Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had spoken these things, He raised His eyes to heaven [in prayer] and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify You.

²Just as You have given Him power and authority over all mankind, [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him [to be His—permanently and forever].

³Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent.

⁴I have glorified You [down here] on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.

⁵Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed.

⁶"I have manifested Your name [and revealed Your very self, Your real self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept and obeyed Your word.

⁷Now [at last] they know [with confident assurance] that all You have given Me is from You [it is really and truly Yours].

⁸For the words which You gave Me I have given them; and they received and accepted them and truly understood [with confident assurance] that I came from You [from Your presence], and they believed [without any doubt] that You sent Me.

⁹I pray for them; I do not pray for the world, but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You;

¹⁰and all things that are Mine are Yours, and [all things that are] Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them.

¹¹I am no longer in the world; yet they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are.

¹²While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and protected them, and not one of them was lost except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³But now I am coming to You; and I say these things [while I am still] in the world so that they may experience My joy made full and complete and perfect within them [filling their hearts with My delight].

¹⁴I have given to them Your word [the message You gave Me]; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and do not belong to the world, just as I am not of the world and do not belong to it.

¹⁵I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them and protect them from the evil one.

¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth.

¹⁸Just as You commissioned and sent Me into the world, I also have commissioned and sent them (believers) into the world.

¹⁹For their sake I sanctify Myself [to do Your will], so that they also may be sanctified [set apart, dedicated, made holy] in [Your] truth.

²⁰"I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message,

²¹that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.

²²I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one;

²³I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me.

²⁴Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to Me [as Your gift to Me], may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵"O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has never acknowledged You [and the revelation of Your mercy], yet I have always known You; and these [believers] know [without any doubt] that You sent Me;

²⁶and I have made Your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them [overwhelming their heart], and I [may be] in them."

¹"Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle (sacred tent of worship) with ten [interior] curtains of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric; you shall make them with [embroidered] cherubim, the handwork of a skillful craftsman.

²The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all of the curtains shall measure the same.

³The five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another.

⁴You shall make loops of blue on the outer edge of the last curtain in the first set, and likewise in the second set.

⁵You shall make fifty loops on the one curtain, and fifty loops on the edge of the last curtain that is in the second set. The loops on one curtain correspond to the loops on the other.

⁶You shall make fifty gold hooks, and fasten the curtains together with the hooks; and the tabernacle shall be one unit.

⁷"Then you shall make [exterior] curtains of goats' hair as a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains in all.

⁸Each curtain shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. The eleven curtains shall all measure the same.

⁹You shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent [to make a closed door].

¹⁰Make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.

¹¹"You shall make fifty bronze hooks and put the hooks into the loops and join the tent together so that it may be one unit.

¹²The overlapping part that is left over from the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the back of the tabernacle.

¹³The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and the other side, to cover it.

¹⁴You shall make a third covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a fourth covering above that of porpoise skins.

¹⁵"Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright [as a trellis-like frame].

¹⁶The length of each board shall be ten cubits and the width of each board shall be one and a half cubits.

¹⁷Make two dovetails in each board for fitting [them] together; you shall do the same for all the tabernacle boards.

¹⁸You shall make the boards for the tabernacle [in the following quantities]: twenty boards for the south side.

¹⁹You shall make forty silver sockets under the twenty boards, two sockets under each board for its two dovetails, and two sockets under another board for its two dovetails;

²⁰for the north side of the tabernacle there shall be twenty boards,

²¹and their forty silver sockets, two sockets under each board.

²²For the back or west side of the tabernacle you shall make six boards.

²³Make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear [on both sides].

²⁴They shall be joined together underneath, and joined together on top with one ring. So shall it be for both of them; they shall form the two [rear] corners.

²⁵There shall be eight boards and sixteen silver sockets; two sockets under each board.

²⁶"Then you shall make [fifteen] bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

²⁷and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the rear end of the tabernacle, for the back wall toward the west.

²⁸And the middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through [horizontally] from end to end.

²⁹You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold to hold the bars. You shall overlay the bars with gold.

³⁰You shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan [the direction corresponding to its meaning and purpose] which has been shown to you on the mountain.

³¹"You shall make a veil [to divide the two rooms] of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen, skillfully worked with cherubim on it.

³²You shall hang it on four pillars (support poles) of acacia wood overlaid with gold, with gold hooks, on four silver sockets.

³³You shall hang the veil from the hooks [that connect the curtains together], and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony there within the veil. The veil shall separate for you the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

³⁴You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies.

³⁵You shall set the table [for the bread] outside the veil [in the Holy Place] on the north side, and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle.

³⁶"You shall make a screen [to provide a covering] for the doorway of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and finely woven [embroidered] linen, the work of an embroiderer.

³⁷You shall make five pillars (support poles) of acacia wood to support the hanging curtain and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five [base] sockets of bronze for them.

¹If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God's love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].

²And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing.

³If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.

⁴Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.

⁵It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.

⁶It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].

⁷Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

⁸Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]. But as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for the gift of special knowledge, it will pass away.

⁹For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete].

¹⁰But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away.

¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

¹²For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God].

¹³And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God's love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered [Job] and said,

²"Should a wise man [such as you] utter such windy and vain knowledge [as we have just heard] And fill himself with the east wind [of withering, parching, and violent accusations]?

³"Should he rebuke and argue with useless talk? Or with words in which there is no benefit?

⁴"Indeed, you are doing away with fear, And you are diminishing meditation before God.

⁵"For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose [to speak] the language of the crafty and cunning.

⁶"Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷"Were you the first man to be born [the original wise man], Or were you created before the hills?

⁸"Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?

⁹"What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not equally clear to us?

¹⁰"Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged, Older than your father.

¹¹"Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you, [Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

¹²"Why does your heart carry you away [allowing you to be controlled by emotion]? And why do your eyes flash [in anger or contempt],

¹³That you should turn your spirit against God And let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

¹⁴"What is man, that he should be pure and clean, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous and just?

¹⁵"Behold, God puts no trust in His holy ones (angels); Indeed, the heavens are not pure in His sight—

¹⁶How much less [pure and clean is] the one who is repulsive and corrupt, Man, who drinks unrighteousness and injustice like water!

¹⁷"I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

¹⁸What wise men have [freely] told, And have not hidden [anything passed on to them] from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

²⁰"The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And numbered are the years stored up for him, the ruthless one.

²¹"A [dreadful] sound of terrors is in his ears; While at peace and in a time of prosperity the destroyer comes upon him [the tent of the robber is not at peace].

²²"He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered], And he is destined for the sword [of God's vengeance].

²³"He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already at hand.

²⁴"Distress and anxiety terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for battle.

²⁵"Because he has stretched out his hand against God And behaves arrogantly against the Almighty,

²⁶Running and charging headlong against Him With his ornamented and massive shield;

²⁷For he has covered his face with his fat, Adding layers of fat to his thighs [giving himself up to pleasures],

²⁸And he has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities, In houses which no one should inhabit, Which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];

²⁹He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend to the earth nor his possessions be extended on the earth.

³⁰"He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster]; The flame [of God's wrath] will wither his branch, And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

³¹"Let him not trust in vanity (emptiness, futility) and be led astray; For emptiness will be his reward [for such living].

³²"It will be fulfilled while he still lives, And his branch will not be green [but shall wither away].

³³"He will fail to bring his grapes to maturity [leaving them to wither unnourished] on the vine, And will cast off blossoms [and fail to bring forth fruit] like the olive tree.

³⁴"For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of bribery (wrong and injustice).

³⁵"They conceive mischief and bring forth wickedness, And their inmost soul prepares deceit and fraud."

¹Praise the LORD! ( Hallelujah!) Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD.

²Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forever.

³From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].

⁴The LORD is high above all nations, And His glory above the heavens.

⁵Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,

⁶Who humbles Himself to regard The heavens and the earth?

⁷He raises the poor out of the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

⁸That He may seat them with princes, With the princes of His people.

⁹He makes the barren woman live in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)

¹A soft and gentle and thoughtful answer turns away wrath, But harsh and painful and careless words stir up anger.

²The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable, But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good [in all their endeavors].

⁴A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, But a perversive tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit.

⁵A [flippant, arrogant] fool rejects his father's instruction and correction, But he who [is willing to learn and] regards and keeps in mind a reprimand acquires good sense.

⁶Great and priceless treasure is in the house of the [consistently] righteous one [who seeks godly instruction and grows in wisdom], But trouble is in the income of the wicked one [who rejects the laws of God].

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge [sifting it as chaff from the grain]; But the hearts of [shortsighted] fools are not so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight!

⁹The way [of life] of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the LORD, But He loves one who pursues righteousness [personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character].

¹⁰There is severe discipline for him who turns from the way [of righteousness]; And he who hates correction will die.

¹¹Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the abyss, the place of eternal punishment) lie open before the LORD— How much more the hearts and inner motives of the children of men.

¹²A scoffer [unlike a wise man] resents one who rebukes him and tries to teach him; Nor will he go to the wise [for counsel and instruction].

¹³A heart full of joy and goodness makes a cheerful face, But when a heart is full of sadness the spirit is crushed.

¹⁴The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it, But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances].

¹⁶Better is a little with the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the LORD Than great treasure and trouble with it.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of vegetables and herbs where love is present Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger and patient calms disputes.

¹⁹The way of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns [it pricks, lacerates, and entangles him], But the way [of life] of the upright is smooth and open like a highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Foolishness is joy to him who is without heart and lacks [intelligent, common] sense, But a man of understanding walks uprightly [making his course straight].

²²Without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they are established and succeed.

²³A man has joy in giving an appropriate answer, And how good and delightful is a word spoken at the right moment—how good it is!

²⁴The [chosen] path of life leads upward for the wise, That he may keep away from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) below.

²⁵The LORD will tear down the house of the proud and arrogant (self-righteous), But He will establish and protect the boundaries [of the land] of the [godly] widow.

²⁶Evil plans and thoughts of the wicked are exceedingly vile and offensive to the LORD, But pure words are pleasant words to Him.

