Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

²And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

³And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

⁴Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”

⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.

⁷And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

⁸And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹When they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

¹⁰And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things;

¹²but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but didto him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to sufferat their hands.”

¹³Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

¹⁴When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,

¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

¹⁶And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

¹⁷And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

¹⁸And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed at once.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faiththe size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

²¹

²²And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to behanded over to men;

²³and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

²⁴Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?”

²⁵He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs orpoll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”

²⁶When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons areexempt.

²⁷However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find astater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

¹‘Now this is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy.

²In the place where they slaughter the burnt offering they are to slaughter the guilt offering, and the priest shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

³Then he shall offer from it all its fat: the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails,

⁴and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins; and he shall remove the lobe on the liver with the kidneys.

⁵The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the LORD; it is a guilt offering.

⁶Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.

⁷The guilt offering is like the sin offering: there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.

⁸Also the priest who presents anyone’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the hide of the burnt offering which he has presented.

⁹Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it.

¹⁰Every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to all alike.

¹¹‘Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the LORD.

¹²If he offers it by way of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil.

¹³With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread.

¹⁴Of this he shall present one of every offering as a contribution to the LORD; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.

¹⁵‘Now as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it over until morning.

¹⁶But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten;

¹⁷but what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.

¹⁸So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is ever eaten on the third day, he who offers it will not be accepted, and it will not be credited to him. It will be an unclean thing, and the person who eats it shall bear his punishment.

¹⁹‘Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. As for other flesh, anyone who is clean may eat such flesh.

²⁰But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, when he is unclean, that person shall be cut off from his people.

²¹When anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

²²Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²³“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

²⁴Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by animals may be put to any other use, but you certainly are not to eat it.

²⁵For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is offered to the LORD, the person who eats it shall also be cut off from his people.

²⁶And you are not to eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your dwellings.

²⁷Any person who eats any blood, that person shall also be cut off from his people.’ ”

²⁸Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁹“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

³⁰His own hands are to bring offerings by fire to the LORD. He shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the LORD.

³¹And the priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and to his sons.

³²And you shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

³³The one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, the right thigh shall be his as his portion.

³⁴For I have taken from the sons of Israel the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their allotted portion forever from the sons of Israel.

³⁵‘This is the allotment to Aaron and the allotment to his sons from the offerings by fire to the LORD, on that day when he presented them to serve as priests to the LORD.

³⁶These the LORD had commanded to be given them from the sons of Israel on the day that He anointed them. It is their allotted portion forever throughout their generations.’ ”

³⁷This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering, and the ordination offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings,

³⁸which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai on the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to present their offerings to the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai.

¹It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

²Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

³And I testify again to every man who has himself circumcised, that he is obligated to keep the whole Law.

⁴You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.

⁵For we, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

⁷You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?

⁸This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.

⁹A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

¹⁰I have confidence in you in the Lord, that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear the punishment, whoever he is.

¹¹But as for me, brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been eliminated.

¹²I wish that those who are troubling you would even emasculate themselves.

¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.

¹⁴For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

¹⁵But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

¹⁷For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.

¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

¹⁹Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior,

²⁰idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions,

²¹envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

²⁴Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.

²⁶Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

¹My brothers and sisters, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

²For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in bright clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in,

³and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”

⁴have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

⁶But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

⁷Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called?

⁸If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well.

⁹But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators.

¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all.

¹¹For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law.

¹²So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom.

¹³For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁴What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

¹⁵If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,

¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

¹⁷In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

¹⁸But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

¹⁹You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

²⁰But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?

²¹Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

²²You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;

²³and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called a friend of God.

²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

²⁶For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

¹Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Wait for me a little, and I will show you That there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

³I will bring my knowledge from afar, And ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵Behold, God is mighty but does not reject anyone; He is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶He does not keep the wicked alive, But gives justice to the afflicted.

⁷He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, But with kings on the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

⁸And if they are bound in shackles, And are caught in the snares of misery,

⁹Then He declares to them their work And their wrongdoings, that they have been arrogant.

¹⁰He opens their ears to instruction, And commands that they return from injustice.

¹¹If they listen and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity, And their years in happiness.

¹²But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword, And die without knowledge.

¹³But the godless in heart nurture anger; They do not call for help when He binds them.

¹⁴They die in youth, And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.

