Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

²So Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.”

³And the chief priests accused him of many things.

⁴Pilate questioned him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!”

⁵But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.

⁶At the festival Pilate used to release for the people a prisoner whom they requested.

⁷There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion.

⁸The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them as was his custom.

⁹Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?”

¹⁰For he knew it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed him over.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead.

¹²Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³Again they shouted, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

¹⁶The soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence ) and called the whole company together.

¹⁷They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him.

¹⁸And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying him homage.

²⁰After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him. They led him out to crucify him.

²¹They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

²²They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull ).

²³They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

²⁴Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get.

²⁵Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified him.

²⁶The inscription of the charge written against him was: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁷They crucified two criminals with him, one on his right and one on his left.

²⁸

²⁹Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

³⁰save yourself by coming down from the cross!”

³¹In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself!

³²Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.

³³When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

³⁴And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

³⁵When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “See, he’s calling for Elijah.”

³⁶Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered him a drink, and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last.

³⁸Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰There were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

⁴¹In Galilee these women followed him and took care of him. Many other women had come up with him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When it was already evening, because it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath),

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and boldly went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body.

⁴⁴Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had already died.

⁴⁵When he found out from the centurion, he gave the corpse to Joseph.

⁴⁶After he bought some linen cloth, Joseph took him down and wrapped him in the linen. Then he laid him in a tomb cut out of the rock and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he was laid.

¹The LORD instructed Moses:

²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the LORD,

³he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.

⁴He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.

⁵“You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the LORD; he is to let the hair of his head grow long.

⁶He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the LORD.

⁷He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head.

⁸He is holy to the LORD during the time of consecration.

⁹“If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day.

¹⁰On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

¹¹The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he incurred guilt because of the corpse. On that day he is to consecrate his head again.

¹²He is to rededicate his time of consecration to the LORD and to bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But do not count the initial period of consecration because it became defiled.

¹³“This is the law of the Nazirite: On the day his time of consecration is completed, he is to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.

¹⁴He is to present an offering to the LORD of one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a fellowship offering,

¹⁵along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.

¹⁶“The priest is to present these before the LORD and sacrifice the Nazirite’s sin offering and burnt offering.

¹⁷He will also offer the ram as a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD, together with the basket of unleavened bread. Then the priest will offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸“The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair from his head, and put it on the fire under the fellowship sacrifice.

¹⁹The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head.

²⁰The priest is to present them as a presentation offering before the LORD. It is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

²¹“These are the instructions about the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his consecration, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the instructions for his consecration.”

²²The LORD spoke to Moses:

²³“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them,

²⁴“May the LORD bless you and protect you;

²⁵may the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

²⁶may the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace.”’

²⁷In this way they will pronounce my name over the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

¹Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

²For by it our ancestors won God’s approval.

³By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God.

⁶Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

⁷By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.

⁹By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise.

¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

¹¹By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful.

¹²Therefore, from one man — in fact, from one as good as dead — came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.

¹³These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

¹⁴Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

¹⁵If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.

¹⁶But they now desire a better place — a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son,

¹⁸the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be called through Isaac.

¹⁹He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.

²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²²By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.

²³By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict.

²⁴By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter

²⁵and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin.

²⁶For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.

²⁷By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible.

²⁸By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.

²⁹By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days.

³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.

³²And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

³³who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,

³⁴quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

³⁵Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

³⁶Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.

³⁷They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated.

³⁸The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised,

⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.

²Then I saw another angel rising up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea:

³“Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴And I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:

⁵12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

⁶12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

⁷12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

⁸12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁹After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!

¹¹All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,

¹²saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.

¹³Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. The one seated on the throne will shelter them:

¹⁶They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat.

¹⁷For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

¹If only I could treat you like my brother, one who nursed at my mother’s breasts, I would find you in public and kiss you, and no one would scorn me.

²I would lead you, I would take you, to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranate.

³May his left hand be under my head, and his right arm embrace me.

⁴Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.

⁵Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on the one she loves? I awakened you under the apricot tree. There your mother conceived you; there she conceived and gave you birth.

⁶Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames  — an almighty flame!

⁷A huge torrent cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned.

⁸Our sister is young; she has no breasts. What will we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?

⁹If she is a wall, we will build a silver barricade on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with cedar planks.

¹⁰I am a wall and my breasts like towers. So in his eyes I have become like one who finds peace.

¹¹Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased the vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for his fruit one thousand pieces of silver.

¹²I have my own vineyard. The one thousand are for you, Solomon, but two hundred for those who take care of its fruits.

¹³You who dwell in the gardens, companions are listening for your voice; let me hear you!

¹⁴Run away with me, my love, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

¹LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide in times of trouble?

²In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims; let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

³For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings; the one who is greedy curses and despises the LORD.

⁴In all his scheming, the wicked person arrogantly thinks, “There’s no accountability, since there’s no God.”

⁵His ways are always secure; your lofty judgments have no effect on him; he scoffs at all his adversaries.

⁶He says to himself, “I will never be moved — from generation to generation without calamity.”

⁷Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth; trouble and malice are under his tongue.