²⁷He who profits unlawfully brings suffering to his own house, But he who hates bribes [and does not receive nor pay them] will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous thinks carefully about how to answer [in a wise and appropriate and timely way], But the [babbling] mouth of the wicked pours out malevolent things.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked [and distances Himself from them], But He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous [that is, those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the hearts of others, And good news puts fat on the bones.

³¹The ear that listens to and learns from the life-giving rebuke (reprimand, censure) Will remain among the wise.

³²He who neglects and ignores instruction and discipline despises himself, But he who learns from rebuke acquires understanding [and grows in wisdom].

³³The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the instruction for wisdom [its starting point and its essence]; And before honor comes humility.

¹Now these are the territories which the tribes of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of Israel apportioned to them as an inheritance,

²by the lot of their inheritance, as the LORD had commanded through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

³For Moses had given an inheritance to the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give [any territory as] an inheritance to the Levites among them.

⁴For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and no portion was given in the land to the Levites except cities in which to live, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property.

⁵The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

⁶Then the [tribe of the] sons of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning me and you in Kadesh-barnea.

⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land [of Canaan], and I brought a report back to him as it was in my heart.

⁸My brothers (fellow spies) who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God completely.

⁹So Moses swore [an oath to me] on that day, saying, 'Be assured that the land on which your foot has walked will be an inheritance to you and to your children always, because you have followed the LORD my God completely.'

¹⁰And now, look, the LORD has let me live, just as He said, these forty-five years since the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, look at me, I am eighty-five years old today.

¹¹I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so is my strength now, for war and for going out and coming in.

¹²So now, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke that day, for you heard on that day that the [giant-like] Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said."

¹³So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.

¹⁴Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, completely.

¹⁵The name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba [city of Arba]; for Arba was the greatest man among the [giant-like] Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.

¹The [mournful, inspired] oracle ( a burden to be carried) concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw [in a prophetic vision]:

²Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain, Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice, Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.

³I [the LORD] have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My great warriors, My proudly exulting ones [the Medes and the Persians who triumph for My honor]— To execute My anger.

⁴A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of the kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The LORD of hosts is mustering an army for battle.

⁵They are coming from a distant country, From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]— The LORD and the weapons of His indignation— To destroy the whole land.

⁶Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty (All Sufficient One—Invincible God)!

⁷Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man's heart will melt.

⁸They [of Babylon] will be shocked and terrified, Pains and anguish will grip them; They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth. They will stare aghast and horrified at one another, Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].

⁹Listen carefully, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with wrath and raging anger, To make the land a horror [of devastation]; And He shall exterminate its sinners from it.

¹⁰For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash with their light; The sun will be dark when it rises, And the moon will not shed its light.

¹¹In this way I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing]; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And will abase the arrogance of the tyrant.

¹²I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold, And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir.

¹³Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; And the earth will be shaken from its place At the wrath of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger.

¹⁴And like the hunted gazelle, Or like sheep that no man gathers, Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people, And each one flee to his own land.

¹⁵Anyone who is found will be pierced through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

¹⁶Their children also will be smashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be looted And their wives ravished.

¹⁷Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them, Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].

¹⁸Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon]; They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb, Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children.

¹⁹And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

²⁰Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there.

²¹But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and wild goats will dance there.

²²Hyenas will howl in their castles, And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Babylon's time has nearly come, And her days will not be prolonged.

¹Now the apostles and the believers who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God [the message concerning salvation through Christ].

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [certain Jewish believers who followed the Law] took issue with him [for violating Jewish customs],

³saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and [even] ate with them!"

⁴But Peter began [at the beginning] and explained [the events] to them step by step, saying,

⁵"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision of an object coming down from heaven, like a huge sheet being lowered by the four corners; and [it descended until] it came right down to me,

⁶and looking closely at it, I saw all kinds of the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air [both clean and unclean according to the Law],

⁷and I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'

⁸But I said, 'Not at all, Lord; for nothing common (unholy) or [ceremonially] unclean has ever entered my mouth.'

⁹But the voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).'

¹⁰This happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹And right then the three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.

¹²The Spirit told me to go with them without the slightest hesitation. So these six brothers also went with me and we went to the man's house.

¹³And Cornelius told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, 'Send word to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

¹⁴he will bring a message to you by which you will be saved [and granted eternal life], you and all your household.'

¹⁵When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning [at Pentecost].

¹⁶Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

¹⁷So, if God gave Gentiles the same gift [equally] as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior], who was I to interfere or stand in God's way?"

¹⁸When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified and praised God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance that leads to eternal life [that is, real life after earthly death]."

¹⁹So then [since they were unaware of these developments] those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with [the stoning of] Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews.

²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior].

²²The news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God [that was bestowed on them], he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord.

²⁴For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵And Barnabas left for Tarsus to search for Saul;

²⁶and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

²⁷Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and prophesied through the [Holy] Spirit that a severe famine would come on the entire world. And this did happen during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹So the disciples decided to send a contribution, each according to his individual ability, to the believers who lived in Judea.

³⁰And this they did, sending the contribution to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.