Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

²“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

³“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

⁴We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.

⁵But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes.

⁷He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

⁸His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

⁹Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

¹⁰They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”

¹¹He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

¹²“Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.

¹³Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees,

¹⁴because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him.

¹⁵The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

¹⁷Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?” The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

¹⁸The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents.

¹⁹They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

²⁰His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind,

²¹but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”

²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.

²³That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

²⁴So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

²⁵“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

²⁶“But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”

²⁷“Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

²⁸Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses!

²⁹We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

³⁰“Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from?

³¹We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.

³²Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind.

³³If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

³⁴“You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

³⁵When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man? ”

³⁶The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

³⁷“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

³⁸“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

³⁹Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment — to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”

⁴⁰Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

⁴¹“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

¹Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially about how the LORD had rescued them from Egypt.

²Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in.

³(Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for Moses had said when the boy was born, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

⁴His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”)

⁵Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God.

⁶Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.”

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent.

⁸Moses told his father-in-law everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the LORD had rescued his people from all their troubles.

⁹Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰“Praise the LORD,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt!

¹¹I know now that the LORD is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.”

¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.

¹³The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.

¹⁴When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.

¹⁶When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”

¹⁷“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.

¹⁸“You’re going to wear yourself out — and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.

¹⁹Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.

²⁰Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.

²¹But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

²²They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.

²³If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.

²⁵He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

²⁶These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.

²⁷Soon after this, Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, who returned to his own land.

¹I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you — something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.

²You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.

³Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man

⁴in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus.

⁵Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

⁶Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?

⁷Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

⁸So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.

¹⁰But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.

¹¹I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

¹²It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.

¹³God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

¹One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.

²The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”

³So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.

⁴The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.

⁵A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”

⁶I could see that she was drunk — drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.

⁷“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.

⁸The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.

⁹“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings.

¹⁰Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

¹¹“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction.

¹²The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast.

¹³They will all agree to give him their power and authority.

¹⁴Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language.

¹⁶The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.

¹⁷For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled.

¹⁸And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”

¹“Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand,

²like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid.

³I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.

⁴Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

⁵My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

⁶“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope.

⁷O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.

⁸You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone.

⁹Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.

¹⁰They are gone forever from their home — never to be seen again.

¹¹“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain.

¹²Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard?

¹³I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’

¹⁴but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions.

¹⁵I would rather be strangled — rather die than suffer like this.

¹⁶I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

¹⁷“What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?

¹⁸For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.

¹⁹Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow!

²⁰If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you?

²¹Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.”

¹Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.

²Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

³Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD.

⁴Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.

⁵Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

⁶you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷He is the LORD our God. His justice is seen throughout the land.

⁸He always stands by his covenant — the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

⁹This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.

¹⁰He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

¹¹“I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”

¹²He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.

¹³They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.

¹⁴Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:

¹⁵“Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

¹⁶He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply.

¹⁷Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them — Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

¹⁸They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar.

¹⁹Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character.

²⁰Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.

²¹Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.

²²He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.

²³Then Israel arrived in Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.

²⁴And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel until they became too mighty for their enemies.

²⁵Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites, and they plotted against the LORD’s servants.

²⁶But the LORD sent his servant Moses, along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.

²⁷They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians, and wonders in the land of Ham.

²⁸The LORD blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had defied his commands to let his people go.

²⁹He turned their water into blood, poisoning all the fish.

³⁰Then frogs overran the land and even invaded the king’s bedrooms.

³¹When the LORD spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians, and gnats swarmed across Egypt.

³²He sent them hail instead of rain, and lightning flashed over the land.

³³He ruined their grapevines and fig trees and shattered all the trees.

³⁴He spoke, and hordes of locusts came — young locusts beyond number.

³⁵They ate up everything green in the land, destroying all the crops in their fields.

³⁶Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home, the pride and joy of each family.

³⁷The LORD brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.

³⁸Egypt was glad when they were gone, for they feared them greatly.

³⁹The LORD spread a cloud above them as a covering and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.

⁴⁰They asked for meat, and he sent them quail; he satisfied their hunger with manna — bread from heaven.

⁴¹He split open a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry wasteland.

⁴²For he remembered his sacred promise to his servant Abraham.

⁴³So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy, his chosen ones with rejoicing.

⁴⁴He gave his people the lands of pagan nations, and they harvested crops that others had planted.

⁴⁵All this happened so they would follow his decrees and obey his instructions. Praise the LORD!

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

¹Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in.

²But the LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors.

³You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days.

⁴Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns.

⁵When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”

⁶So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.”

⁷Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the LORD.”

⁸After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the LORD, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant followed behind them.

⁹Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns.

¹⁰“Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

¹¹So the Ark of the LORD was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.

¹²Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the LORD.

¹³The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the LORD, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the LORD. All this time the priests were blowing their horns.

¹⁴On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.

¹⁵On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times.

¹⁶The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the town!

¹⁷Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.

¹⁸“Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel.

¹⁹Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the LORD and must be brought into his treasury.”

²⁰When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

²¹They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords — men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

²²Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out, along with all her family.”

²³The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.

²⁴Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the LORD’s house.

²⁵So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.

²⁶At that time Joshua invoked this curse: “May the curse of the LORD fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.”

²⁷So the LORD was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.

¹Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill.

²He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.

³Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.

⁴What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

⁵Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it.

⁶I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no rain on it.

⁷The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.

⁸What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field, until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.

⁹But I have heard the LORD of Heaven’s Armies swear a solemn oath: “Many houses will stand deserted; even beautiful mansions will be empty.

¹⁰Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine. Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.”

¹¹What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning looking for a drink of alcohol and spend long evenings drinking wine to make themselves flaming drunk.

¹²They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties — lyre and harp, tambourine and flute — but they never think about the LORD or notice what he is doing.

¹³So my people will go into exile far away because they do not know me. Those who are great and honored will starve, and the common people will die of thirst.

¹⁴The grave is licking its lips in anticipation, opening its mouth wide. The great and the lowly and all the drunken mob will be swallowed up.

¹⁵Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down; even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.

¹⁶But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted by his justice. The holiness of God will be displayed by his righteousness.

¹⁷In that day lambs will find good pastures, and fattened sheep and young goats will feed among the ruins.

¹⁸What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!

¹⁹They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.”

²⁰What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.

²¹What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.

²²What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.

²³They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent.

²⁴Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the law of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies; they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

²⁵That is why the LORD’s anger burns against his people, and why he has raised his fist to crush them. The mountains tremble, and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage. But even then the LORD’s anger is not satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike!

²⁶He will send a signal to distant nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth. They will come racing toward Jerusalem.

²⁷They will not get tired or stumble. They will not stop for rest or sleep. Not a belt will be loose, not a sandal strap broken.

²⁸Their arrows will be sharp and their bows ready for battle. Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves, and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.

²⁹They will roar like lions, like the strongest of lions. Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off, and no one will be there to rescue them.

³⁰They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction like the roaring of the sea. If someone looks across the land, only darkness and distress will be seen; even the light will be darkened by clouds.

¹Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.

²As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple.

³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

⁴Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!”

⁵The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.

⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

⁷Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

⁸He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

⁹All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God.

¹⁰When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!

¹¹They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

¹²Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?

¹³For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the God of all our ancestors — who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him.

¹⁴You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer.

¹⁵You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

¹⁶“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed — and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

¹⁷“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance.

¹⁸But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah — that he must suffer these things.

¹⁹Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

²⁰Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.

²¹For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.

²²Moses said, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’

²³Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’

²⁴“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today.

²⁵You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’

²⁶When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”