Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

²saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses.

³Therefore, whatever they tell you, do andcomply with it all, but do not doas they do; for they say things and do not do them.

⁴And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger.

⁵And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden theirphylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

⁶And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues,

⁷and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being calledRabbi by the people.

⁸But as for you, do not be calledRabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.

⁹And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

¹⁰And do not be calledleaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

¹¹But the greatest of you shall be your servant.

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

¹³“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

¹⁴

¹⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’

¹⁷You fools and blind men! Which ismore important, the gold or thetemple that sanctified the gold?

¹⁸And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by theoffering that is on it is obligated.’

¹⁹You blind men, which ismore important, theoffering or the altar that sanctifies theoffering?

²⁰Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both bythe altar and by everything on it.

²¹And the one who swears by thetemple, swears both bythe temple and by Him who dwells in it.

²²And the one who swears byheaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

²⁴You blind guides, whostrain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

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

²⁶You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that theoutside of it may also become clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

²⁸So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

³⁰and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

³¹So you testify against yourselves, that you aresons of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.

³³You snakes, youoffspring of vipers, howwill you escape thesentence ofhell?

³⁴“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,

³⁵so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between thetemple and the altar.

³⁶Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

³⁸Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

³⁹For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’ ”

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²“When someone has on the skin of his body a swelling, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

³The priest shall look at the infected area on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

⁴But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the person who has the infection for seven days.

⁵Then the priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.

⁶The priest shall then look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infected area has faded and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a rash. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

⁷“But if the rash spreads farther on the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest.

⁸And the priest shall look, and if the rash has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy.

⁹“When the infection of leprosy is on someone, then he shall be brought to the priest.

¹⁰The priest shall then look, and if there is a white swelling on the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is new raw flesh in the swelling,

¹¹it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.

¹²If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the person who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see,

¹³then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered his entire body, he shall pronounce the one who has the infection clean; it has all turned white and he is clean.

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

¹⁵The priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy.

¹⁶Or if the raw flesh turns back and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest,

¹⁷and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infected area has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the one who has the infection clean; he is clean.

¹⁸“Now when the body has a boil on its skin and it is healed,

¹⁹and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white, bright spot, then it shall be shown to the priest;

²⁰and the priest shall look, and behold, if it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil.

²¹But if the priest looks at it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it and it is not deeper than the skin and is faded, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days;

²²and if it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection.

²³But if the bright spot remains in its place and does not spread, it is only the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴“Or if the body sustains in its skin a burn by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,

²⁵then the priest shall look at it. And if the hair in the bright spot has turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is leprosy; it has broken out in the burn. Therefore, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy.

²⁶But if the priest looks at it, and indeed, there is no white hair in the bright spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days;

²⁷and the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads farther in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy.

²⁸But if the bright spot remains in its place and has not spread in the skin, but is dim, it is the swelling from the burn; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar of the burn.

²⁹“Now if a man or woman has an infection on the head or on the beard,

³⁰then the priest shall look at the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and there is thin yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.

³¹But if the priest looks at the infection of the scale, and indeed, it appears to be no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person with the scaly infection for seven days.

³²And on the seventh day the priest shall look at the infection, and if the scale has not spread and no yellowish hair has grown in it, and the appearance of the scale is no deeper than the skin,

³³then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scale; and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale for seven more days.

³⁴Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale, and if the scale has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

³⁵But if the scale spreads farther in the skin after his cleansing,

³⁶then the priest shall look at him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean.

³⁷If in his sight the scale has remained, however, and black hair has grown in it, the scale has healed, and he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

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

³⁹then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies are a faint white, it is eczema that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

⁴⁰“Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is only bald; he is clean.

⁴¹And if his head becomes bald at the front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean.

⁴²But if on the bald head or the bald forehead there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead.

⁴³Then the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body,

⁴⁴he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; his infection is on his head.

⁴⁵“As for the person who has the leprous infection, his clothes shall be torn and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

⁴⁶He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live outside the camp.

⁴⁷“When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment,

⁴⁸whether in warp or woof, of linen or of wool, whether in leather or in any article made of leather,

⁴⁹if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous mark and it shall be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰Then the priest shall look at the mark and shall quarantine the article with the mark for seven days.

⁵¹He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a leprous malignancy, it is unclean.

⁵²So he shall burn the garment, whether it is the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather, in which the mark occurs; for it is a leprous malignancy. It shall be burned in the fire.

⁵³“But if the priest looks, and indeed the mark has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather,

⁵⁴then the priest shall order them to wash the thing in which the mark occurs, and he shall quarantine it for seven more days.

⁵⁵After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even if the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the back or on the front of it.

⁵⁶“But if the priest looks, and indeed the mark has faded after it has been washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment or out of the leather, whether from the warp or from the woof;

⁵⁷yet if it appears again in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is an outbreak; the article with the mark shall be burned in the fire.

⁵⁸But the garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has disappeared when you washed it, shall then be washed a second time and will be clean.”

⁵⁹This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.

