Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Therefore, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

²So they made Him a dinner there, and Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.

³Mary then took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to betray Him, *said,

⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?”

⁶Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he kept the money box, he used to steal from what was put into it.

⁷Therefore Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep itfor the day of My burial.

⁸For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.

¹⁰But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also,

¹¹because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

¹²On the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

¹³they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, indeed, the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

¹⁵“DO NOT FEAR, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.”

¹⁶These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him.

¹⁷So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.

¹⁸For this reason also the people went to meet Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.

¹⁹So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not accomplishing anything; look, the world has gone after Him!”

²⁰Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;

²¹these people then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

²²Philip *came and *told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus.

²³But Jesus *answered them by saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

²⁴Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

²⁵The one who loves hislife loses it, and the one who hates hislife in this world will keep itto eternal life.

²⁶If anyoneserves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyoneserves Me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷“Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

²⁸Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

²⁹So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him!”

³⁰Jesus responded and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours.

³¹Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

³²And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”

³³Now He was saying this to indicate what kind of death He was going to die.

³⁴The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

³⁶While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and hid Himself from them.

³⁷But though He had performed so many signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him.

³⁸This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?”

³⁹For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,

⁴⁰“HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND so I WILL not heal them.”

⁴¹These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke about Him.

⁴²Nevertheless many, even of the rulers, believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be excommunicated from the synagogue;

⁴³for they loved the approval of people rather than the approval of God.

⁴⁴Now Jesus cried out and said, “The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me.

⁴⁵And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

⁴⁶I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness.

⁴⁷If anyone hears Myteachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

⁴⁸The one who rejects Me and does notaccept Myteachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day.

⁴⁹For I did not speakon My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

⁵⁰And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

¹“Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:

²“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you.

³If he comes alone, he shall leave alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave with him.

⁴If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave alone.

⁵But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’

⁶then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

⁷“Now if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.

⁸If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of his unfairness to her.

⁹And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.

¹⁰If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.

¹¹But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go free for nothing, without payment of money.

¹²“He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death.

¹³Yet if he did not lie in wait for him, but God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.

¹⁴If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.

¹⁵“And one who strikes his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁶“Now one who kidnaps someone, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁷“And one who curses his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁸“Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

¹⁹if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his loss of time, and shall pay for his care until he is completely healed.

²⁰“And if someone strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies at his hand, he shall be punished.

²¹If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for the slave is his property.

²²“Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.

²³But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,

²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶“And if someone strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free on account of the eye.

²⁷And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let the slave go free on account of the tooth.

²⁸“Now if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall certainly be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

²⁹If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

³⁰If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.

³¹Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.

³²If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³“Now if someone opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

³⁴the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

³⁵“And if someone’s ox injures another’s ox so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its proceeds equally; and they shall also divide the dead ox.

³⁶Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.

¹Now concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes one conceited, but love edifies people.

²If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;

³but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

⁴Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.

⁵For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,

⁶yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

⁷However, not all people have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

⁸Now food will not bring us close to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.

⁹But take care that this freedom of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

¹⁰For if someone sees you, the one who has knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will his conscience, if he is weak, not be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?

¹¹For through your knowledge the one who is weak is ruined, the brother or sister for whose sake Christ died.

¹²And so, by sinning against the brothers and sisters and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

¹³Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to sin.

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

²And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

³and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

⁴Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

⁶Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

⁷When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

⁸and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.

⁹And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

¹⁰And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them.

¹²And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

¹³And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds.

¹⁴Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

¹⁵And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

¹“I am disgusted with my own life; I will express my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me.

³Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the work of Your hands, And to look favorably on the plan of the wicked?

⁴Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as mankind sees?

⁵Are Your days like the days of a mortal, Or Your years like a man’s year,

⁶That You should search for my guilt And carefully seek my sin?

⁷According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no one to save me from Your hand.

⁸‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, Yet would You destroy me?

⁹Remember that You have made me as clay; Yet would You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹Clothe me with skin and flesh, And intertwine me with bones and tendons?

¹²You have granted me life and goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit.

¹³Yet You have concealed these things in Your heart; I know that this is within You:

¹⁴If I have sinned, You will take note of me, And will not acquit me of my guilt.

