Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

²It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

³Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

⁴And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

⁵And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

⁶So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

⁷And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

⁸But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?

⁹Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.

¹⁰So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

¹¹Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

¹²Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.

¹³And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,

¹⁶and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

¹⁸Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

¹⁹And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

²⁰Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

²¹nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

²²Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

²³And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them.

²⁴For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.

²⁵But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

²⁶And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:

²⁷They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;

²⁹but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

³¹“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.

³²Remember Lot’s wife.

³³Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

³⁴I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.

³⁵Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.

³⁶Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

¹And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.

²So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.

³But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

⁴And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

⁵Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.

⁶And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.

⁹Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

¹¹Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

¹²So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

¹³And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”

¹⁴Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

¹⁷Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

¹⁸When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”

¹⁹And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”

²¹Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

²²And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

²³Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

²⁴So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

²⁵And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

¹Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

²through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

³And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

⁴and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

⁵Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

⁸But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

¹⁰For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

¹¹And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

¹²Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

¹³(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

¹⁵But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

¹⁶And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.

¹⁷For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

¹⁸Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

¹⁹For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

²⁰Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

²¹so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

²who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

³Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

⁴John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

⁶and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

⁹I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

¹¹saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

¹³and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

¹⁴His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;

¹⁵His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

¹⁶He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

¹⁸I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

¹⁹Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

²⁰The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

¹Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.

²Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.

⁴He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;

⁸But if a man lives many years And rejoices in them all, Yet let him remember the days of darkness, For they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.

⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity.

¹A Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite. [1] I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

²For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”

³“I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:

⁴‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah

⁵And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.

⁶For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?

⁷God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.

⁸O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

⁹You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.

¹⁰You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

¹²The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.

¹³You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.

¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.

¹⁵Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.

¹⁶In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

¹⁷For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸For our shield belongs to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,

²¹With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.

²²The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

²³I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.

²⁴“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.

²⁵Also I will set his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers.

²⁶He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’

²⁷Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

²⁸My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him.

²⁹His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.

³⁰“If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments,

³¹If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments,

³²Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.

³³Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

³⁴My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

³⁵Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:

³⁶His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;

³⁷It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

³⁸But You have cast off and abhorred, You have been furious with Your anointed.

³⁹You have renounced the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

⁴⁰You have broken down all his hedges; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

⁴¹All who pass by the way plunder him; He is a reproach to his neighbors.

⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³You have also turned back the edge of his sword, And have not sustained him in the battle.

⁴⁴You have made his glory cease, And cast his throne down to the ground.

⁴⁵The days of his youth You have shortened; You have covered him with shame. Selah

⁴⁶How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?

⁴⁷Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?

⁴⁸What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah

⁴⁹Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You swore to David in Your truth?

⁵⁰Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants— How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,

⁵¹With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

⁵²Blessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen.

¹A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

²²Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

²³For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go,

²⁵Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

¹On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God,

²because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.

³So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

⁴Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah.

⁵And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.

⁶But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king,

⁷and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.

⁸And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.

⁹Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

¹⁰I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.

¹¹So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place.

¹²Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.

¹³And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

¹⁴Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!

¹⁵In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.

¹⁶Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

¹⁷Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?

¹⁸Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

¹⁹So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.

²⁰Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.

²¹Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.

²²And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!

²³In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

²⁴And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.

²⁵So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.

²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin.

²⁷Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”

²⁸And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.

²⁹Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

³⁰Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service,

³¹and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my God, for good!

¹Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev,

²when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the LORD,

³and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”

⁴Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,

⁵“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?

⁶When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?

⁷Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,

⁹“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother.

¹⁰Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’

¹¹“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.

¹²Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

¹³Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts.

¹⁴“But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

¹And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.

⁴And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

⁹and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

¹²Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

¹³And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:

¹⁴Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;

¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.’

¹⁸“Known to God from eternity are all His works.

¹⁹Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

²³They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—

²⁵it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

³⁰So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

³²Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.

³³And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.

³⁴However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.