Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”

³“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’ ”

⁴John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

⁵Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.

⁸I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.

¹¹Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

¹²Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

¹³And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

¹⁴Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

¹⁶And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

¹⁸They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.

²⁰And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

²¹Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.

²²And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,

²⁴saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

²⁶And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.

²⁷Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

²⁸And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

²⁹Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

³⁰But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.

³¹So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

³²At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

³³And the whole city was gathered together at the door.

³⁴Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

³⁵Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

³⁶And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.

³⁷When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

³⁸But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

³⁹And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

⁴⁰Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

⁴²As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

⁴³And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,

⁴⁴and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

¹So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East.

²And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth.

³Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth.

⁴And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”

⁵Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

⁶So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.”

⁷Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”

⁸But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”

⁹Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

¹⁰And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

¹²And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father.

¹³Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things.

¹⁴And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

¹⁵Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?”

¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

¹⁷Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.

¹⁸Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”

¹⁹And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”

²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.”

²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

²³Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

²⁴And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

²⁵So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”

²⁶And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

²⁷Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”

²⁸Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.

²⁹And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid.

³⁰Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

³¹When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

³²So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”

³³Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.

³⁴She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.

³⁵And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

¹Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

⁴Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

⁶does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

¹⁰But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

¹¹When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

¹²For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

¹³And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

¹Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

²as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

⁴Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,

⁵you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

⁷Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”

⁸and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

⁹But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

¹⁰who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

¹²having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

¹³Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,

¹⁴or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

¹⁵For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—

¹⁶as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.

¹⁷Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

¹⁸Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.

¹⁹For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

²⁰For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

²²“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

²³who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed.

²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

¹Job further continued his discourse, and said:

²“Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me;

³When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness;

⁴Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;

⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me;

⁶When my steps were bathed with cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!

⁷“When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square,

⁸The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood;

⁹The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth;

¹⁰The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.

¹¹When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me;

¹²Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper.

¹³The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.

¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame.

¹⁶I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.

¹⁷I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth.

¹⁸“Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand.

¹⁹My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch.

²⁰My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

²¹“Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.

²²After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew.

²³They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

²⁴If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.

²⁵I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners.

¹A Psalm of David. [1] Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength.

²Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

³The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters.

⁴The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

⁵The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.

⁸The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

¹⁰The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever.

¹¹The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.

¹He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

²When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

³Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.

⁴The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.

⁵A man who flatters his neighbor Spreads a net for his feet.

⁶By transgression an evil man is snared, But the righteous sings and rejoices.

⁷The righteous considers the cause of the poor, But the wicked does not understand such knowledge.

⁸Scoffers set a city aflame, But wise men turn away wrath.

⁹If a wise man contends with a foolish man, Whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate the blameless, But the upright seek his well-being.

¹¹A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back.

¹²If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked.

¹³The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴The king who judges the poor with truth, His throne will be established forever.

¹⁵The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases; But the righteous will see their fall.

¹⁷Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul.

¹⁸Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.

¹⁹A servant will not be corrected by mere words; For though he understands, he will not respond.

²⁰Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹He who pampers his servant from childhood Will have him as a son in the end.

²²An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression.

²³A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

²⁴Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.

²⁵The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor, But justice for man comes from the LORD.

²⁷An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

¹Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:

²“When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD!

³“Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

⁴“LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water;

⁵The mountains gushed before the LORD, This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.

⁶“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.

⁷Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel.

⁸They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

⁹My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the LORD!

¹⁰“Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges’ attire, And who walk along the road.

¹¹Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.

¹²“Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam!

¹³“Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

¹⁴From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.

¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.

¹⁶Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.

¹⁷Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, And why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore, And stayed by his inlets.

¹⁸Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.

¹⁹“The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver.

²⁰They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.

²¹The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength!

²²Then the horses’ hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds.

²³‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’

²⁴“Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents.

²⁵He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.

²⁶She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split and struck through his temple.

²⁷At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; At her feet he sank, he fell; Where he sank, there he fell dead.

²⁸“The mother of Sisera looked through the window, And cried out through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’

²⁹Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered herself,

³⁰‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’

³¹“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength.” So the land had rest for forty years.

¹“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; Let feasts come around.

²Yet I will distress Ariel; There shall be heaviness and sorrow, And it shall be to Me as Ariel.

³I will encamp against you all around, I will lay siege against you with a mound, And I will raise siegeworks against you.

⁴You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium’s, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

⁵“Moreover the multitude of your foes Shall be like fine dust, And the multitude of the terrible ones Like chaff that passes away; Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly.

⁶You will be punished by the LORD of hosts With thunder and earthquake and great noise, With storm and tempest And the flame of devouring fire.

⁷The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel, Even all who fight against her and her fortress, And distress her, Shall be as a dream of a night vision.

⁸It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, And look—he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, And look—he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, And his soul still craves: So the multitude of all the nations shall be, Who fight against Mount Zion.”

⁹Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.

¹⁰For the LORD has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.

¹¹The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

¹²Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”

¹³Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

¹⁴Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

¹⁵Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

¹⁶Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

¹⁷Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?

¹⁸In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.

¹⁹The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off—

²¹Who make a man an offender by a word, And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just by empty words.

²²Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall not now be ashamed, Nor shall his face now grow pale;

²³But when he sees his children, The work of My hands, in his midst, They will hallow My name, And hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel.

²⁴These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, And those who complained will learn doctrine.”

¹The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

²until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

³to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

⁴And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;

⁵for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

¹¹who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

¹³And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,

¹⁶“Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;

¹⁷for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.

¹⁹And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office.’

²¹“Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

²³And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen

²⁵to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”

²⁶And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.