¹⁵He rescues the afflicted in their misery, And opens their ears in time of oppression.

¹⁶Then indeed, He induced you away from the mouth of distress, And instead of it, a broad place with no constraint; And your table was full of rich food.

¹⁷“But you were full of judgment on the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.

¹⁸Beware that wrath does not entice you to mockery; And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

¹⁹Will your cry for help keep you from distress, Or all the exertions of your strength?

²⁰Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their places.

²¹Be careful, do not turn to evil, For you preferred this to misery.

²²Behold, God is exalted in His power; Who is a teacher like Him?

²³Who has appointed Him His way, And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴“Remember that you are to exalt His work, Of which people have sung.

²⁵All people have seen it; Mankind looks at it from afar.

²⁶Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.

²⁷For He draws up the drops of water; They distill rain from its celestial stream,

²⁸Which clouds pour down; They drip upon mankind abundantly.

²⁹Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, The thundering of His pavilion?

³⁰Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, And He covers the depths of the sea.

³¹For by them He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance.

³²He covers His hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the target.

³³Its thundering voice declares His presence; The livestock also, concerning what is coming up.

¹Behold, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!

²Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD.

³May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding,

²So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

⁶She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

⁹Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you will groan in the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, “How I hated instruction! And my heart disdainfully rejected rebuke!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!

¹⁴I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹Like a loving doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a foreigner?

²¹For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He observes all his paths.

²²His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.

²³He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

¹Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. And Gilead had fathered Jephthah.

²Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”

³So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless men gathered around Jephthah, and they went wherever he did.

⁴Now it came about, after a while, that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel.

⁵When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob;

⁶and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.”

⁷But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?”

⁸The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight the sons of Ammon, and become our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

⁹So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD gives them up to me, will I become your head?”

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is witness between us; be assured we will do as you have said.”

¹¹Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.

¹²So Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What conflict do you and I have, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”

¹³And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “It is because Israel took my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; so return them peaceably now.”

¹⁴But Jephthah sent messengers once again to the king of the sons of Ammon,

¹⁵and they said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon.

¹⁶For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh,

¹⁷then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

¹⁸Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

¹⁹And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.”

²⁰But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

²¹And the LORD, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and all his people over to Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

²²So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.

²³And now the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from His people Israel; so should you possess it?

²⁴Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess it.

²⁵Now then, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

²⁶While Israel was living in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

²⁷So I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.’ ”

²⁸But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.

²⁹Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.

³⁰And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If You will indeed hand over to me the sons of Ammon,

³¹then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³²So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD handed them over to him.

³³He inflicted a very great defeat on them from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.

³⁴But Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, and behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. And she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter.

³⁵So when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, my daughter! You have brought me disaster, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.”

³⁶So she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the LORD; do to me just as you have said, since the LORD has brought you vengeance on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.”

³⁷And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my friends.”

³⁸Then he said, “Go.” So he let her go for two months; and she left with her friends, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity.

³⁹And at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her what he had vowed; and she had no relations with a man. And it became a custom in Israel,

⁴⁰that the daughters of Israel went annually to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days in the year.

¹Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, you peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

²For the LORD’S anger is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them, He has turned them over to slaughter.

³So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.

⁴And all the heavenly lights will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All its lights will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.

⁵For My sword has drunk its fill in heaven; Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom, And upon the people whom I have designated for destruction.

⁶The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

⁷Wild oxen will also fall with them And young bulls with strong ones; So their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat.

⁸For the LORD has a day of vengeance, A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.

⁹Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.

¹⁰It will not be extinguished night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be desolate; None will pass through it forever and ever.

¹¹But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.

¹²Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its officials will be nothing.

¹³Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And a habitat of ostriches.

¹⁴The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The goat also will cry to its kind. Yes, the night-bird will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

¹⁵The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, Every one with its kind.

¹⁶Seek from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these will be missing; None will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them.

¹⁷He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it to them by the measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

¹As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

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

⁹if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another,

¹⁶saying, “What are we to do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person in this name.”

¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment;

²⁰for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;

²²for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

²³When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM,

²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY WERE THE NATIONS INSOLENT, AND THE PEOPLES PLOTTING IN VAIN?

²⁶THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’

²⁷For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur.

²⁹And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

³³And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷owned a tract of land. So he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.