¹Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

²and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

³But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;

⁴and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

⁵For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

⁶See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not become partners with them;

⁸for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

¹⁰as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

¹¹Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

¹⁴For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,

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

¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord;

²⁰always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father;

²¹and subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.

²²Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

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

²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

²⁷that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

²⁸So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

³⁰because we are parts of His body.

³¹FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.

³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

¹In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives,

²as they observe your pure and respectful behavior.

³Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel;

⁴but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

⁵For in this way the holy women of former times, who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands,

⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; and you have proved to be her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

⁷You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble;

⁹not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For, “THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.

¹¹HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.

¹²FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST EVILDOERS.”

¹³And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE IN DREAD,

¹⁵but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect;

¹⁶and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

¹⁷For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

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

²⁰who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

²¹Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

¹Then Job answered the LORD and said,

²“I know that You can do all things, And that no plan is impossible for You.

³‘Who is this who conceals advice without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.

⁴‘Please listen, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’

⁵I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;

⁶Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”

⁷It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.

⁸Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.”

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job.

¹⁰The LORD also restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased double all that Job had.

¹¹Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

¹²The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.

¹³He also had seven sons and three daughters.

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

¹⁵In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances among their brothers.

¹⁶After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.

¹⁷And Job died, an old man and full of days.

¹Rescue me, LORD, from evil people; Protect me from violent men

²Who devise evil things in their hearts; They continually stir up wars.

³They sharpen their tongues like a snake; The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

⁴Keep me, LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Protect me from violent men Who intend to trip up my feet.

⁵The proud have hidden a trap for me, and snares; They have spread a net at the wayside; They have set snares for me. Selah

⁶I said to the LORD, “You are my God; Listen, LORD, to the sound of my pleadings.

⁷GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head on the day of battle.

⁸Do not grant, LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not bring about his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me, May the harm of their lips cover them.

¹⁰May burning coals fall upon them; May they be cast into the fire, Into bottomless pits from which they cannot rise.

¹¹May a slanderer not endure on the earth; May evil hunt a violent person violently.”

¹²I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.

¹³Certainly the righteous will give thanks to Your name; The upright will dwell in Your presence.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

²When pride comes, then comes dishonor; But with the humble there is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.

⁴Riches do not benefit on the day of wrath, But righteousness rescues from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will rescue them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.

⁷When a wicked person dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong people perishes.

⁸The righteous is rescued from trouble, But the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be rescued.

¹⁰When things go well for the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.

¹²One who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a person of understanding keeps silent.

¹³One who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, But one who is trustworthy conceals a matter.

¹⁴Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in an abundance of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵One who is a guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it, But one who hates being a guarantor is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches.

¹⁷A merciful person does himself good, But the cruel person does himself harm.

¹⁸A wicked person earns deceptive wages, But one who sows righteousness gets a true reward.

¹⁹One who is steadfast in righteousness attains life, But one who pursues evil attains his own death.

²⁰The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their walk are His delight.

²¹Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be rescued.

²²As a ring of gold in a pig’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.

²⁵A generous person will be prosperous, And one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.

²⁶One who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷One who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

²⁸One who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

²⁹One who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And one who is wise gains souls.

³¹If the righteous will be repaid on the earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner!

¹Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

²And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and also spoke it in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.”

³He then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly consecrate the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son to make a carved image and a cast metal image; so now I will return them to you.”

⁴So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a cast metal image, and they were in the house of Micah.

⁵And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols, and consecrated one of his sons, so that he might become his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was staying there.

⁸Then the man left the city, Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he would find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah.

⁹Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I may find a place.”

¹⁰Micah then said to him, “Stay with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a supply of clothing, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in.

¹¹The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.

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

¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as a priest.”

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

²“Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her guilt has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.”

³The voice of one calling out, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the uneven ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

⁵Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

⁶A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; The people are indeed grass!

⁸The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

⁹Go up on a high mountain, Zion, messenger of good news, Raise your voice forcefully, Jerusalem, messenger of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

¹⁰Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His compensation is with Him, And His reward before Him.

¹¹Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in the fold of His robe; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And measured the heavens with a span, And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

¹³Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?

¹⁴With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, And informed Him of the way of understanding?

¹⁵Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

¹⁶Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

¹⁸To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

¹⁹As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

²⁰He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter.

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

²²It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to live in.

²³It is He who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

²⁴Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.

²⁵“To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.

²⁶Raise your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who brings out their multitude by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.

²⁷Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable.

²⁹He gives strength to the weary, And to the one who lacks might He increases power.

³⁰Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,

³¹Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

¹Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,

²a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

³About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And he looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;

⁶he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants,

⁸and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;

¹¹and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,

¹²and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky.

¹³A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.”

¹⁵Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate;

¹⁸and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

²¹Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.”

²³So he invited them in and gave them lodging. Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴On the 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, and fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up; I, too, am just a man.”

²⁷As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call any person unholy or unclean.

²⁹That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,

³¹and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God.

³²Therefore send some men to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent men to you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

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

³⁶The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—

³⁷you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.

³⁸You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

³⁹We are witnesses of all the things that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed,

⁴¹not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

⁴²And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵All the Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”

⁴⁸And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.