Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:

²“The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses.

³Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach.

⁴They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

⁶They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,

⁷greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.

⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.

⁹Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.

¹⁰You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah.

¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant.

¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.

¹⁴

¹⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!

¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’

¹⁷Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

¹⁸Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’

¹⁹Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

²⁰Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it.

²¹The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells in it.

²²And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

²⁴Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.

²⁸In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,

³⁰and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’

³¹So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!

³³“Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?

³⁴This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.

³⁵So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

³⁶Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

³⁸See, your house is left to you desolate.

³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say,’ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’!”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

²“When a person has a swelling, scab, or spot on the skin of his body, and it may be a serious disease on the skin of his body, he is to be brought to the priest Aaron or to one of his sons, the priests.

³The priest will examine the sore on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

⁴But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the stricken person for seven days.

⁵The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the sore remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine him for another seven days.

⁶The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean; it is a scab. The person is to wash his clothes and will become clean.

⁷But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing, he is to present himself again to the priest.

⁸The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a serious skin disease.

⁹“When a case of serious skin disease may have developed on a person, he is to be brought to the priest.

¹⁰The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,

¹¹it is a chronic serious disease on the skin of his body, and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He need not quarantine him, for he is unclean.

¹²But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the stricken person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see,

¹³the priest will look, and if the skin disease has covered his entire body, he is to pronounce the stricken person clean. Since he has turned totally white, he is clean.

¹⁴But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean.

¹⁵When the priest examines the raw flesh, he must pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean; this is a serious skin disease.

¹⁶But if the raw flesh changes and turns white, he is to go to the priest.

¹⁷The priest will examine him, and if the sore has turned white, the priest must pronounce the stricken person clean; he is clean.

¹⁸“When a boil appears on the skin of someone’s body and it heals,

¹⁹and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, the person is to present himself to the priest.

²⁰The priest will make an examination, and if the spot seems to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a case of serious skin disease that has broken out in the boil.

²¹But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.

²²If it spreads further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a disease.

²³But if the spot remains where it is and does not spread, it is only the scar from the boil. The priest is to pronounce him clean.

²⁴“When there is a burn on the skin of one’s body produced by fire, and the patch made raw by the burn becomes reddish-white or white,

²⁵the priest is to examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a serious skin disease.

²⁶But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in the spot and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.

²⁷The priest will reexamine him on the seventh day. If it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a case of serious skin disease.

²⁸But if the spot has remained where it was and has not spread on the skin but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest is to pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.

²⁹“When a man or woman has a condition on the head or chin,

³⁰the priest is to examine the condition. If it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and sparse, the priest must pronounce the person unclean. It is a scaly outbreak, a serious skin disease of the head or chin.

³¹When the priest examines the scaly condition, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest will quarantine the person with the scaly condition for seven days.

³²The priest will reexamine the condition on the seventh day. If the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,

³³the person is to shave himself but not shave the scaly area. Then the priest will quarantine the person who has the scaly outbreak for another seven days.

³⁴The priest will examine the scaly outbreak on the seventh day, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce the person clean. He is to wash his clothes, and he will be clean.

³⁵But if the scaly outbreak spreads further on the skin after his cleansing,

³⁶the priest is to examine the person. If the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.

³⁷But if as far as he can see, the scaly outbreak remains unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed; he is clean. The priest is to pronounce the person clean.

³⁸“When a man or a woman has white spots on the skin of the body,

³⁹the priest is to make an examination. If the spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is only a rash that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.

⁴⁰“If a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald, but he is clean.

⁴¹Or if he loses the hair at his hairline, he is bald on his forehead, but he is clean.

⁴²But if there is a reddish-white condition on the bald head or forehead, it is a serious skin disease breaking out on his head or forehead.

⁴³The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the condition on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of a serious skin disease on his body,

⁴⁴the man is afflicted with a serious skin disease; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head.

