Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River.

²Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick.

³Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ ”

⁵And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’

⁶Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

⁷“Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

⁹And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery — unless his wife has been unfaithful. ”

¹⁰Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!”

¹¹“Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps.

¹²Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

¹³One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

¹⁵And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

¹⁶Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question — if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely.

¹⁹Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

²¹Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁴I’ll say it again — it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁵The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

²⁷Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”

²⁸Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.

¹After the ordination ceremony, on the eighth day, Moses called together Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

²He said to Aaron, “Take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defects, and present them to the LORD.

³Then tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defects, for a burnt offering.

⁴Also take a bull and a ram for a peace offering and flour moistened with olive oil for a grain offering. Present all these offerings to the LORD because the LORD will appear to you today.’”

⁵So the people presented all these things at the entrance of the Tabernacle, just as Moses had commanded. Then the whole community came forward and stood before the LORD.

⁶And Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”

⁷Then Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the LORD, just as he has commanded.”

⁸So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself.

⁹His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger in it and put it on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

¹⁰Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹¹The meat and the hide, however, he burned outside the camp.

¹²Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar.

¹³Then they handed him each piece of the burnt offering, including the head, and he burned them on the altar.

¹⁴Then he washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on the altar along with the rest of the burnt offering.

¹⁵Next Aaron presented the offerings of the people. He slaughtered the people’s goat and presented it as an offering for their sin, just as he had first done with the offering for his own sin.

¹⁶Then he presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it in the prescribed way.

¹⁷He also presented the grain offering, burning a handful of the flour mixture on the altar, in addition to the regular burnt offering for the morning.

¹⁸Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people’s peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar.

¹⁹Then he took the fat of the bull and the ram — the fat of the broad tail and from around the internal organs — along with the kidneys and the long lobes of the livers.

²⁰He placed these fat portions on top of the breasts of these animals and burned them on the altar.

²¹Aaron then lifted up the breasts and right thighs as a special offering to the LORD, just as Moses had commanded.

²²After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar.

²³Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole community.

²⁴Fire blazed forth from the LORD’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.

¹This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

²May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

³All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

⁴Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

⁵God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

⁶So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

⁷He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

⁸He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

⁹God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ — which is to fulfill his own good plan.

¹⁰And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ — everything in heaven and on earth.

¹¹Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

¹²God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

¹³And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

¹⁴The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

¹⁵Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,

¹⁶I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

¹⁷asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

¹⁸I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called — his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

¹⁹I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

²⁰that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

²¹Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else — not only in this world but also in the world to come.

²²God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

²³And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

¹What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?

²You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

³And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.

⁴You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

⁵Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

⁶And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

⁸Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

⁹Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

¹¹Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

¹²God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

¹³Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”

¹⁴How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

¹⁵What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

¹⁶Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

¹⁷Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

¹Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

²“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?

³Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.

⁵Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?

⁶What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone

⁷as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

⁸“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,

⁹and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?

¹⁰For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.

¹¹I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’

¹²“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?

¹³Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

¹⁴As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.

¹⁵The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

¹⁶“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?

¹⁷Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?

¹⁸Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!

¹⁹“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?

²⁰Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there?

²¹But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

²²“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?

²³(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)

²⁴Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

²⁵“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?

²⁶Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?

²⁷Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

²⁸“Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew?

²⁹Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?

³⁰For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

³¹“Can you direct the movement of the stars — binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?

³²Can you direct the constellations through the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?

³³Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

³⁴“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?

³⁵Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?

³⁶Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?

³⁷Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven

³⁸when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?

³⁹“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites

⁴⁰as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket?

⁴¹Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! — His faithful love endures forever.

²Give thanks to the God of gods. — His faithful love endures forever.

³Give thanks to the Lord of lords. — His faithful love endures forever.

⁴Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. — His faithful love endures forever.

⁵Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. — His faithful love endures forever.

⁶Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters. — His faithful love endures forever.

⁷Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights — — His faithful love endures forever.

⁸the sun to rule the day, — His faithful love endures forever.

⁹and the moon and stars to rule the night. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁰Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹¹He brought Israel out of Egypt. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹²He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹³Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁴He led Israel safely through, — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁵but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁶Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁷Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁸He killed powerful kings — — His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁹Sihon king of the Amorites, — His faithful love endures forever.

²⁰and Og king of Bashan. — His faithful love endures forever.

²¹God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance — — His faithful love endures forever.

²²a special possession to his servant Israel. — His faithful love endures forever.

²³He remembered us in our weakness. — His faithful love endures forever.

²⁴He saved us from our enemies. — His faithful love endures forever.

²⁵He gives food to every living thing. — His faithful love endures forever.

²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven. — His faithful love endures forever.

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

¹Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.

²In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children.

³The angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.

⁴So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.

⁵You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”

⁶The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name.

⁷But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”

⁸Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.”

⁹God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her.

¹⁰So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!”

¹¹Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?” “Yes,” he replied, “I am.”

¹²So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”

¹³The angel of the LORD replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her.

¹⁴She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.”

¹⁵Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.”

¹⁶“I will stay,” the angel of the LORD replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the LORD.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the LORD.)

¹⁷Then Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.”

¹⁸“Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the LORD replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.”

¹⁹Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the LORD did an amazing thing.

²⁰As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.

²¹The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the LORD,

²²and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!”

²³But his wife said, “If the LORD were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.”

²⁴When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the LORD blessed him as he grew up.

²⁵And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them.

²Then the king of Assyria sent his chief of staff from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.

³These are the officials who went out to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.

⁴Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?

⁵Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me?

⁶On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!

⁷“But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the LORD our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?

⁸“I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!

⁹With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers?

¹⁰What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the LORD’s direction? The LORD himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’”

¹¹Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear.”

¹²But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”

¹³Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria!

¹⁴This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you.

¹⁵Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the LORD by saying, ‘The LORD will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’

¹⁶“Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me — open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.

¹⁷Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one — a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards.

¹⁸“Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria?

¹⁹What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power?

²⁰What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem from me?”

²¹But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.”

²²Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.

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.