Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

²Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

³When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.

⁵For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.

⁶And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places:

⁸all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

⁹“Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

¹⁰Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another.

¹¹And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

¹²And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.

¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

¹⁵“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

¹⁶then those in Judea must flee to the mountains;

¹⁷the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house;

¹⁸the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat.

¹⁹Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days!

²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.

²¹For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

²²And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ — do not believe it.

²⁴For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

²⁵Take note, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

²⁷For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹“Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.

³¹And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

³²“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

³³So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

³⁴Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁶“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark,

³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.

⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

⁴⁵“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time?

⁴⁶Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.

⁴⁷Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.

⁴⁸But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’

⁴⁹and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards,

⁵⁰the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know.

⁵¹He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest;

³the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an examination. If the disease is healed in the leprous person,

⁴the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop be brought for the one who is to be cleansed.

⁵The priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel.

⁶He shall take the living bird with the cedarwood and the crimson yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.

⁷He shall sprinkle it seven times upon the one who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease; then he shall pronounce him clean, and he shall let the living bird go into the open field.

⁸The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall live outside his tent seven days.

⁹On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.

¹⁰On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish, and a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil.

¹¹The priest who cleanses shall set the person to be cleansed, along with these things, before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

¹²The priest shall take one of the lambs, and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and raise them as an elevation offering before the LORD.

¹³He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered in the holy place; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest: it is most holy.

¹⁴The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.

¹⁵The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand,

¹⁶and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

¹⁷Some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

¹⁸The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD:

¹⁹the priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall slaughter the burnt offering;

²⁰and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf and he shall be clean.

²¹But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil;

²²also two turtledoves or two pigeons, such as he can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

²³On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the LORD;

²⁴and the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall raise them as an elevation offering before the LORD.

²⁵The priest shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering and shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot.

²⁶The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand,

²⁷and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD.

²⁸The priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot, where the blood of the guilt offering was placed.

²⁹The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the LORD.

³⁰And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons such as he can afford,

³¹one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering; and the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one being cleansed.

³²This is the ritual for the one who has a leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.

³³The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

³⁴When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession,

³⁵the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, “There seems to me to be some sort of disease in my house.”

³⁶The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.

³⁷He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface,

³⁸the priest shall go outside to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.

³⁹The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house,

⁴⁰the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.

⁴¹He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

⁴²They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and take other plaster and plaster the house.

⁴³If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it,

⁴⁴the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading leprous disease in the house; it is unclean.

⁴⁵He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.

⁴⁶All who enter the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening;

⁴⁷and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes; and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.

⁴⁸If the priest comes and makes an inspection, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed.

⁴⁹For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop,

⁵⁰and shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in an earthen vessel,

⁵¹and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

⁵²Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson yarn;

⁵³and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.

⁵⁴This is the ritual for any leprous disease: for an itch,

⁵⁵for leprous diseases in clothing and houses,

⁵⁶and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot,

⁵⁷to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the ritual for leprous diseases.

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

²“Honor your father and mother” — this is the first commandment with a promise:

³“so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

⁴And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ;

⁶not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

⁷Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,

⁸knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.

⁹And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.

¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.

¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

²¹So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord.

²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.

²³Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin),

²so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God.

³You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

⁴They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme.

⁵But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

⁶For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

⁷The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers.

⁸Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.

⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

¹⁰Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

¹¹Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

¹³But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker.

¹⁶Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name.

¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸And “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?”

¹⁹Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

¹The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

³What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?

⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

⁵The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises.

⁶The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.

⁷All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.

⁸All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has already been, in the ages before us.

¹¹The people of long ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them.

¹²I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem,

¹³applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.

¹⁴I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.

¹I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you.

²Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

⁴Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.

⁵Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.

⁶When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

⁷Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

⁸But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

⁹Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I alone escape.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.

²The good obtain favor from the LORD, but those who devise evil he condemns.

³No one finds security by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.

⁴A good wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

⁶The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright delivers them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸One is commended for good sense, but a perverse mind is despised.

⁹Better to be despised and have a servant, than to be self-important and lack food.