⁴⁵“The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

⁴⁶He will remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

⁴⁷“If a fabric is contaminated with mildew — in wool or linen fabric,

⁴⁸in the warp or weft of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather —

⁴⁹and if the contamination is green or red in the fabric, the leather, the warp, the weft, or any leather article, it is a mildew contamination and is to be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰The priest is to examine the contamination and quarantine the contaminated fabric for seven days.

⁵¹The priest is to reexamine the contamination on the seventh day. If it has spread in the fabric, the warp, the weft, or the leather, regardless of how it is used, the contamination is harmful mildew; it is unclean.

⁵²He is to burn the fabric, the warp or weft in wool or linen, or any leather article, which is contaminated. Since it is harmful mildew it must be burned.

⁵³“When the priest examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article,

⁵⁴the priest is to order whatever is contaminated to be washed and quarantined for another seven days.

⁵⁵After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine the contamination. If the appearance of the contaminated article has not changed, it is unclean. Even though the contamination has not spread, you must burn the fabric. It is a fungus on the front or back of the fabric.

⁵⁶“If the priest examines it, and the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he is to cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, the leather, or the warp or weft.

⁵⁷But if it reappears in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, it has broken out again. You must burn whatever is contaminated.

⁵⁸But if the contamination disappears from the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, which have been washed, it is to be washed again, and it will be clean.

⁵⁹“This is the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, warp or weft, or any leather article, in order to pronounce it clean or unclean.”

¹Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children,

²and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

³But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints.

⁴Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks.

⁵For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things.

⁷Therefore, do not become their partners.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light  —

⁹for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth  —

¹⁰testing what is pleasing to the Lord.

¹¹Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.

¹²For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret.

¹³Everything exposed by the light is made visible,

¹⁴for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

¹⁵Pay careful attention, then, to how you live — not as unwise people but as wise —

¹⁶making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

¹⁸And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:

¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord,

²⁰giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

²¹submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.

²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,

²³because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body.

²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

²⁶to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.

²⁷He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

²⁸In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

²⁹For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,

³⁰since we are members of his body.

³¹For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.

³²This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

³³To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

¹In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live

²when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

³Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry,

⁴but rather what is inside the heart  — the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

⁵For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands,

⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.

⁷Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,

⁹not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,

¹¹and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it,

¹²because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.

¹³Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be intimidated,

¹⁵but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

¹⁶Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

¹⁹in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison

²⁰who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few — that is, eight people  — were saved through water.

²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

¹Then Job replied to the LORD:

²I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

³You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know.

⁴You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.”

⁵I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you.

⁶Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.

⁷After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.

⁸Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then my servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”

⁹Then Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and doubled his previous possessions.

¹¹All his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances came to him and dined with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him concerning all the adversity the LORD had brought on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold earring.

¹²So the LORD blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.

¹³He also had seven sons and three daughters.

¹⁴He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch.

¹⁵No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.

¹⁶Job lived 140 years after this and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

¹⁷Then Job died, old and full of days.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] Rescue me, LORD, from evil men. Keep me safe from violent men

²who plan evil in their hearts. They stir up wars all day long.

³They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s bite; viper’s venom is under their lips. Selah

⁴Protect me, LORD, from the power of the wicked. Keep me safe from violent men who plan to make me stumble.

⁵The proud hide a trap with ropes for me; they spread a net along the path and set snares for me. Selah

⁶I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” Listen, LORD, to my cry for help.

⁷LORD, my Lord, my strong Savior, you shield my head on the day of battle.

⁸LORD, do not grant the desires of the wicked; do not let them achieve their goals. Otherwise, they will become proud. Selah

⁹When those who surround me rise up, may the trouble their lips cause overwhelm them.

¹⁰Let hot coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, never again to rise.

¹¹Do not let a slanderer stay in the land. Let evil relentlessly hunt down a violent man.

¹²I know that the LORD upholds the just cause of the poor, justice for the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous will praise your name; the upright will live in your presence.

¹Dishonest scales are detestable to the LORD, but an accurate weight is his delight.

