Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,

²just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,

³it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus;

⁴so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

⁵In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

⁷And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in years.

⁸Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.

¹¹Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

¹²Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.

¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF FATHERS BACK TO their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her years.”

¹⁹The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁰And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

²²But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly made signs to them, and remained speechless.

²³When the days of his priestly service were concluded, he went back home.

²⁴Now after these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

²⁵“This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among people.”

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.

³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

³⁴But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.

³⁶And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.”

³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹Now at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,

⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴²And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

⁴⁸For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant; For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.

⁵⁰And His mercy is to generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.

⁵¹He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent the rich away empty-handed.

⁵⁴He has given help to His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

⁵⁵Just as He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

⁵⁷Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

⁵⁸Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after his father.

⁶⁰And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”

⁶¹And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”

⁶²And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

⁶³And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.

⁶⁴And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God.

⁶⁵And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in the entire hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

⁶⁹And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David—

⁷⁰Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times—

⁷¹Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us;

⁷²To show mercy to our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant,

⁷³The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,

⁷⁴To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Would serve Him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;

⁷⁷To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

⁷⁹To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will provide light in the front of the lampstand.’ ”

³Therefore Aaron did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flower ornamentation it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

⁵Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁶“Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them.

⁷This is what you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and have them use a razor over their whole body, and they shall wash their clothes and cleanse themselves.

⁸Then have them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and you shall take a second bull as a sin offering.

⁹So you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel,

¹⁰and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.

¹¹Aaron then shall present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may qualify to perform the service of the LORD.

¹²Now the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then you are to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the LORD.

¹⁴“So you shall single out the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

¹⁵Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering;

¹⁶for they are exclusively given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of the firstborn of every womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.

¹⁷For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the people and among the animals; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself.

¹⁸But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel.

¹⁹And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no affliction among the sons of Israel due to their approaching the sanctuary.”

²⁰So this is what Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites; according to everything that the LORD had commanded Moses regarding the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them.

²¹The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.

²²Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴“This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting.

²⁵But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work anymore.

²⁶They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, to fulfill an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. In this way you shall deal with the Levites in their obligations.”

¹Let love of the brothers and sisters continue.

²Do not neglect hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

³Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are badly treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

⁴Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

⁵Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER ABANDON YOU,”

⁶so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

⁷Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their way of life, imitate their faith.

⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.

⁹Do not be misled by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp.

¹²Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood.

¹³So then, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

¹⁴For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

¹⁵Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.

¹⁶And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they may do this with joy, not groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you.

¹⁸Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.

¹⁹And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you more quickly.

²⁰Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord,

²¹equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²But I urge you, brothers and sisters, listen patiently to this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

²³Know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.

²⁴Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵Grace be with you all.

¹Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him.

²He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft.

³Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

⁴They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁵And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person.

⁶And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will flee from them!

⁷The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like human faces.

⁸They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

⁹They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

¹⁰They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months.

¹¹They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹²The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

¹³Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

¹⁴saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

¹⁵And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

¹⁶The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

¹⁷And this is how I saw in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths *came fire and smoke and brimstone.

¹⁸A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.

¹⁹For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

²⁰The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

²¹and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their witchcraft, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.

¹Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

²The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

³The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

⁴Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life.

⁵However, reach out with Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!”

⁶So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

⁷Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

⁸And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes.

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹Now when Job’s three friends heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, they came, each one from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.

¹²When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

¹³Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

¹Help, LORD, for the godly person has come to an end, For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.

²They speak lies to one another; They speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

³May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things;

⁴Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”

⁵“Because of the devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶The words of the LORD are pure words; Like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.

⁷You, LORD, will keep them; You will protect him from this generation forever.

⁸The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

¹My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,

²Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding.

³For if you cry out for insight, And raise your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸Guarding the paths of justice, And He watches over the way of His godly ones.

⁹Then you will discern righteousness, justice, And integrity, and every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be delightful to your soul;

¹¹Discretion will watch over you, Understanding will guard you,

¹²To rescue you from the way of evil, From a person who speaks perverse things;

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

¹⁵Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

¹⁶To rescue you from the strange woman, From the foreign woman who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

²⁰So you will walk in the way of good people And keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will live in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be eliminated from the land, And the treacherous will be torn away from it.