⁸He waits in ambush near settlements; he kills the innocent in secret places. His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;

⁹he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket. He lurks in order to seize a victim; he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.

¹⁰So he is oppressed and beaten down; helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.

¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he hides his face and will never see.”

¹²Rise up, LORD God! Lift up your hand. Do not forget the oppressed.

¹³Why has the wicked person despised God? He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”

¹⁴But you yourself have seen trouble and grief, observing it in order to take the matter into your hands. The helpless one entrusts himself to you; you are a helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked, evil person, until you look for his wickedness, but it can’t be found.

¹⁶The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.

¹⁷LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully,

¹⁸doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.

¹The words of King Lemuel, a pronouncement that his mother taught him:

²What should I say, my son? What, son of my womb? What, son of my vows?

³Don’t spend your energy on women or your efforts on those who destroy kings.

⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire beer.

⁵Otherwise, he will drink, forget what is decreed, and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

⁶Give beer to one who is dying and wine to one whose life is bitter.

⁷Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more.

⁸Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed.

⁹Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.

¹⁰Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more precious than jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good.

¹²She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.

¹³She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away.

¹⁵She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her female servants.

¹⁶She evaluates a field and buys it; she plants a vineyard with her earnings.

¹⁷She draws on her strength and reveals that her arms are strong.

¹⁸She sees that her profits are good, and her lamp never goes out at night.

¹⁹She extends her hands to the spinning staff, and her hands hold the spindle.

²⁰Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed.

²²She makes her own bed coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes and sells linen garments; she delivers belts to the merchants.

²⁵Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come.

²⁶Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her:

²⁹“Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all!”

³⁰Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised.

³¹Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.

¹Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.

²Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now.

³Here I am. Bring charges against me before the LORD and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged or mistreated? From whom have I accepted a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.”

⁴“You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone,” they responded.

⁵He said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they said.

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “The LORD, who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness.

⁷Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the LORD about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.

⁸“When Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the LORD, and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

⁹But they forgot the LORD their God, so he handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them.

¹⁰Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the LORD and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies, and we will serve you.’

¹¹So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel. He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely.

¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’ — even though the LORD your God is your king.

¹³“Now here is the king you’ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the LORD has placed over you.

¹⁴If you fear the LORD, worship and obey him, and if you don’t rebel against the LORD’s command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.

¹⁵However, if you disobey the LORD and rebel against his command, the LORD’s hand will be against you as it was against your ancestors.

¹⁶“Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.

¹⁷Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the LORD’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”

¹⁸Samuel called on the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

¹⁹They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”

²⁰Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the LORD. Instead, worship the LORD with all your heart.

²¹Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless.

²²The LORD will not abandon his people, because of his great name and because he has determined to make you his own people.

²³“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.

²⁴Above all, fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you.

²⁵However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

¹Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD shines over you.

²For look, darkness will cover the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the LORD will shine over you, and his glory will appear over you.

³Nations will come to your light, and kings to your shining brightness.

⁴Raise your eyes and look around: they all gather and come to you; your sons will come from far away, and your daughters on the hips of nannies.

⁵Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and rejoice, because the riches of the sea will become yours and the wealth of the nations will come to you.

⁶Caravans of camels will cover your land  — young camels of Midian and Ephah — all of them will come from Sheba. They will carry gold and frankincense and proclaim the praises of the LORD.

⁷All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth will serve you and go up on my altar as an acceptable sacrifice. I will glorify my beautiful house.

⁸Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their shelters?

⁹Yes, the coasts and islands will wait for me with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from far away, their silver and gold with them, for the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.

¹⁰Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Although I struck you in my wrath, yet I will show mercy to you with my favor.

¹¹Your city gates will always be open; they will never be shut day or night so that the wealth of the nations may be brought into you, with their kings being led in procession.

¹²For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you will perish; those nations will be annihilated.

¹³The glory of Lebanon will come to you  — its pine, elm, and cypress together  — to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will glorify my dwelling place.

¹⁴The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet. They will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵Instead of your being deserted and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you an object of eternal pride, a joy from age to age.

¹⁶You will nurse on the milk of nations, and nurse at the breast of kings; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

¹⁷I will bring gold instead of bronze; I will bring silver instead of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stones. I will appoint peace as your government and righteousness as your overseers.

¹⁸Violence will never again be heard of in your land; devastation and destruction will be gone from your borders. You will call your walls Salvation and your city gates Praise.

¹⁹The sun will no longer be your light by day, and the brightness of the moon will not shine on you. The LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.

²⁰Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not fade; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will be over.

²¹All your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch I planted, the work of my hands, so that I may be glorified.

²²The least will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; I will accomplish it quickly in its time.

¹When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.

²Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.

³They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.

⁴Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven.

⁶When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

⁷They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?

⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),

¹¹Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”

¹²They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

¹⁴Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.

¹⁶On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.

¹⁹I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

²²“Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know.

²³Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.

²⁴God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.

²⁵For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,

²⁷because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay.

²⁸You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence.

²⁹“Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne.

³¹Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.

³²“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this.

³³Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.

³⁴For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.’

³⁶“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

⁴¹So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

⁴⁴Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.

⁴⁵They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.