Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate.

²Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.”

³And the chief priests started accusing Him of many things.

⁴But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!”

⁵But Jesus said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.

⁶Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

⁷And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt.

⁸And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

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

¹⁰For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.

¹²And responding again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁵Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

¹⁶Now the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman cohort.

¹⁷And they *dressed Him in purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him;

¹⁸and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹And they repeatedly beat His head with a reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him.

²⁰And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

²²Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.

²³And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.

²⁴And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man would take.

²⁵Now it was the third hour when they crucified Him.

²⁶The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷And they *crucified two rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

²⁸

²⁹Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

³⁰save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”

³¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself!

³²Let this Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

³³When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

³⁵And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!”

³⁶And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

³⁷But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died.

³⁸And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw that He died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome.

⁴¹When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and serve Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When evening had already come, since it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴Now Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

⁴⁵And after learning this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.

¹Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, namely, the vow of a Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the LORD,

³he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall consume no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.

⁴All the days of his consecration he shall not eat anything that is produced from the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.

⁵‘All the days of his vow of consecration no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled which he lives as a Nazirite for the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

⁶‘All the days of his life as a Nazirite for the LORD he shall not come up to a dead person.

⁷He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his consecration to God is on his head.

⁸All the days of his consecration he is holy to the LORD.

⁹‘But if someone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head of hair, then he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day.

¹⁰Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young doves to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

¹¹And the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him regarding his sin because of the dead person. And on that same day he shall consecrate his head,

¹²and shall live his days of consecration as a Nazirite for the LORD, and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the preceding days will not count, because his consecration was defiled.

¹³‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his consecration are fulfilled: he shall bring his offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

¹⁴And he shall present his offering to the LORD: one male lamb a year old without defect as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb a year old without defect as a sin offering, one ram without defect as a peace offering,

¹⁵and a basket of unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering.

¹⁶Then the priest shall present them before the LORD and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering.

¹⁷He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁸The Nazirite shall then shave his consecrated head of hair at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and take the consecrated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings.

¹⁹And the priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened loaf from the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair.

²⁰Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered as a wave offering, and the thigh offered as a contribution; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

²¹“This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD according to his consecration, in addition to what else he can afford; corresponding to his vow which he makes, so he shall do according to the law of his consecration.”

²²Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²³“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them:

²⁴The LORD bless you, and keep you;

²⁵The LORD cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you;

²⁶The LORD lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’

²⁷So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and then I will bless them.”

¹Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.

²For by it the people of old gained approval.

³By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible.

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for before he was taken up, he was attested to have been pleasing to God.

⁶And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.

⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going.

⁹By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;

¹⁰for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

¹¹By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.

¹²Therefore even from one man, and one who was as good as dead at that, there were born descendants who were just as the stars of heaven in number, and as the innumerable grains of sand along the seashore.

¹³All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

¹⁴For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

¹⁵And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return.

¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, 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, and the one who had received the promises was offering up his only son;

¹⁸it was he to whom it was said, “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE NAMED.”

¹⁹He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

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

²²By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

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

²⁵choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin,

²⁶considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he persevered, as though seeing Him who is unseen.

²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them.

²⁹By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

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

³¹By faith the prostitute Rahab did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

³²And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,

³³who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,

³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

³⁵Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

³⁶and others experienced mocking and flogging, and further, chains and imprisonment.

³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented

³⁸(people of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, on mountains, and sheltering in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

⁴⁰because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

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

²And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, holding the seal of the living God; and he called out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,

³saying, “Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

⁶from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,

⁷from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,

⁸from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;

¹⁰and they *cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

¹²saying, “Amen, blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?”

¹⁴I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have 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; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.

¹⁶They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat;

¹⁷for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

¹“Oh that you were like a brother to me Who nursed at my mother’s breasts. If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you; No one would despise me, either.

²I would lead you and bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

³Let his left hand be under my head, And his right hand embrace me.”

⁴“Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem: Do not disturb or awaken my love Until she pleases.”

⁵“Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning on her beloved?” “Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother went into labor with you, There she was in labor and gave birth to you.

⁶Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flames are flames of fire, The flame of the LORD.

⁷Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers flood over it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.”

⁸“We have a little sister, And she has no breasts; What shall we do for our sister On the day when she is spoken for?

⁹If she is a wall, We will build on her a battlement of silver; But if she is a door, We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”

¹⁰“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers. Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

¹²My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.”

¹³“You who sit in the gardens: My companions are listening for your voice— Let me hear it!”