¹Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come, and let’s cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

²Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron. And the people who were with him numbered about six hundred men;

³and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

⁴Now between the gorges by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other, Seneh.

⁵The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba.

⁶Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come, and let’s cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men; perhaps the LORD will work for us, because the LORD is not limited to saving by many or by few!”

⁷His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is in your heart; turn yourself to it, and here I am with you, as your heart desires.”

⁸Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we are going to cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them.

⁹If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you’; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them.

¹⁰But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has handed them over to us; and this shall be the sign to us.”

¹¹When the two of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, “Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have kept themselves hidden.”

¹²So the men of the garrison responded to Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us and we will inform you of something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has handed them over to Israel.”

¹³Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and the men fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him.

¹⁴Now that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer inflicted was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land.

¹⁵And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.

¹⁶Now Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude dissolved; they went here and there.

¹⁷So Saul said to the people who were with him, “Look carefully now and see who has left us.” And when they had looked, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

¹⁸Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For at that time the ark of God was with the sons of Israel.

¹⁹While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

²⁰Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow Philistine, and there was very great confusion.

²¹Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even they also returned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

²²When all the men of Israel who had kept themselves hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they also closely pursued them in the battle.

²³So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.

²⁴Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.

²⁵All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.

²⁶When the people entered the forest, behold, there was honey dripping; but no man put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath.

²⁷However, Jonathan had not heard it when his father put the people under oath; so he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.

²⁸Then one of the people responded and said, “Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’ ” And the people were weary.

²⁹Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now that my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

³⁰How much more, if only the people had freely eaten today of the spoils of their enemies which they found! For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹They attacked the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. But the people were very tired.

³²So the people loudly rushed upon the spoils, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.

³³Then observers informed Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating meat with the blood.” And he said, “You have acted treacherously; roll a large rock to me today.”

³⁴Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating it with the blood.’ ” So all the people brought them that night, each one his ox with him, and they slaughtered them there.

³⁵And Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first altar that he built to the LORD.

³⁶Then Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines by night and take plunder among them until the morning light, and let’s not leave a man among them alive.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” So the priest said, “Let’s approach God here.”

³⁷So Saul inquired of God: “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You hand them over to Israel?” But He did not answer him on that day.

³⁸Then Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and investigate and see how this sin has happened today.

³⁹For as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall assuredly die!” But not one of all the people answered him.

⁴⁰Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”

⁴¹Therefore, Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected by lot, but the people were exonerated.

⁴²Then Saul said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected by lot.

⁴³So Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “I did indeed taste a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!”

⁴⁴And Saul said, “May God do the same to me and more also, for you shall certainly die, Jonathan!”

⁴⁵But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, he who has brought about this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As the LORD lives, not even a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, because he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die.

⁴⁶Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

⁴⁷Now when Saul had taken control of the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment.

⁴⁸And he acted valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, and saved Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.

⁴⁹Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger, Michal.

⁵⁰And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.

⁵¹Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵²Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any warrior or any valiant man, he attached him to his staff.

¹For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

²The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.

³You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal headband in the hand of your God.

⁴It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

⁵For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the groom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.

⁶On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who profess the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;

⁷And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem an object of praise on the earth.

⁸The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies, Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”

⁹But those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD; And those who gather it will drink it in the courtyards of My sanctuary.

¹⁰Go through, go through the gates, Clear a way for the people! Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a flag over the peoples.

¹¹Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation is coming; Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”

¹²And they will call them, “The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD”; And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City Not Abandoned.”

¹As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,

⁹if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another,

¹⁶saying, “What are we to do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person in this name.”

¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment;

²⁰for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;

²²for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

²³When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM,

²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY WERE THE NATIONS INSOLENT, AND THE PEOPLES PLOTTING IN VAIN?

²⁶THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’

²⁷For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur.

²⁹And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

³³And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷owned a tract of land. So he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.