Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.

²There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.

³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

⁴The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.

⁵The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

⁶He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”

⁸So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news.

⁹Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

¹⁰Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

¹¹As they were on their way, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

¹²After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money

¹³and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping.’

¹⁴If this reaches the governor’s ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble.”

¹⁵They took the money and did as they were instructed, and this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day.

¹⁶The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them.

¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted.

¹⁸Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

¹⁹Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses:

²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.

³Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.

⁴You are to practice my ordinances and you are to keep my statutes by following them; I am the LORD your God.

⁵Keep my statutes and ordinances; a person will live if he does them. I am the LORD.

⁶“You are not to come near any close relative for sexual intercourse; I am the LORD.

⁷You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to your father and mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual intercourse with her.

⁸You are not to have sex with your father’s wife; she is your father’s family.

⁹You are not to have sexual intercourse with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s, whether born at home or born elsewhere. You are not to have sex with her.

¹⁰You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for they are your family.

¹¹You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, who is adopted by your father; she is your sister.

¹²You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

¹³You are not to have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

¹⁴You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual intercourse; she is your aunt.

¹⁵You are not to have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sex with her.

¹⁶You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s family.

¹⁷You are not to have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sex with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

¹⁸You are not to marry a woman as a rival to her sister and have sexual intercourse with her during her sister’s lifetime.

¹⁹“You are not to approach a woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her.

²⁰You are not to have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, defiling yourself with her.

²¹“You are not to sacrifice any of your children in the fire to Molech. Do not profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.

²²You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; it is detestable.

²³You are not to have sexual intercourse with any animal, defiling yourself with it; a woman is not to present herself to an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.

²⁴“Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things.

²⁵The land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

²⁶But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable acts — not the native or the alien who resides among you.

²⁷For the people who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable acts, and the land has become defiled.

²⁸If you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you.

²⁹Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people.

³⁰You must keep my instruction to not do any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them; I am the LORD your God.”

¹So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

³Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

⁵Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

⁶Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things.

⁹Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it.

¹¹I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself.

¹²I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content — whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.

¹³I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.

¹⁵And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone.

¹⁶For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times.

¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account.

¹⁸But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided — a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

¹⁹And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

²⁰Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings.

²²All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder,

²so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.

³Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires,

⁴saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”

⁵They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water.

⁶Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded.

⁷By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

⁹The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.

¹¹Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness

¹²as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.

¹³But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.

¹⁵Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.

¹⁶He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.

¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

²Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

³Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

⁵Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

⁶Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

⁸If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

⁹The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

¹⁰The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

¹¹When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?

¹²The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

¹³There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.

¹⁴That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.

¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

¹⁶This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

¹⁷What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

¹⁹Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

²⁰for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

¹A hymn of David. [1] I exalt you, my God the King, and bless your name forever and ever.

²I will bless you every day; I will praise your name forever and ever.

³The LORD is great and is highly praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts.

⁵I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty and your wondrous works.

⁶They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts, and I will declare your greatness.

⁷They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.

⁸The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love.

⁹The LORD is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made.

¹⁰All you have made will thank you, LORD; the faithful will bless you.

¹¹They will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will declare your might,

¹²informing all people of your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule is for all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.

¹⁴The LORD helps all who fall; he raises up all who are oppressed.

¹⁵All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

¹⁶You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts.

¹⁸The LORD is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity.

¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry for help and saves them.

²⁰The LORD guards all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked.

²¹My mouth will declare the LORD’s praise; let every living thing bless his holy name forever and ever.

¹The reflections of the heart belong to mankind, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs motives.

³Commit your activities to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has prepared everything for his purpose — even the wicked for the day of disaster.

⁵Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.

⁶Iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the LORD.

⁷When a person’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better a little with righteousness than great income with injustice.

⁹A person’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.

¹⁰God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his concern.

¹²Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since a throne is established through righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he loves one who speaks honestly.

¹⁴A king’s fury is a messenger of death, but a wise person appeases it.

¹⁵When a king’s face lights up, there is life; his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.

