Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives,

²but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them.

³As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

⁴“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

⁵The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

⁶They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.

⁷They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

⁸Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

⁹When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

¹⁰Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

¹¹“No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

¹²Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

¹³The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me.

¹⁵You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone.

¹⁶And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.

¹⁷Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact.

¹⁸I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

¹⁹“Where is your father?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

²⁰Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.

²¹Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

²²The people asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

²³Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not.

²⁴That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵“Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be.

²⁶I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.”

²⁷But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.

²⁸So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me.

²⁹And the one who sent me is with me — he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”

³⁰Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.

³¹Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.

³²And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

³⁴Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.

³⁵A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.

³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

³⁷Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.

³⁸I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

³⁹“Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.

⁴⁰Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.

⁴¹No, you are imitating your real father.” They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

⁴²Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me.

⁴³Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me!

⁴⁴For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

⁴⁵So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!

⁴⁶Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me?

⁴⁷Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

⁴⁸The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

⁴⁹“No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father — and you dishonor me.

⁵⁰And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge.

⁵¹I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”

⁵²The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’

⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’

⁵⁵but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him.

⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham? ”

⁵⁸Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM! ”

⁵⁹At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

¹At the LORD’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.

²So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the LORD?”

³But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”

⁵The LORD said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you.

⁶I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.

⁷Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD here with us or not?”

⁸While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.

⁹Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.

¹¹As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.

¹²Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.

¹³As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

¹⁴After the victory, the LORD instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

¹⁵Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the LORD is my banner”).

¹⁶He said, “They have raised their fist against the LORD’s throne, so now the LORD will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

¹So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries.

²Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

³As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.

⁴My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

⁵So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time — before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

⁶Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.

⁷For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

⁸You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you.

⁹Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world — to people and angels alike.

¹⁰Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed.

¹¹Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home.

¹²We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.

¹³We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash — right up to the present moment.

¹⁴I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.

¹⁵For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.

¹⁶So I urge you to imitate me.

¹⁷That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again.

¹⁹But I will come — and soon — if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power.

²⁰For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

²¹Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?

¹Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”

²So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.

³Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.

⁴Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood.

⁵And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying, “You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because you have sent these judgments.

⁶Since they shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is their just reward.”

⁷And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just.”

⁸Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire.

⁹Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory.

¹⁰Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish,

¹¹and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.

¹²Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance.

¹³And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

¹⁴They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

¹⁵“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”

¹⁶And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon.

¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!”

¹⁸Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck — the worst since people were placed on the earth.

¹⁹The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath.

²⁰And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled.

²¹There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.

¹Then Job spoke again:

²“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales,

³they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke impulsively.

⁴For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God’s terrors are lined up against me.

⁵Don’t I have a right to complain? Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?

⁶Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?

⁷My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!

⁸“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.

⁹I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.

¹⁰At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹But I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.

¹²Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze?

¹³No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.

¹⁴“One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring

¹⁶when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.

¹⁷But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat.

¹⁸The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing to drink, so they die.

¹⁹The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.

²⁰They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.

²¹You, too, have given no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.

²²But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?

²³Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies, or to save me from ruthless people?

²⁴Teach me, and I will keep quiet. Show me what I have done wrong.

²⁵Honest words can be painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?

²⁶Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation?

²⁷You would even send an orphan into slavery or sell a friend.

²⁸Look at me! Would I lie to your face?

²⁹Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.

³⁰Do you think I am lying? Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?

¹Let all that I am praise the LORD. O LORD my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty.

²You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;

³you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds. You make the clouds your chariot; you ride upon the wings of the wind.

⁴The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants.

⁵You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved.

⁶You clothed the earth with floods of water, water that covered even the mountains.

⁷At your command, the water fled; at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.

⁸Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed.

⁹Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the earth.

¹⁰You make springs pour water into the ravines, so streams gush down from the mountains.

¹¹They provide water for all the animals, and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²The birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees.

¹³You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.

¹⁴You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth —

¹⁵wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin, and bread to give them strength.

¹⁶The trees of the LORD are well cared for — the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

¹⁷There the birds make their nests, and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.

¹⁸High in the mountains live the wild goats, and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.

¹⁹You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.

²⁰You send the darkness, and it becomes night, when all the forest animals prowl about.

²¹Then the young lions roar for their prey, stalking the food provided by God.

²²At dawn they slink back into their dens to rest.

²³Then people go off to their work, where they labor until evening.

²⁴O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small.

²⁶See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.

²⁷They all depend on you to give them food as they need it.

²⁸When you supply it, they gather it. You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied.

²⁹But if you turn away from them, they panic. When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust.

³⁰When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹May the glory of the LORD continue forever! The LORD takes pleasure in all he has made!

³²The earth trembles at his glance; the mountains smoke at his touch.

³³I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!

³⁴May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

³⁵Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth; let the wicked disappear forever. Let all that I am praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

¹My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger —

²if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said —

³follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.

⁴Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.

⁶Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!

⁷Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,

⁸they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

⁹But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?

¹⁰A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

¹¹then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹²What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars,

¹³signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.

¹⁴Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble.

¹⁵But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

¹⁶There are six things the LORD hates — no, seven things he detests:

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,

¹⁸a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,

¹⁹a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

²⁰My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

²¹Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you.

²³For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.

²⁴It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.

²⁵Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.

²⁶For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.

²⁷Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?

²⁸Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?

²⁹So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.

³⁰Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.

³¹But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house.

³²But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.

³³He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.

³⁴For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.

¹When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.

²At that time the LORD told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise this second generation of Israelites. ”

³So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.

⁴Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness.

⁵Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born after the Exodus, during the years in the wilderness, had been circumcised.

⁶The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died. For they had disobeyed the LORD, and the LORD vowed he would not let them enter the land he had sworn to give us — a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁷So Joshua circumcised their sons — those who had grown up to take their fathers’ places — for they had not been circumcised on the way to the Promised Land.

⁸After all the males had been circumcised, they rested in the camp until they were healed.

⁹Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.

¹¹The very next day they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land.

¹²No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.

¹³When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”

¹⁴“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”

¹⁵The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

¹In that day so few men will be left that seven women will fight for each man, saying, “Let us all marry you! We will provide our own food and clothing. Only let us take your name so we won’t be mocked as old maids.”

²But in that day, the branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel.

³All who remain in Zion will be a holy people — those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem and are recorded among the living.

⁴The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment.

⁵Then the LORD will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land.

⁶It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain.

¹On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.

²Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

³Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

⁴And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

⁵At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.

⁶When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

⁷They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,

⁸and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!

⁹Here we are — Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome

¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”

¹²They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

¹³But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

¹⁴Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.

¹⁵These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that.

¹⁶No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants — men and women alike — and they will prophesy.

¹⁹And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below — blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

²⁰The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the LORD arrives.

²¹But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’

²²“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.

²³But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.

²⁴But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.

²⁵King David said this about him: ‘I see that the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

²⁶No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope.

²⁷For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.

²⁸You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’

²⁹“Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us.

³⁰But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne.

³¹David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.

³²“God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.

³³Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

³⁴For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand

³⁵until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”’

³⁶“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

³⁷Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away — all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

⁴⁰Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

⁴¹Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day — about 3,000 in all.

⁴²All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper ), and to prayer.

⁴³A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.

⁴⁴And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.

⁴⁵They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

⁴⁶They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity —

⁴⁷all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.