Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

²“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.

³So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.

⁴They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

⁵“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

⁶And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.

⁷They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

⁸“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.

⁹And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father.

¹⁰And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.

¹¹The greatest among you must be a servant.

¹²But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

¹³“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

¹⁴

¹⁵“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

¹⁶“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’

¹⁷Blind fools! Which is more important — the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

¹⁸And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.

¹⁹How blind! For which is more important — the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

²⁰When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it.

²¹And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.

²²And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

²³“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

²⁴Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

²⁵“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and self-indulgence!

²⁶You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

²⁷“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs — beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.

²⁸Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.

³⁰Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

³¹“But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.

³³Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

³⁴“Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.

³⁵As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time — from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.

³⁶I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

³⁷“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

³⁸And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.

³⁹For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²“If anyone has a swelling or a rash or discolored skin that might develop into a serious skin disease, that person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons.

³The priest will examine the affected area of the skin. If the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, it is a serious skin disease, and the priest who examines it must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.

⁴“But if the affected area of the skin is only a white discoloration and does not appear to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair on the spot has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the person for seven days.

⁵On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has not changed and the problem has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine the person for seven more days.

⁶On the seventh day the priest will make another examination. If he finds the affected area has faded and has not spread, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. It was only a rash. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean.

⁷But if the rash continues to spread after the person has been examined by the priest and has been pronounced clean, the infected person must return to be examined again.

⁸If the priest finds that the rash has spread, he must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is indeed a skin disease.

⁹“Anyone who develops a serious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination.

¹⁰If the priest finds a white swelling on the skin, and some hair on the spot has turned white, and there is an open sore in the affected area,

¹¹it is a chronic skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. In such cases the person need not be quarantined, for it is obvious that the skin is defiled by the disease.

¹²“Now suppose the disease has spread all over the person’s skin, covering the body from head to foot.

¹³When the priest examines the infected person and finds that the disease covers the entire body, he will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. Since the skin has turned completely white, the person is clean.

¹⁴But if any open sores appear, the infected person will be pronounced ceremonially unclean.

¹⁵The priest must make this pronouncement as soon as he sees an open sore, since open sores indicate the presence of a skin disease.

¹⁶However, if the open sores heal and turn white like the rest of the skin, the person must return to the priest

¹⁷for another examination. If the affected areas have indeed turned white, the priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean by declaring, ‘You are clean!’

¹⁸“If anyone has a boil on the skin that has started to heal,

¹⁹but a white swelling or a reddish white spot develops in its place, that person must go to the priest to be examined.

²⁰If the priest examines it and finds it to be more than skin-deep, and if the hair in the affected area has turned white, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. The boil has become a serious skin disease.

²¹But if the priest finds no white hair on the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, the priest must quarantine the person for seven days.

²²If during that time the affected area spreads on the skin, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, because it is a serious disease.

²³But if the area grows no larger and does not spread, it is merely the scar from the boil, and the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean.

²⁴“If anyone has suffered a burn on the skin and the burned area changes color, becoming either reddish white or shiny white,

²⁵the priest must examine it. If he finds that the hair in the affected area has turned white and the problem appears to be more than skin-deep, a skin disease has broken out in the burn. The priest must then pronounce the person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease.

²⁶But if the priest finds no white hair on the affected area and the problem appears to be no more than skin-deep and has faded, the priest must quarantine the infected person for seven days.

²⁷On the seventh day the priest must examine the person again. If the affected area has spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce that person ceremonially unclean, for it is clearly a serious skin disease.

²⁸But if the affected area has not changed or spread on the skin and has faded, it is simply a swelling from the burn. The priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.

²⁹“If anyone, either a man or woman, has a sore on the head or chin,

³⁰the priest must examine it. If he finds it is more than skin-deep and has fine yellow hair on it, the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean. It is a scabby sore of the head or chin.

³¹If the priest examines the scabby sore and finds that it is only skin-deep but there is no black hair on it, he must quarantine the person for seven days.