¹⁴“Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of balsam trees!”

¹Why do You stand far away, LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

²In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire, And the greedy person curses and shows disrespect to the LORD.

⁴The wicked, in his haughtiness, does not seek Him. There is no God in all his schemes.

⁵His ways succeed at all times; Yet Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.

⁶He says to himself, “I will not be moved; Throughout the generations I will not be in adversity.”

⁷His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; Under his tongue is harm and injustice.

⁸He sits in the lurking places of the villages; He kills the innocent in the secret places; His eyes surreptitiously watch for the unfortunate.

⁹He lurks in secret like a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the needy; He catches the needy when he pulls him into his net.

¹⁰Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers; And unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.

¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

¹²Arise, LORD; God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the humble.

¹³Why has the wicked treated God disrespectfully? He has said to himself, “You will not require an account.”

¹⁴You have seen it, for You have looked at harm and provocation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶The LORD is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land.

¹⁷LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive

¹⁸To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause terror.

¹The words of King Lemuel, the pronouncement which his mother taught him:

²What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?

³Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire intoxicating drink,

⁵Otherwise they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the needy.

⁶Give intoxicating drink to one who is perishing, And wine to one whose life is bitter.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his trouble no more.

⁸Open your mouth for the people who cannot speak, For the rights of all the unfortunate.

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the poor and needy.

¹⁰An excellent wife, who can find her? For her worth is far above jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

¹³She looks for wool and linen, And works with her hands in delight.

¹⁴She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.

¹⁵And she rises while it is still night And gives food to her household, And portions to her attendants.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She surrounds her waist with strength And makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She senses that her profit is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.

²⁰She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

²²She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.

²⁶She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She watches over the activities of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

²⁹“Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.

¹Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I have appointed a king over you.

²Now, here is the king walking before you, but as for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. And I have walked before you since my youth to this day.

³Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.”

⁴And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

⁵So he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

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

⁷Now then, take your stand, so that I may enter into judgment with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD that He did for you and your fathers.

⁸When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

⁹But they forgot the LORD their God, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

¹⁰They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’

¹¹Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

¹²But when you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us!’ Yet the LORD your God was your king.

¹³And now, behold, the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has put a king over you.

¹⁴If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.

¹⁵But if you do not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, even as it was against your fathers.

¹⁶Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the LORD is going to do before your eyes.

¹⁷Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that He will send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD, by asking for yourselves a king.”

¹⁸So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

¹⁹Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.”

²⁰Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.

²¹Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after useless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless.

²²For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.

²³Furthermore, as for me, far be it from me that I would sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

²⁴Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.

²⁵But if you still do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

¹“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

²For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.

³Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴“Raise your eyes all around and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried on the hip.

⁵Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you.

⁶A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And proclaim good news of the praises of the LORD.

⁷All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you, The rams of Nebaioth will serve you; They will go up on My altar with acceptance, And I will glorify My glorious house.

⁸Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their windows?

⁹Certainly the coastlands will wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.

¹⁰“Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will serve you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you.

¹¹Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that people may bring you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession.

¹²For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.

¹³The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the elm tree and the cedar together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I will make the place of My feet glorious.

¹⁴The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow down at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated With no one passing through, I will make you an object of pride forever, A joy from generation to generation.

¹⁶You will also suck the milk of nations, And suck the breast of kings; Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

¹⁷Instead of bronze I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver, And instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your administrators, And righteousness your overseers.

¹⁸Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.

¹⁹No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor will the moon give you light for brightness; But you will have the LORD as an everlasting light, And your God as your glory.

²⁰Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD as an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over.

²¹Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.

²²The smallest one will become a thousand, And the least one a mighty nation. I, the LORD, will bring it about quickly in its time.”

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

²And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

³And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them.

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.

⁵Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

⁶And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

⁷They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

⁹Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.”

¹²And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”

¹⁴But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day;

¹⁶but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS;

¹⁸AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, And they will prophesy.

¹⁹AND I WILL DISPLAY WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

²⁰THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD COMES.

²¹AND IT SHALL BE that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

²²“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—

²³this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

²⁴But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

²⁵For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME, BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.

²⁶THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE WAS OVERJOYED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;

²⁷FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.

²⁸YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’

²⁹“Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰So because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne,

³¹he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.

³²It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses.

³³Therefore, since He has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.

³⁴For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

³⁵UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized 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 your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

⁴⁰And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

⁴¹So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

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

⁴³Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

⁴⁴And all the believers were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.

⁴⁶Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.