¹⁰The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹Those who till their land will have plenty of food, but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.

¹²The wicked covet the proceeds of wickedness, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

¹³The evil are ensnared by the transgression of their lips, but the righteous escape from trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of the mouth one is filled with good things, and manual labor has its reward.

¹⁵Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to advice.

¹⁶Fools show their anger at once, but the prudent ignore an insult.

¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness speaks deceitfully.

¹⁸Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the mind of those who plan evil, but those who counsel peace have joy.

²¹No harm happens to the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

²³One who is clever conceals knowledge, but the mind of a fool broadcasts folly.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, while the lazy will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up.

²⁶The righteous gives good advice to friends, but the way of the wicked leads astray.

²⁷The lazy do not roast their game, but the diligent obtain precious wealth.

²⁸In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death.

¹In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself a territory to live in; for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel had been allotted to them.

²So the Danites sent five valiant men from the whole number of their clan, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they stayed there.

³While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?”

⁴He said to them, “Micah did such and such for me, and he hired me, and I have become his priest.”

⁵Then they said to him, “Inquire of God that we may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed.”

⁶The priest replied, “Go in peace. The mission you are on is under the eye of the LORD.”

⁷The five men went on, and when they came to Laish, they observed the people who were there living securely, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing on earth, and possessing wealth. Furthermore, they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with Aram.

⁸When they came to their kinsfolk at Zorah and Eshtaol, they said to them, “What do you report?”

⁹They said, “Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land.

¹⁰When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is broad — God has indeed given it into your hands — a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.”

¹¹Six hundred men of the Danite clan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol,

¹²and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

¹³From there they passed on to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land (that is, Laish) said to their comrades, “Do you know that in these buildings there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? Now therefore consider what you will do.”

¹⁵So they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and greeted him.

¹⁶While the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate,

¹⁷the five men who had gone to spy out the land proceeded to enter and take the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim. The priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

¹⁸When the men went into Micah’s house and took the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹They said to him, “Keep quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one person, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?”

²⁰Then the priest accepted the offer. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the people.

²¹So they resumed their journey, putting the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them.

²²When they were some distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the Danites.

²³They shouted to the Danites, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter that you come with such a company?”

²⁴He replied, “You take my gods that I made, and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then can you ask me, ‘What is the matter?’”

²⁵And the Danites said to him, “You had better not let your voice be heard among us or else hot-tempered fellows will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household.”

²⁶Then the Danites went their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

²⁷The Danites, having taken what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, put them to the sword, and burned down the city.

²⁸There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with Aram. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city, and lived in it.

²⁹They named the city Dan, after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was formerly Laish.

³⁰Then the Danites set up the idol for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.

³¹So they maintained as their own Micah’s idol that he had made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

¹Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.

²Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service? He delivers up nations to him, and tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.

³He pursues them and passes on safely, scarcely touching the path with his feet.

⁴Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am first, and will be with the last.

⁵The coastlands have seen and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come.

⁶Each one helps the other, saying to one another, “Take courage!”

⁷The artisan encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

⁸But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

⁹you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

¹⁰do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

¹¹Yes, all who are incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

¹²You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

¹³For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

¹⁴Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you insect Israel! I will help you, says the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff.

¹⁶You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. Then you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

¹⁷When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

¹⁹I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,

²⁰so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

²²Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, so that we may consider them, and that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

²³Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be afraid and terrified.

²⁴You, indeed, are nothing and your work is nothing at all; whoever chooses you is an abomination.

²⁵I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name. He shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

²⁶Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know, and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”? There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

²⁷I first have declared it to Zion, and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.

²⁸But when I look there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.

²⁹No, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their images are empty wind.

¹Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him,

³saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”

⁴Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.

⁶As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.

⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’

¹⁰This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.

¹¹At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.

¹²The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

¹³He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;

¹⁴he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”

¹⁸When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

¹⁹Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews.

²⁰But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.

²¹The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.

²²News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

²³When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion;

²⁴for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”

²⁷At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea;

³⁰this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.