¹⁵If I am wicked, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am full of shame, and conscious of my misery.

¹⁶And should my head be high, You would hunt me like a lion; And You would show Your power against me again.

¹⁷You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me.

¹⁸‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb? If only I had died and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.’

²⁰Would He not leave my few days alone? Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness

²¹Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and deep shadow,

²²The land of utter gloom like darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And it shines like darkness.”

¹My heart is steadfast, God; I will sing, I will sing praises also with my soul.

²Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!

³I will give thanks to You, LORD, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

⁴For Your mercy is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the skies.

⁵Be exalted above the heavens, God, And may Your glory be above all the earth.

⁶So that Your beloved may be rescued, Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

⁷God has spoken in His holiness: “I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem, And measure out the Valley of Succoth.

⁸Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.

⁹Moab is My washbowl; I will throw My sandal over Edom; I will shout aloud over Philistia.”

¹⁰Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

¹¹God, have You Yourself not rejected us? And will You not go forth with our armies, God?

¹²Give us help against the enemy, For deliverance by man is worthless.

¹³Through God we will do valiantly, And it is He who will trample down our enemies.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

²Ill-gotten gains do not benefit, But righteousness rescues from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous to hunger, But He will reject the craving of the wicked.

⁴Poor is one who works with a lazy hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The mentioning of the righteous is a blessing, But the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise of heart will receive commands, But a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹One who walks in integrity walks securely, But one who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰He who winks the eye causes trouble, And a babbling fool will come to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all offenses.

¹³On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, But a rod is for the back of him who has no sense.

¹⁴Wise people store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

¹⁵The rich person’s wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment.

¹⁷One who is on the path of life follows instruction, But one who ignores a rebuke goes astray.

¹⁸One who conceals hatred has lying lips, And one who spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable, But one who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding.

²²It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.

²³Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is gladness, But the expectation of the wicked perishes.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, But ruin to the workers of injustice.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken, But the wicked will not live in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked, what is perverted.

¹Now it came about when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, the lowland, and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard about it,

²that they met together with one purpose, to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

³The inhabitants of Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,

⁴but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched,

⁵and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled.

⁶And they went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us.”

⁷But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you are living within our land; how then are we to make a covenant with you?”

⁸So they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

⁹They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God; for we have heard the report about Him and all that He did in Egypt,

¹⁰and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was in Ashtaroth.

¹¹So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.” ’

¹²This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled.

¹³And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.”

¹⁴So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the LORD.

¹⁵And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶However, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living within their land.

¹⁷Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

¹⁸But the sons of Israel did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.

¹⁹But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.

²⁰This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them.”

²¹So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” And they became gatherers of firewood and labor to draw water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.

²²Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are living within our land?

²³Now therefore, you are cursed, and you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and labor to draw water for the house of my God.”

²⁴So they answered Joshua and said, “Since your servants were fully informed that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing.

²⁵And now behold, we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight to do.”

²⁶This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.

²⁷But on that day Joshua made them gatherers of firewood and labor to draw water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, in the place which He would choose.

¹Then the LORD said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

²And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

³So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

⁴for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying,

⁶“Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;

⁷Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates River, That is, the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.

⁸Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach as far as the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the expanse of your land, Immanuel.

⁹“Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; And listen, all remote places of the earth. Get ready, yet be shattered; Get ready, yet be shattered.

¹⁰Devise a plan, but it will fail; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”

¹¹For so the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

¹²“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.

¹³It is the LORD of armies whom you are to regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.

¹⁴Then He will become a sanctuary; But to both houses of Israel, He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁵Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will be snared and caught.”

¹⁶Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among my disciples.

¹⁷And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will wait eagerly for Him.

¹⁸Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of armies, who dwells on Mount Zion.

¹⁹When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should a people not consult their God? Should they consult the dead in behalf of the living?

²⁰To the Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because they have no dawn.

²¹They will pass through the land dejected and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.

²²Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.

¹Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

²So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.

³Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

⁴But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

⁶And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

⁷The word of God kept spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.

¹⁰But they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

¹²And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council.

¹³They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking against this holy place and the Law;

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵And all who were sitting in the Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.