Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began

²just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.

³He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’ ”

⁴This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

⁵All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁶His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am — so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.

⁸I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

⁹One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.

¹⁰As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.

¹¹And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

¹²The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,

¹³where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.

¹⁴Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.

¹⁵“The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

¹⁶One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.

¹⁷Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

¹⁸And they left their nets at once and followed him.

¹⁹A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets.

²⁰He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

²¹Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach.

²²The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority — quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

²³Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out,

²⁴“Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!”

²⁵But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered.

²⁶At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

²⁷Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!”

²⁸The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.

²⁹After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home.

³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away.

³¹So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.

³²That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus.

³³The whole town gathered at the door to watch.

³⁴So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.

³⁵Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

³⁶Later Simon and the others went out to find him.

³⁷When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

³⁸But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”

³⁹So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

⁴²Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

⁴³Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning:

⁴⁴“Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

⁴⁵But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.

¹Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east.

²He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.

³It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well.

⁴Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.

⁵“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied.

⁶“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”

⁷Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight — too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?”

⁸“We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.”

⁹Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd.

¹⁰And because Rachel was his cousin — the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother — and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock.

¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud.

¹²He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side — the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.

¹³As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story,

¹⁴Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month,

¹⁵Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”

¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.

¹⁷There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.

¹⁸Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”

¹⁹“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”

²⁰So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

²¹Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”

²²So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast.

²³But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.

²⁴(Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)

²⁵But when Jacob woke up in the morning — it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”

²⁶“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied.

²⁷“But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too — provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”

²⁸So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too.

²⁹(Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.)

³⁰So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.

³¹When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.

³²So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”

³³She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The LORD heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”

³⁴Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”

³⁵Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the LORD!” And then she stopped having children.

¹If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

²If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

³If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

⁴Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

⁵or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

⁶It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

⁷Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

⁸Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

⁹Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!

¹⁰But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

¹¹When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

¹²Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³Three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love.

¹So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.

²Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,

³now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

⁴You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

⁵And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

⁶As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

⁷Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”

⁸And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

⁹But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

¹⁰“Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

¹¹Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

¹²Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

¹³For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority — whether the king as head of state,

¹⁴or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

¹⁵It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.

¹⁶For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

¹⁷Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

¹⁸You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you — not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

¹⁹For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.

²⁰Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.

²¹For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

²²He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.

²³He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.

²⁴He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

²⁵Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

¹Job continued speaking:

²“I long for the years gone by when God took care of me,

³when he lit up the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness.

⁴When I was in my prime, God’s friendship was felt in my home.

⁵The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me.

⁶My steps were awash in cream, and the rocks gushed olive oil for me.

⁷“Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders.

⁸The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.

⁹The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths.

¹⁰The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect.

¹¹“All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me.

¹²For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.

¹³I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy.

¹⁴Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban.

¹⁵I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.

¹⁶I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.

¹⁷I broke the jaws of godless oppressors and plucked their victims from their teeth.

¹⁸“I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life.

¹⁹For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.

²⁰New honors are constantly bestowed on me, and my strength is continually renewed.’

²¹“Everyone listened to my advice. They were silent as they waited for me to speak.

²²And after I spoke, they had nothing to add, for my counsel satisfied them.

²³They longed for me to speak as people long for rain. They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.

²⁴When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them.

²⁵Like a chief, I told them what to do. I lived like a king among his troops and comforted those who mourned.

¹Honor the LORD, you heavenly beings ; honor the LORD for his glory and strength.

²Honor the LORD for the glory of his name. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

³The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The LORD thunders over the mighty sea.

⁴The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

⁵The voice of the LORD splits the mighty cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.

⁷The voice of the LORD strikes with bolts of lightning.

⁸The voice of the LORD makes the barren wilderness quake; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”

¹⁰The LORD rules over the floodwaters. The LORD reigns as king forever.

¹¹The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.

¹Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

²When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

³The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.

⁴A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.

⁵To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet.

⁶Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.

⁷The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.

⁸Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger.

⁹If a wise person takes a fool to court, there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate blameless people, but the upright seek to help them.

¹¹Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

¹²If a ruler pays attention to liars, all his advisers will be wicked.

¹³The poor and the oppressor have this in common — the LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a king judges the poor fairly, his throne will last forever.

¹⁵To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.

¹⁶When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.

¹⁸When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

¹⁹Words alone will not discipline a servant; the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.

²⁰There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.

²¹A servant pampered from childhood will become a rebel.

²²An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

²³Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.

²⁴If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify.

²⁵Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.

²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the LORD.

²⁷The righteous despise the unjust; the wicked despise the godly.

¹On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

²“Israel’s leaders took charge, and the people gladly followed. Praise the LORD!

³“Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you mighty rulers! For I will sing to the LORD. I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁴“LORD, when you set out from Seir and marched across the fields of Edom, the earth trembled, and the cloudy skies poured down rain.

