Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

⁸All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

¹⁹The Jews who heard these words were again divided.

²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²²Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,

²³and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

²⁴The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

²⁶but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

³⁰I and the Father are one.”

³¹Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,

³²but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’?

³⁵If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—

³⁶what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

³⁷Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.

³⁸But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

³⁹Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed,

⁴¹and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.”

⁴²And in that place many believed in Jesus.

¹On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai.

²After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

³Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:

⁴‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

⁵Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,

⁶you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

⁷So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak.

⁸The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

⁹The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes

¹¹and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

¹²Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death.

¹³They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

¹⁴After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.

¹⁷Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

¹⁹As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

²⁰The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up

²¹and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish.

²²Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”

²³Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’ ”

²⁴The LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them.”

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

¹If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?

²Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?

³Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

⁴Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church?

⁵I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?

⁶But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

⁷The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

⁸Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.

⁹Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men

¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

¹²“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

¹³You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

¹⁴By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

¹⁶Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

¹⁷But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

¹⁹Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

¹After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.

²With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.

³For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

⁵for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

⁶Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

⁷Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’

⁸Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

⁹“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.

¹⁰Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

¹¹“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—

¹²cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;

¹³cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.

¹⁴“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’

¹⁵The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn

¹⁶and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

¹⁷In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.

¹⁸When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’

¹⁹They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’

²⁰“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”

²¹Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

²²The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.

²³The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.

²⁴In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

²“How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.

³Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

⁴When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

⁵But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty,

⁶if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state.

⁷Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.

⁸“Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned,

⁹for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.

¹⁰Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

¹¹Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?

¹²While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.

¹³Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.

¹⁴What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web.

¹⁵They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.

¹⁶They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden;

¹⁷it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones.

¹⁸But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’

¹⁹Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow.

²⁰“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

²²Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

¹Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

²Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise?

³Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.

⁴Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them,

⁵that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise.

⁶We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

⁷When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

⁸Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert.

¹⁰He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.

¹¹The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.

¹²Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.

¹³But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.

¹⁴In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wilderness they put God to the test.

¹⁵So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD.

¹⁷The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram.

¹⁸Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.

¹⁹At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal.

²⁰They exchanged their glorious God for an image of a bull, which eats grass.

²¹They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,

²²miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

²³So he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.

²⁵They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.

²⁶So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

²⁷make their descendants fall among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.

²⁸They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;

²⁹they aroused the LORD’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked.

³¹This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.

³²By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them;

³³for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,

³⁵but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.

³⁶They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.

³⁷They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods.

³⁸They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.

³⁹They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.

⁴⁰Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance.

⁴¹He gave them into the hands of the nations, and their foes ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power.

⁴³Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin.

⁴⁴Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;

⁴⁵for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented.

⁴⁶He caused all who held them captive to show them mercy.

⁴⁷Save us, LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD.

¹Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?

²At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

³beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud:

⁴“To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.

⁵You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.

⁶Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right.

⁷My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness.

⁸All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse.

⁹To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge.

¹⁰Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,

¹¹for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.

¹³To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

¹⁴Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power.

¹⁵By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just;

¹⁶by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth.

¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

¹⁸With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.

¹⁹My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,

²¹bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.

²²“The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;

²³I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

²⁴When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water;

²⁵before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth,

²⁶before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth.

²⁷I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

²⁸when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

²⁹when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

³⁰Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,

³¹rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

³²“Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.

³⁴Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

³⁵For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD.

³⁶But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”

¹But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.

²Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

³When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.”

⁴So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai,

⁵who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

⁶Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.

⁷And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!

⁸Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies?

⁹The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

¹⁰The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?

¹¹Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.

¹²That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

¹³“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

¹⁴“ ‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the LORD chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the LORD chooses shall come forward man by man.

¹⁵Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’ ”

¹⁶Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen.

¹⁷The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen.

¹⁸Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.

¹⁹Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

²⁰Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done:

²¹When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²²So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.

²³They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.

²⁴Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.

²⁵Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.

²⁶Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

¹In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

²Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

³And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

⁷With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

⁹He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

¹⁰Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

¹¹Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,

¹²until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

¹³And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

¹The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.

²They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

³They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

⁴But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.

⁶Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.

⁷They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!

⁹If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,

¹⁰then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

¹¹Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

¹⁴But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

¹⁵So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.

¹⁶“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!

²⁰As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.

²²For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

²³On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

²⁵You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “ ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

²⁶The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

²⁷Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

²⁸They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

²⁹Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

³⁰Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all

³⁴that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales

³⁵and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

³⁶Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”),

³⁷sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.