³²On the seventh day the priest must examine the sore again. If he finds that the scabby sore has not spread, and there is no yellow hair on it, and it appears to be only skin-deep,

³³the person must shave off all hair except the hair on the affected area. Then the priest must quarantine the person for another seven days.

³⁴On the seventh day he will examine the sore again. If it has not spread and appears to be no more than skin-deep, the priest will pronounce the person ceremonially clean. The person’s clothing must be washed, and the person will be ceremonially clean.

³⁵But if the scabby sore begins to spread after the person is pronounced clean,

³⁶the priest must do another examination. If he finds that the sore has spread, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair. The infected person is ceremonially unclean.

³⁷But if the color of the scabby sore does not change and black hair has grown on it, it has healed. The priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean.

³⁸“If anyone, either a man or woman, has shiny white patches on the skin,

³⁹the priest must examine the affected area. If he finds that the shiny patches are only pale white, this is a harmless skin rash, and the person is ceremonially clean.

⁴⁰“If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean.

⁴¹And if he loses hair on his forehead, he simply has a bald forehead; he is still clean.

⁴²However, if a reddish white sore appears on the bald area on top of his head or on his forehead, this is a skin disease.

⁴³The priest must examine him, and if he finds swelling around the reddish white sore anywhere on the man’s head and it looks like a skin disease,

⁴⁴the man is indeed infected with a skin disease and is unclean. The priest must pronounce him ceremonially unclean because of the sore on his head.

⁴⁵“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’

⁴⁶As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.

⁴⁷“Now suppose mildew contaminates some woolen or linen clothing,

⁴⁸woolen or linen fabric, the hide of an animal, or anything made of leather.

⁴⁹If the contaminated area in the clothing, the animal hide, the fabric, or the leather article has turned greenish or reddish, it is contaminated with mildew and must be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰After examining the affected spot, the priest will put the article in quarantine for seven days.

⁵¹On the seventh day the priest must inspect it again. If the contaminated area has spread, the clothing or fabric or leather is clearly contaminated by a serious mildew and is ceremonially unclean.

⁵²The priest must burn the item — the clothing, the woolen or linen fabric, or piece of leather — for it has been contaminated by a serious mildew. It must be completely destroyed by fire.

⁵³“But if the priest examines it and finds that the contaminated area has not spread in the clothing, the fabric, or the leather,

⁵⁴the priest will order the object to be washed and then quarantined for seven more days.

⁵⁵Then the priest must examine the object again. If he finds that the contaminated area has not changed color after being washed, even if it did not spread, the object is defiled. It must be completely burned up, whether the contaminated spot is on the inside or outside.

⁵⁶But if the priest examines it and finds that the contaminated area has faded after being washed, he must cut the spot from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather.

⁵⁷If the spot later reappears on the clothing, the fabric, or the leather article, the mildew is clearly spreading, and the contaminated object must be burned up.

⁵⁸But if the spot disappears from the clothing, the fabric, or the leather article after it has been washed, it must be washed again; then it will be ceremonially clean.

⁵⁹“These are the instructions for dealing with mildew that contaminates woolen or linen clothing or fabric or anything made of leather. This is how the priest will determine whether these items are ceremonially clean or unclean.”

¹Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

²Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

³Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.

⁴Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes — these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.

⁵You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

⁶Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.

⁷Don’t participate in the things these people do.

⁸For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

⁹For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

¹⁰Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

¹¹Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.

¹²It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.

¹³But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,

¹⁴for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

¹⁵So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.

¹⁶Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

¹⁷Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

¹⁸Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,

¹⁹singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

²⁰And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²²For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

²³For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.

²⁴As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

²⁵For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her

²⁶to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

²⁷He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

²⁸In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.

²⁹No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.

³⁰And we are members of his body.

³¹As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”

³²This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.

³³So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

¹In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over

²by observing your pure and reverent lives.

³Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.

⁴You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

⁵This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.

⁶For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.

⁷In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

⁹Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.

¹⁰For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.

