

⁸But finding fault with his people, he says: See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —

⁹not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I showed no concern for them, says the Lord, because they did not continue in my covenant.

¹⁰For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

¹¹And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them.

¹²For I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.

¹³By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.

¹There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves.

²Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them.

³They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.

⁴For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment;

⁵and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly;

⁶and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly;

⁷and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral

⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard ) —

⁹then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

¹⁰especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones;

¹¹however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord.

¹²But these people, like irrational animals — creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed — slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed.

¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you.

¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!

¹⁵They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness

¹⁶but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁷These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.

¹⁸For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error.

¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.

²⁰For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.

²¹For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them.

²²It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “a washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”

¹The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

³What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

⁴A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

⁵The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises.

⁶Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles.

⁷All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

⁸All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Can one say about anything, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.

¹²I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.

¹A psalm of Asaph. [1] God, the nations have invaded your inheritance, desecrated your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins.

²They gave the corpses of your servants to the birds of the sky for food, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.

³They poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.

⁴We have become an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.

⁵How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy keep burning like fire?

⁶Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name,

⁷for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.

⁸Do not hold past iniquities against us; let your compassion come to us quickly, for we have become very weak.

⁹God of our salvation, help us  — for the glory of your name. Rescue us and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake.

¹⁰Why should the nations ask, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, let vengeance for the shed blood of your servants be known among the nations.

¹¹Let the groans of the prisoners reach you; according to your great power, preserve those condemned to die.

¹²Pay back sevenfold to our neighbors the reproach they have hurled at you, Lord.

¹³Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever; we will declare your praise to generation after generation.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.

²One who is good obtains favor from the LORD, but he condemns a person who schemes.

³No one can be made secure by wickedness, but the root of the righteous is immovable.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a wife who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just, but guidance from the wicked is deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man is praised for his insight, but a twisted mind is despised.

⁹Better to be disregarded, yet have a servant, than to act important but have no food.

¹⁰The righteous cares about his animal’s health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.

¹²The wicked desire what evil people have caught, but the root of the righteous is productive.

¹³By rebellious speech an evil person is trapped, but a righteous person escapes from trouble.

¹⁴A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the work of a person’s hands will reward him.

¹⁵A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.

¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword; but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue, only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

²¹No disaster overcomes the righteous, but the wicked are full of misery.

²²Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but faithful people are his delight.

²³A shrewd person conceals knowledge, but a foolish heart publicizes stupidity.

²⁴The diligent hand will rule, but laziness will lead to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up.

²⁶A righteous person is careful in dealing with his neighbor, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

²⁷A lazy hunter doesn’t roast his game, but to a diligent person, his wealth is precious.

²⁸There is life in the path of righteousness, and in its path there is no death.

¹The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated it.

²The men of Jericho built next to Eliashib, and next to them Zaccur son of Imri built.

³The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

⁴Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Beside them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs.

⁵Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help their supervisors.

⁶Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

⁷Next to them the repairs were done by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River.

⁸After him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, the goldsmith, made repairs, and next to him Hananiah son of the perfumer made repairs. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

⁹Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.

¹⁰After them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house. Next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab made repairs to another section, as well as to the Tower of the Ovens.

¹²Beside him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs — he and his daughters.

¹³Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired five hundred yards of the wall to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹⁵Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it. Then he installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also made repairs to the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the city of David.

¹⁶After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Warriors.

¹⁷Next to him the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district.

¹⁸After him their fellow Levites made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah.

¹⁹Next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, made repairs to another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle.

²⁰After him Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib.

²¹Beside him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs to another section, from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of his house.

²²And next to him the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.

²³After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. Beside them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

²⁴After him Binnui son of Henadad made repairs to another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and the corner.

²⁵Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the Angle and tower that juts out from the king’s upper palace, by the courtyard of the guard. Beside him Pedaiah son of Parosh

²⁶and the temple servants living on Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.

²⁷Next to him the Tekoites made repairs to another section from a point opposite the great tower that juts out, as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸Each of the priests made repairs above the Horse Gate, each opposite his own house.

²⁹After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. And beside him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

³⁰Next to him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph made repairs to another section. After them Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his room.

³¹Next to him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upstairs room on the corner.

³²The goldsmiths and merchants made repairs between the upstairs room on the corner and the Sheep Gate.

¹Gather yourselves together; gather together, undesirable nation,

²before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning of the LORD’s anger overtakes you, before the day of the LORD’s anger overtakes you.

³Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who carry out what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the LORD’s anger.

⁴For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will become a ruin. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast, nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy you until there is no one left.

⁶The seacoast will become pasturelands with caves for shepherds and pens for sheep.

⁷The coastland will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; they will find pasture there. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will return to them and restore their fortunes.

⁸I have heard the taunting of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted my people and threatened their territory.

⁹Therefore, as I live — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel — Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah: a place overgrown with weeds, a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.

¹⁰This is what they get for their pride, because they have taunted and acted arrogantly against the people of the LORD of Armies.

¹¹The LORD will be terrifying to them when he starves all the gods of the earth. Then all the distant coasts and islands of the nations will bow in worship to him, each in its own place.

¹²You Cushites will also be slain by my sword.

¹³He will also stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria; he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert.

¹⁴Herds will lie down in the middle of it, every kind of wild animal. Both eagle owls and herons will roost in the capitals of its pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but devastation will be on the threshold, for he will expose the cedar work.

¹⁵This is the jubilant city that lives in security, that thinks to herself: I exist, and there is no one else. What a desolation she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by her scoffs and shakes his fist.

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

²However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

⁴Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

⁵When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

⁶The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸“Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

¹⁰Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

¹²Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them.

¹⁴Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers — multitudes of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶In addition, a multitude came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.”

²¹Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full council of the Israelites — and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

²²But when the servants got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported,

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

²⁵Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

²⁶Then the commander went with the servants and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them.

²⁷After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked,

²⁸“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

³¹God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

³⁵He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men.

³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail;

³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

⁴⁰After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

⁴¹Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.

⁴²Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.