Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus — the man he had raised from the dead.

²A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him.

³Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

⁴But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said,

⁵“That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.”

⁶Not that he cared for the poor — he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

⁷Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.

⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

⁹When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead.

¹⁰Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too,

¹¹for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.

¹²The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors

¹³took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

¹⁵“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

¹⁶His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

¹⁷Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it.

¹⁸That was the reason so many went out to meet him — because they had heard about this miraculous sign.

¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

²⁰Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration

²¹paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”

²²Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.

²³Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.

²⁴I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels — a plentiful harvest of new lives.

²⁵Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

²⁶Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

²⁷“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!

²⁸Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.”

²⁹When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine.

³¹The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.

³²And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

³³He said this to indicate how he was going to die.

³⁴The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”

³⁵Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going.

³⁶Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

³⁷But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him.

³⁸This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “LORD, who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?”

³⁹But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,

⁴⁰“The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts — so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.”

⁴¹Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory.

⁴²Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.

⁴³For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.

⁴⁵For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.

⁴⁶I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.

⁴⁷I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.

⁴⁸But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.

⁴⁹I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.

⁵⁰And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

¹“These are the regulations you must present to Israel.

²“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.

³If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.

⁴“If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.

⁵But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’

⁶If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.

⁷“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.

⁸If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.

⁹But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.

¹⁰“If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy.

¹¹If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.

¹²“Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.

¹³But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.

¹⁴However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.

¹⁵“Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁶“Kidnappers must be put to death, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.

¹⁷“Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁸“Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.

¹⁹If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished but must compensate his victim for lost wages and provide for his full recovery.

²⁰“If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.

²¹But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.

²²“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve.

²³But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,

²⁴an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,

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

²⁶“If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.

²⁷And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.

²⁸“If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.

²⁹But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death.

³⁰However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.

³¹“The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.

³²But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.

³³“Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.

³⁴The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.

³⁵“If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal.

³⁶But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation — a live ox for the dead one — but he may keep the dead ox.

¹Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.

²Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.

³But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

⁴So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God.

⁵There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords.

⁶But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.

⁷However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.

⁸It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.

⁹But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.

¹⁰For if others see you — with your “superior knowledge” — eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol?

¹¹So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed.

¹²And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.

¹³So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live — for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.

²He seized the dragon — that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan — and bound him in chains for a thousand years.

³The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

⁴Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁵This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)

⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

⁷When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.

⁸He will go out to deceive the nations — called Gog and Magog — in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle — a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.

⁹And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

¹⁰Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

¹¹And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.

¹²I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

¹³The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

¹⁴Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

¹⁵And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

¹“I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain.

²I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me — tell me the charge you are bringing against me.

³What do you gain by oppressing me? Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands, while smiling on the schemes of the wicked?

⁴Are your eyes like those of a human? Do you see things only as people see them?

⁵Is your lifetime only as long as ours? Is your life so short

⁶that you must quickly probe for my guilt and search for my sin?

⁷Although you know I am not guilty, no one can rescue me from your hands.

⁸“‘You formed me with your hands; you made me, yet now you completely destroy me.

⁹Remember that you made me from dust — will you turn me back to dust so soon?

¹⁰You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.

¹¹You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together.

¹²You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.

¹³“‘Yet your real motive — your true intent —

¹⁴was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my guilt.

¹⁵If I am guilty, too bad for me; and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high, because I am filled with shame and misery.

¹⁶And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion and display your awesome power against me.

¹⁷Again and again you witness against me. You pour out your growing anger on me and bring fresh armies against me.

¹⁸“‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s womb? Why didn’t you let me die at birth?

¹⁹It would be as though I had never existed, going directly from the womb to the grave.

²⁰I have only a few days left, so leave me alone, that I may have a moment of comfort

²¹before I leave — never to return — for the land of darkness and utter gloom.

²²It is a land as dark as midnight, a land of gloom and confusion, where even the light is dark as midnight.’”

¹My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!

²Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.

³I will thank you, LORD, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.

⁴For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

⁶Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power.

⁷God has promised this by his holiness : “I will divide up Shechem with joy. I will measure out the valley of Succoth.

⁸Gilead is mine, and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.

⁹But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia.”

¹⁰Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom?

¹¹Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies?

¹²Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.

¹³With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother.

²Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life.

³The LORD will not let the godly go hungry, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.

⁴Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.

⁵A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

⁶The godly are showered with blessings; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

⁷We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away.

⁸The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.

⁹People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.

¹⁰People who wink at wrong cause trouble, but a bold reproof promotes peace.

¹¹The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

¹²Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.

¹³Wise words come from the lips of people with understanding, but those lacking sense will be beaten with a rod.

¹⁴Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

¹⁶The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.

¹⁷People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray.

¹⁸Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool.

¹⁹Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

²⁰The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless.

²¹The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.

²²The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

²³Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.

²⁴The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.

²⁵When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

²⁶Lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.

²⁷Fear of the LORD lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

²⁸The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold to those with integrity, but it destroys the wicked.

³⁰The godly will never be disturbed, but the wicked will be removed from the land.

³¹The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice, but the tongue that deceives will be cut off.

³²The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words.

¹Now all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as the Lebanon mountains.

²These kings combined their armies to fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites.

³But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

⁴they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins.

⁵They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy.

⁶When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”

⁷The Israelites replied to these Hivites, “How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.”

⁸They replied, “We are your servants.” “But who are you?” Joshua demanded. “Where do you come from?”

⁹They answered, “Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the LORD your God and of all he did in Egypt.

¹⁰We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River — King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth).

¹¹So our elders and all our people instructed us, ‘Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, “We are your servants; please make a treaty with us.”’

¹²“This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy.

¹³These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

¹⁴So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD.

¹⁵Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

¹⁶Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!

¹⁷The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

¹⁸But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty.

¹⁹But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them.

²⁰This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath.

²¹Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed.

²²Joshua called together the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us?

²³May you be cursed! From now on you will always be servants who cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”

²⁴They replied, “We did it because we — your servants — were clearly told that the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this.

²⁵Now we are at your mercy — do to us whatever you think is right.”

²⁶So Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.

²⁷But that day he made the Gibeonites the woodcutters and water carriers for the community of Israel and for the altar of the LORD — wherever the LORD would choose to build it. And that is what they do to this day.

¹Then the LORD said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ”

²I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.

³Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

⁴For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”

⁵Then the LORD spoke to me again and said,

⁶“My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it. They are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah.

⁷Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River — the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels

⁸and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep. It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.

⁹“Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified. Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!

¹⁰Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us! ”

¹¹The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,

¹²“Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.

¹³Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.

¹⁴He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

¹⁵Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me.

¹⁷I will wait for the LORD, who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my hope in him.

¹⁸I and the children the LORD has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.

¹⁹Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?

²⁰Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.

²¹They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven

²²and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.

¹But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

²So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.

³And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.

⁴Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

⁶These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁸Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.

⁹But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia.

¹⁰None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

¹¹So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.”

¹²This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

¹³The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.

¹⁴We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.