⁵The mountains quaked in the presence of the LORD, the God of Mount Sinai — in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁶“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, and in the days of Jael, people avoided the main roads, and travelers stayed on winding pathways.

⁷There were few people left in the villages of Israel — until Deborah arose as a mother for Israel.

⁸When Israel chose new gods, war erupted at the city gates. Yet not a shield or spear could be seen among forty thousand warriors in Israel!

⁹My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with those who volunteered for war. Praise the LORD!

¹⁰“Consider this, you who ride on fine donkeys, you who sit on fancy saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road.

¹¹Listen to the village musicians gathered at the watering holes. They recount the righteous victories of the LORD and the victories of his villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD marched down to the city gates.

¹²“Wake up, Deborah, wake up! Wake up, wake up, and sing a song! Arise, Barak! Lead your captives away, son of Abinoam!

¹³“Down from Tabor marched the few against the nobles. The people of the LORD marched down against mighty warriors.

¹⁴They came down from Ephraim — a land that once belonged to the Amalekites; they followed you, Benjamin, with your troops. From Makir the commanders marched down; from Zebulun came those who carry a commander’s staff.

¹⁵The princes of Issachar were with Deborah and Barak. They followed Barak, rushing into the valley. But in the tribe of Reuben there was great indecision.

¹⁶Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds — to hear the shepherds whistle for their flocks? Yes, in the tribe of Reuben there was great indecision.

¹⁷Gilead remained east of the Jordan. And why did Dan stay home? Asher sat unmoved at the seashore, remaining in his harbors.

¹⁸But Zebulun risked his life, as did Naphtali, on the heights of the battlefield.

¹⁹“The kings of Canaan came and fought, at Taanach near Megiddo’s springs, but they carried off no silver treasures.

²⁰The stars fought from heaven. The stars in their orbits fought against Sisera.

²¹The Kishon River swept them away — that ancient torrent, the Kishon. March on with courage, my soul!

²²Then the horses’ hooves hammered the ground, the galloping, galloping of Sisera’s mighty steeds.

²³‘Let the people of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the LORD. ‘Let them be utterly cursed, because they did not come to help the LORD — to help the LORD against the mighty warriors.’

²⁴“Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. May she be blessed above all women who live in tents.

²⁵Sisera asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a bowl fit for nobles, she brought him yogurt.

²⁶Then with her left hand she reached for a tent peg, and with her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera with the hammer, crushing his head. With a shattering blow, she pierced his temples.

²⁷He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet. And where he sank, there he died.

²⁸“From the window Sisera’s mother looked out. Through the window she watched for his return, saying, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why don’t we hear the sound of chariot wheels?’

²⁹“Her wise women answer, and she repeats these words to herself:

³⁰‘They must be dividing the captured plunder — with a woman or two for every man. There will be colorful robes for Sisera, and colorful, embroidered robes for me. Yes, the plunder will include colorful robes embroidered on both sides.’

³¹“LORD, may all your enemies die like Sisera! But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!” Then there was peace in the land for forty years.

¹“What sorrow awaits Ariel, the City of David. Year after year you celebrate your feasts.

²Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means — an altar covered with blood.

³I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it.

⁴Then deep from the earth you will speak; from low in the dust your words will come. Your voice will whisper from the ground like a ghost conjured up from the grave.

⁵“But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant,

⁶I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.

⁷All the nations fighting against Jerusalem will vanish like a dream! Those who are attacking her walls will vanish like a vision in the night.

⁸A hungry person dreams of eating but wakes up still hungry. A thirsty person dreams of drinking but is still faint from thirst when morning comes. So it will be with your enemies, with those who attack Mount Zion.”

⁹Are you amazed and incredulous? Don’t you believe it? Then go ahead and be blind. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from liquor!

¹⁰For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.

¹¹All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, “We can’t read it because it is sealed.”

¹²When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, “We don’t know how to read.”

¹³And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

¹⁴Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”

¹⁵What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their evil deeds in the dark! “The LORD can’t see us,” they say. “He doesn’t know what’s going on!”

¹⁶How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?

¹⁷Soon — and it will not be very long — the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.

¹⁸In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.

¹⁹The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the LORD. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear, and those who plot evil will be killed.

²¹Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear. A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.

²²That is why the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel, “My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear.

²³For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

²⁴Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction.

¹In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach

²until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

³During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

⁴Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before.

⁵John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.

¹⁰As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.

¹³When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James).

¹⁴They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

¹⁵During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them.

¹⁶“Brothers,” he said, “the Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided those who arrested Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David.

¹⁷Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”

¹⁸(Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.

¹⁹The news of his death spread to all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)

²⁰Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

²¹“So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus —

²²from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen

²⁵as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.