¹⁶Get wisdom — how much better it is than gold! And get understanding — it is preferable to silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright avoids evil; the one who guards his way protects his life.

¹⁸Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

¹⁹Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud.

²⁰The one who understands a matter finds success, and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.

²¹Anyone with a wise heart is called discerning, and pleasant speech increases learning.

²²Insight is a fountain of life for its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.

²³The heart of a wise person instructs his mouth; it adds learning to his speech.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.

²⁶A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger urges him on.

²⁷A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A contrary person spreads conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

²⁹A violent person lures his neighbor, leading him on a path that is not good.

³⁰The one who narrows his eyes is planning deceptions; the one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

³¹Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.

³²Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

¹During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.

²The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there.

³Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons.

⁴Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years,

⁵both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.

⁶She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the LORD had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.

⁷She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.

⁸Naomi said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you as you have shown to the dead and to me.

⁹May the LORD grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.

¹⁰They said to her, “We insist on returning with you to your people.”

¹¹But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands?

¹²Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

¹³would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me.”

¹⁴Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

¹⁸When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her.

¹⁹The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰“Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter.

²¹I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has opposed me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²²So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹The LORD says this to Cyrus, his anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and disarm kings, to open doors before him, and even city gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you and level the uneven places; I will shatter the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two.

³I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD. I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

⁴I call you by your name, for the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen one. I give a name to you, though you do not know me.

⁵I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know me,

⁶so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

⁷I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

⁸“Heavens, sprinkle from above, and let the skies shower righteousness. Let the earth open up so that salvation will sprout and righteousness will spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.

⁹“Woe to the one who argues with his Maker — one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, ‘What are you making? ’ Or does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?

¹⁰Woe to the one who says to his father, ‘What are you fathering?’ or to his mother, ‘What are you giving birth to? ’”

¹¹This is what the LORD, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says: “Ask me what is to happen to my sons, and instruct me about the work of my hands.

¹²I made the earth, and created humans on it. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded everything in them.

¹³I have stirred him up in righteousness, and will level all roads for him. He will rebuild my city, and set my exiles free, not for a price or a bribe,” says the LORD of Armies.

¹⁴This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will follow you, they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you, ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”

¹⁵Yes, you are a God who hides, God of Israel, Savior.

¹⁶All of them are put to shame, even humiliated; the makers of idols go in humiliation together.

¹⁷Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated for all eternity.

¹⁸For this is what the LORD says — the Creator of the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, the one who established it (he did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited)  — he says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

¹⁹I have not spoken in secret, somewhere in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob: Seek me in a wasteland. I am the LORD, who speaks righteously, who declares what is right.

²⁰“Come, gather together, and approach, you fugitives of the nations. Those who carry their wooden idols and pray to a god who cannot save have no knowledge.

²¹Speak up and present your case  — yes, let them consult each other. Who predicted this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but me, a righteous God and Savior; there is no one except me.

²²Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.

²³By myself I have sworn; truth has gone from my mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow to me, every tongue will swear allegiance.

²⁴It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength are found only in the LORD.’” All who are enraged against him will come to him and be put to shame.

²⁵All the descendants of Israel will be justified and find glory through the LORD.

¹Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue.

³When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

⁴When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter.

⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers and sisters, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us.

⁹He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”

¹²The whole assembly became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describe all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers and sisters, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name.

¹⁵And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

¹⁶After these things I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again,

¹⁷so the rest of humanity may seek the Lord — even all the Gentiles who are called by my name — declares the Lord who makes these things

¹⁸known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God,

²⁰but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.

²¹For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.”

²²Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to select men who were among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers.

²³They wrote: “From the apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts,

²⁵we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will personally report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision — and ours — not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements:

²⁹that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things. Farewell.”

³⁰So they were sent off and went down to Antioch, and after gathering the assembly, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

³²Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers and sisters and strengthened them with a long message.

³³After spending some time there, they were sent back in peace by the brothers and sisters to those who had sent them.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas, along with many others, remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming the word of the Lord.

³⁶After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark.

³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.

³⁹They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.