¹¹Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

¹²The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.”

¹³Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?

¹⁴But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.

¹⁵Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

¹⁶But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

¹⁷Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

¹⁸Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

¹⁹So he went and preached to the spirits in prison —

²⁰those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.

²¹And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

²²Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.

¹Then Job replied to the LORD:

²“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.

³You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I — and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.

⁴You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’

⁵I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

⁶I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

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 accurately about me, as my servant Job has.

⁸So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.”

⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the LORD commanded them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before!

¹¹Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the LORD had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

¹²So the LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

¹³He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.

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

¹⁵In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

¹⁶Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren.

¹⁷Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

¹O LORD, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent,

²those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long.

³Their tongues sting like a snake; the venom of a viper drips from their lips. Interlude

⁴O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked. Protect me from those who are violent, for they are plotting against me.

⁵The proud have set a trap to catch me; they have stretched out a net; they have placed traps all along the way. Interlude

⁶I said to the LORD, “You are my God!” Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!

⁷O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me, you protected me on the day of battle.

⁸LORD, do not let evil people have their way. Do not let their evil schemes succeed, or they will become proud. Interlude

⁹Let my enemies be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for me.

¹⁰Let burning coals fall down on their heads. Let them be thrown into the fire or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.

¹¹Don’t let liars prosper here in our land. Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.

¹²But I know the LORD will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor.

¹³Surely righteous people are praising your name; the godly will live in your presence.

¹The LORD detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.

²Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

³Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

⁴Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

⁵The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.

⁶The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

⁷When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength.

⁸The godly are rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous.

¹⁰The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the wicked die.

¹¹Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

¹²It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.

¹³A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

¹⁴Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.

¹⁵There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.

¹⁶A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.

¹⁸Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.

¹⁹Godly people find life; evil people find death.

²⁰The LORD detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.

²¹Evil people will surely be punished, but the children of the godly will go free.

²²A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

²³The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgment.

²⁴Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

²⁵The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

²⁶People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

²⁷If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!

²⁸Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

²⁹Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise.

³⁰The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.

³¹If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, what will happen to wicked sinners?

¹There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim.

²One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.” “The LORD bless you for admitting it,” his mother replied.

³He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the LORD. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.”

⁴So when he returned the money to his mother, she took 200 silver coins and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into an image and an idol. And these were placed in Micah’s house.

⁵Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest.

⁶In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

⁷One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area.

⁸He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through.

⁹“Where are you from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”

¹⁰“Stay here with me,” Micah said, “and you can be a father and priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, plus a change of clothes and your food.”

¹¹The Levite agreed to this, and the young man became like one of Micah’s sons.

¹²So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house.

¹³“I know the LORD will bless me now,” Micah said, “because I have a Levite serving as my priest.”

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

²“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”

³Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!

⁴Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.

⁵Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”

⁶A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.

⁷The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people.

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

⁹O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”

¹⁰Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.

¹¹He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

¹²Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

¹³Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

¹⁴Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?

¹⁵No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.

¹⁶All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.

¹⁷The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing — mere emptiness and froth.

¹⁸To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?

¹⁹Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?

²⁰Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

²¹Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God — the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?

²²God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.

²³He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.

²⁴They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.

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

²⁶Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

²⁷O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

²⁸Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

²⁹He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

³⁰Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.

³¹But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

¹In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

³One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

⁴Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!

⁵Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.

⁶He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

⁷As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants.

⁸He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

⁹The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

¹⁰and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.

¹²In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.

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

¹⁴“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean. ”

¹⁵But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

¹⁶The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

¹⁷Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate,

¹⁸they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

²¹So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²²They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”

²³So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

²⁴They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!”

²⁷So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

²⁸Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

²⁹So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.

³¹He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!

³²Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”

³⁴Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

³⁵In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.

³⁶This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel — that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

³⁷You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism.

³⁸And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross,

⁴⁰but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear,

⁴¹not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all — the living and the dead.

⁴³He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

⁴⁴Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked,

⁴⁷“Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”

⁴⁸So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.