Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

²And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?

³I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

⁵I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

⁶He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

⁷Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’

⁸But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

⁹And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

¹⁰Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

¹²But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

¹³And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?

¹⁶So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

¹⁷And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

¹⁸Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

¹⁹It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

²⁰And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?

²¹It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

²²And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

²³Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,

²⁴“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

²⁵When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’

²⁶then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’

²⁷But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’

²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

²⁹They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

³⁰And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

³¹On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³²And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

³³Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

³⁴“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

³⁵See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

¹Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

²And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.

³Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,

⁴and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

⁵And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

⁶Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

⁷But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

⁹And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

¹⁰Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

¹²So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.

¹³And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him.

¹⁴Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

¹⁶The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

²⁰So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

²²Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

¹Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

²which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

³concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

⁴and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

⁵Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

⁶among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

⁹For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

¹⁰making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

¹¹For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—

¹²that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

¹³Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

¹⁵So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

¹⁹because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

²¹because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

²²Professing to be wise, they became fools,

²³and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

²⁴Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

²⁵who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.

²⁷Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

²⁸And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

²⁹being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,

³⁰backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

³¹undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;

³²who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

¹Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

⁵Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.

⁷For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

⁸And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.

¹⁰He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

¹⁴Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

¹⁷All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

¹⁸We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

¹A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;

²Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁶For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

⁷Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart.

⁸The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁹Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.

¹²For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

¹³Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

¹⁶Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all.

¹⁹Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city.

²⁰For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.

²¹Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you.

²²For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others.

²³All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me.

²⁴As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out?

²⁵I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness.

²⁶And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

²⁷Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,

²⁸Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found.

²⁹Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. [1] LORD, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

²You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah

³You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.

⁴Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease.

⁵Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

⁶Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?

⁷Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation.

⁸I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly.

⁹Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.

¹¹Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

¹²Yes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase.

¹³Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

¹A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.

²A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.

³When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; And with dishonor comes reproach.

⁴The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

⁵It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

⁶A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul.

⁸The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.

⁹He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.

¹¹The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.

¹²Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.

¹³He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

¹⁴The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?

¹⁵The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

¹⁶A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.

¹⁷The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.

¹⁸Casting lots causes contentions to cease, And keeps the mighty apart.

¹⁹A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

²⁰A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

²²He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.

²³The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly.

²⁴A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

¹Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.

²Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

³And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one–fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.

⁴Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.

⁵And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: “Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! “Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

⁶You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

⁷“You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham;

⁸You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, The Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites— To give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words, For You are righteous.

⁹“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

¹⁰You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.

¹¹And You divided the sea before them, So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You threw into the deep, As a stone into the mighty waters.

¹²Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.

¹³“You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.

¹⁴You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.

¹⁵You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.

¹⁶“But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments.

¹⁷They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.

¹⁸“Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations,

¹⁹Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.

²⁰You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.

²¹Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.

²²“Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan.

²³You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess.

²⁴So the people went in And possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished.

²⁵And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

²⁶“Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations.

²⁷Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.

²⁸“But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

²⁹And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, ‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear.

³⁰Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

³¹Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.

³²“Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

³³However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.

³⁴Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them.

³⁵For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works.

³⁶“Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it!

³⁷And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress.

³⁸“And because of all this, We make a sure covenant and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.”

¹Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

²And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

³Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

⁴Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

⁵And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.

⁶Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,

⁷“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here.

⁸‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

⁹For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the LORD of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

¹⁰In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”

¹Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

²And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,

³saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

⁴But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying:

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me.

⁶When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’

⁹But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’

¹⁰Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea.

¹²Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

¹³And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter,

¹⁴who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

¹⁹Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.

²⁰But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

²²Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.

²³When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

²⁴For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.

²⁶And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

²⁷And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

²⁹Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

³⁰This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.