Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

²For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

³Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

⁵But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

⁶“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

⁷But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

⁸“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.

⁹But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰“And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

¹¹“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.

¹²For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

¹³Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”

¹⁵And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

¹⁶Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’

¹⁸So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

²²Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.

²³Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

²⁴Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?

²⁵And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁶If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

²⁸If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

²⁹“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.

³⁰For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.

³¹But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

³²“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

³⁵“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;

³⁶and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.

³⁷Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.

³⁸And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

³⁹But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

⁴⁰Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”

⁴²And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?

⁴³Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

⁴⁴Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.

⁴⁵But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,

⁴⁶the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

⁴⁸But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

⁴⁹“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!

⁵¹Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.

⁵²For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

⁵³Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is.

⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is.

⁵⁶Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

⁵⁷“Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?

⁵⁸When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.

⁵⁹I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

¹Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.”

²And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

³Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”

⁴And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

⁵Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

⁶The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

⁷Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

⁸Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”

¹⁰So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

¹¹And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

¹²Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.

¹³Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.

¹⁴And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

¹⁵So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

¹⁶Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.”

¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

¹⁸When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

¹⁹Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

²⁰Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.

²¹And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.

²²Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

²³Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

²⁴And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

²⁵So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

²⁶And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

²⁷So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.

²⁸And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.

²⁹When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,

³⁰but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

³¹Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

¹Let brotherly love continue.

²Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

³Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

⁴Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

⁶So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

⁷Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

⁹Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.

¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

¹³Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

¹⁴For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

¹⁵Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

¹⁶But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

¹⁷Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

¹⁸Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.

¹⁹But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

²⁰Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

²¹make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words.

²³Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

²⁴Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵Grace be with you all. Amen.

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

²By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

³and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

⁵They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

⁸He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

¹²No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

¹³By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

¹⁹We love Him because He first loved us.

²⁰If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

²¹And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

¹There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

²A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.

³If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he—

⁴for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.

⁵Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,

⁶even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?

⁷All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.

⁸For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?

⁹Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁰Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.

¹¹Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?

¹²For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

¹To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. [1] How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts!

²My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

³Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God.

⁴Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah

⁵Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

⁶As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools.

⁷They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.

⁸O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

⁹O God, behold our shield, And look upon the face of Your anointed.

¹⁰For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

¹²O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

¹Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.

⁴An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.

⁵He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father.

⁷Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince.

⁸A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

¹⁰Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since he has no heart for it?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes surety for his friend.

¹⁹He who loves transgression loves strife, And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

²⁰He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.

²¹He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

²³A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

²⁷He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

²⁸Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.

¹Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel.

²So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.

³Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

⁴So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

⁶And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

⁷Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.

⁸So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

⁹And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

¹¹So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”

¹²And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.

¹³Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.

¹⁴And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,

¹⁵and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

¹⁶Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim.

¹⁷So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.

¹⁸Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

¹Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.

²So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

³And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him,

⁴who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.

⁵For I,’ says the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

⁶“Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the LORD; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the LORD.

⁷“Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”

⁸For thus says the LORD of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.

⁹For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.

¹⁰“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the LORD.

¹¹“Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.

¹²And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

¹³Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!”

¹There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,

²a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

³About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

⁵Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.

⁶He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”

⁷And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually.

⁸So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.

¹⁰Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance

¹¹and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.

¹²In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

¹³And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”

¹⁵And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

¹⁶This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

¹⁷Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.

¹⁸And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.

¹⁹While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you.

²⁰Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”

²¹Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”

²²And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.”

²³Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”

²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.

²⁸Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

²⁹Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

³⁰So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.

³²Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’

³³So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”

³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.

³⁵But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

³⁶The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ— He is Lord of all—

³⁷that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

³⁹And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree.

⁴⁰Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly,

⁴¹not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

⁴²And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.

⁴⁵And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

⁴⁶For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered,

⁴⁷“Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.