Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death.

²But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters,

³and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles!

⁴You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!”

⁵For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

⁶Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime.

⁷The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil.

⁸You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.”

⁹After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

¹⁰But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.

¹¹The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him.

¹²There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.”

¹³But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

¹⁴Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach.

¹⁵The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

¹⁶So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.

¹⁷Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.

¹⁸Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.

¹⁹Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

²⁰The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”

²¹Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed.

²²But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.)

²³For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?

²⁴Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

²⁵Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?

²⁶But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah?

²⁷But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.”

²⁸While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him.

²⁹But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.”

³⁰Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

³¹Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

³²When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

³³But Jesus told them, “I will be with you only a little longer. Then I will return to the one who sent me.

³⁴You will search for me but not find me. And you cannot go where I am going.”

³⁵The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks!

³⁶What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”

³⁷On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

³⁸Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

³⁹(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

⁴⁰When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”

⁴¹Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee?

⁴²For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”

⁴³So the crowd was divided about him.

⁴⁴Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶“We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.

⁴⁷“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked.

⁴⁸“Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him?

⁴⁹This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!”

⁵⁰Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up.

⁵¹“Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.

⁵²They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself — no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” [The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11.]

⁵³Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home.

¹Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.

²There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.

³“If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

⁵On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

⁷In the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?”

⁸Then Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the LORD, not against us.”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.’”

¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the LORD in the cloud.

¹¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹²“I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”

¹³That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew.

¹⁴When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.

¹⁵The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the food the LORD has given you to eat.

¹⁶These are the LORD’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.”

¹⁷So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little.

¹⁸But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

¹⁹Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.”

²⁰But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.

²¹After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared.

²²On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual — four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation.

²³He told them, “This is what the LORD commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the LORD. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”

²⁴So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor.

²⁵Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the LORD. There will be no food on the ground today.

²⁶You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.”

²⁷Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food.

²⁸The LORD asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions?

²⁹They must realize that the Sabbath is the LORD’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.”

³⁰So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.

³¹The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.

³²Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt.”

³³Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for all future generations.”

³⁴Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant — in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.

³⁵So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

³⁶The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two quarts.

¹Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.

²I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,

³for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

⁴When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?

⁵After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

⁶I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

⁷It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.

⁸The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.

⁹For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

¹⁰Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have — Jesus Christ.

¹²Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials — gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.

¹³But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

¹⁴If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

¹⁵But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

¹⁶Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

¹⁷God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”

²⁰And again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”

²¹So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you —

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,

²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

¹Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.

²I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.

³And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.

⁴Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”

⁵Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open.

⁶The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen with gold sashes across their chests.

⁷Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

⁸The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.

¹“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you?

²Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.

³I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster.

⁴Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.

⁵The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth.

⁶But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

⁷People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

⁸“If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him.

⁹He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.

¹⁰He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields.

¹¹He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer.

¹²He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.

¹³He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.

¹⁴They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night.

¹⁵He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.

¹⁶And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

¹⁷“But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.

¹⁸For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.

¹⁹From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.

²⁰He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.

²¹You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes.

²²You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you.

²³You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.

²⁵You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!

²⁶You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

²⁷“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

¹Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

²Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

³He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.

⁴He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

⁵He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

⁶The LORD gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

⁷He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel.

⁸The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

⁹He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.

¹⁰He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

¹¹For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

¹²He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

¹³The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

¹⁴For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.

¹⁵Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

¹⁶The wind blows, and we are gone — as though we had never been here.

¹⁷But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children

¹⁸of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!

¹⁹The LORD has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.

²⁰Praise the LORD, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands.

²¹Yes, praise the LORD, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!

²²Praise the LORD, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the LORD.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.

²Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned.

³For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

⁶For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.

⁷So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say:

⁸Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!

⁹If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.

¹⁰Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

¹¹In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body.

¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings!

¹³Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own well — share your love only with your wife.

¹⁶Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?

¹⁷You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.

¹⁸Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.

²⁰Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?

²¹For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.

²²An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.

²³He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

¹When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,

²“Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe.

³Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

⁴So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen — one from each of the tribes of Israel.

⁵He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder — twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁶We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’

⁷Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

⁸So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the LORD had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.

⁹Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.

¹⁰The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the LORD’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed.

¹¹And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the LORD as the people watched.

¹²The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed.

¹³These armed men — about 40,000 strong — were ready for battle, and the LORD was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.

¹⁴That day the LORD made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

¹⁵The LORD had said to Joshua,

¹⁶“Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come up out of the riverbed.”

¹⁷So Joshua gave the command.

¹⁸As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.

¹⁹The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho.

²⁰It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.

²¹Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’

²²Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’

²³For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over.

²⁴He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.”

¹The Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water,

²all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders,

³army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.

⁴I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.

⁵People will oppress each other — man against man, neighbor against neighbor. Young people will insult their elders, and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.

⁶In those days a man will say to his brother, “Since you have a coat, you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of ruins!”

⁷But he will reply, “No! I can’t help. I don’t have any extra food or clothes. Don’t put me in charge!”

⁸For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.

⁹The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!

¹¹But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.

¹²Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road.

¹³The LORD takes his place in court and presents his case against his people.

¹⁴The LORD comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people: “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.

¹⁵How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁶The LORD says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.

¹⁷So the Lord will send scabs on her head; the LORD will make beautiful Zion bald.”

¹⁸On that day of judgment the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,

¹⁹earrings, bracelets, and veils;

²⁰scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms;

²¹rings, jewels,

²²party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;

²³mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.

²⁴Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink. She will wear a rope for a sash, and her elegant hair will fall out. She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes. Shame will replace her beauty.

²⁵The men of the city will be killed with the sword, and her warriors will die in battle.

²⁶The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.

¹In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach

²until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

³During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

⁴Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.

⁵John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.

¹⁰As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James).

¹⁴They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

¹⁵During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them.

¹⁶“Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David.

¹⁷Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

¹⁸(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.

¹⁹The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

²⁰Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

²¹“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus —

²²from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen

²⁵as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.