²When arrogance comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.

⁴Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath, but righteousness rescues from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless clears his path, but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.

⁷When the wicked person dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth vanishes.

⁸The righteous one is rescued from trouble; in his place, the wicked one goes in.

⁹With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

¹⁰When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices; when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense, but a person with understanding keeps silent.

¹³A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

¹⁴Without guidance, a people will fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.

¹⁵If someone puts up security for a stranger, he will suffer for it, but the one who hates such agreements is protected.

¹⁶A gracious woman gains honor, but violent people gain only riches.

¹⁷A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel person brings ruin on himself.

¹⁸The wicked person earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.

¹⁹Genuine righteousness leads to life, but pursuing evil leads to death.

²⁰Those with twisted minds are detestable to the LORD, but those with blameless conduct are his delight.

²¹Be assured that a wicked person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

²²A beautiful woman who rejects good sense is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

²³The desire of the righteous turns out well, but the hope of the wicked leads to wrath.

²⁴One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

²⁵A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.

²⁶People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.

²⁷The one who searches for what is good seeks favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

²⁸Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.

²⁹The one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind, and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and a wise person captivates people. 

³¹If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful.

¹There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah.

²He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you place a curse on — here’s the silver. I took it.” Then his mother said, “My son, may you be blessed by the LORD!”

³He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I personally consecrate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit to make a carved image and a silver idol. I will give it back to you.”

⁴So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a silver idol, and it was in Micah’s house.

⁵This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.

⁷There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the clan of Judah.

⁸The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to stay wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰Micah replied, “Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in

¹¹and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons.

¹²Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.

¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

¹“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

²“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of forced labor is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”

³A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

⁴Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain.

⁵And the glory of the LORD will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

⁶A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.

⁷The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

⁸The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

⁹Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

¹⁰See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and his power establishes his rule. His wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him.

¹¹He protects his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in the fold of his garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on the scales?

¹³Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or who gave him counsel?

¹⁴Who did he consult? Who gave him understanding and taught him the paths of justice? Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding?

¹⁵Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales; he lifts up the islands like fine dust.

¹⁶Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before him; they are considered by him as empty nothingness.

¹⁸With whom will you compare God? What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?

¹⁹An idol? — something that a smelter casts and a metalworker plates with gold and makes silver chains for?

²⁰A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not fall over.

²¹Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not considered the foundations of the earth?

²²God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

²³He reduces princes to nothing and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.

²⁴They are barely planted, barely sown, their stem hardly takes root in the ground when he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

²⁵“To whom will you compare me, or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

²⁶Look up and see! Who created these? He brings out the stars by number; he calls all of them by name. Because of his great power and strength, not one of them is missing.

²⁷Jacob, why do you say, and, Israel, why do you assert: “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”?

²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding.

²⁹He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless.

³⁰Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall,

³¹but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.

¹There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.

³About three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴Staring at him in awe, he said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel told him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

⁶He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had gone, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, who was one of those who attended him.

⁸After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon.

¹⁰He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth.

¹²In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky.

¹³A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴“No, Lord!” Peter said. “For I have never eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.”

¹⁵Again, a second time, the voice said to him, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and suddenly the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, right away the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, stood at the gate.

¹⁸They called out, asking if Simon, who was also named Peter, was lodging there.

¹⁹While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, “Three men are here looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.”

²¹Then Peter went down to the men and said, “Here I am, the one you’re looking for. What is the reason you’re here?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.”

²³Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and set out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.

²⁴The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up and said, “Stand up. I myself am also a man.”

²⁷While talking with him, he went in and found a large gathering of people.

²⁸Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean.

²⁹That’s why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in dazzling clothing stood before me

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered in God’s sight.

³²Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’

³³So I immediately sent for you, and it was good of you to come. So now we are all in the presence of God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism,

³⁵but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁶He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.

³⁷You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree.

⁴⁰God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen,

⁴¹not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message.

⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.