Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.

²(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

³All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.

⁴And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.

⁵He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

⁶And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.

⁷She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

⁸That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.

⁹Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

¹⁰but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.

¹¹The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

¹²And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others — the armies of heaven — praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

¹⁵When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

¹⁷After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.

¹⁸All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,

¹⁹but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

²⁰The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

²¹Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.

²²Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

²³The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD.”

²⁴So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord — “either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him

²⁶and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

²⁷That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,

²⁸Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.

³⁰I have seen your salvation,

³¹which you have prepared for all people.

³²He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

³³Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him.

³⁴Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him.

³⁵As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

³⁶Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.

³⁷Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.

³⁸She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

³⁹When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.

⁴⁰There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

⁴¹Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

⁴²When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual.

⁴³After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first,

⁴⁴because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends.

⁴⁵When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there.

⁴⁶Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.

⁴⁷All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

⁴⁸His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”

⁴⁹“But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

⁵⁰But they didn’t understand what he meant.

⁵¹Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart.

⁵²Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

¹A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. In the first month of that year he said,

²“Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the prescribed time,

³at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. Be sure to follow all my decrees and regulations concerning this celebration.”

⁴So Moses told the people to celebrate the Passover

⁵in the wilderness of Sinai as twilight fell on the fourteenth day of the month. And they celebrated the festival there, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁶But some of the men had been ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, so they could not celebrate the Passover that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day

⁷and said, “We have become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body. But why should we be prevented from presenting the LORD’s offering at the proper time with the rest of the Israelites?”

⁸Moses answered, “Wait here until I have received instructions for you from the LORD.”

⁹This was the LORD’s reply to Moses.

¹⁰“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people now or in future generations are ceremonially unclean at Passover time because of touching a dead body, or if they are on a journey and cannot be present at the ceremony, they may still celebrate the LORD’s Passover.

¹¹They must offer the Passover sacrifice one month later, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They must eat the Passover lamb at that time with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.

¹²They must not leave any of the lamb until the next morning, and they must not break any of its bones. They must follow all the normal regulations concerning the Passover.

¹³“But those who neglect to celebrate the Passover at the regular time, even though they are ceremonially clean and not away on a trip, will be cut off from the community of Israel. If they fail to present the LORD’s offering at the proper time, they will suffer the consequences of their guilt.

¹⁴And if foreigners living among you want to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, they must follow these same decrees and regulations. The same laws apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.”

¹⁵On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire.

¹⁶This was the regular pattern — at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire.

¹⁷Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp.

¹⁸In this way, they traveled and camped at the LORD’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle.

¹⁹If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the LORD.

²⁰Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the LORD commanded. Then at the LORD’s command they would break camp and move on.

²¹Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on.

²²Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on.

²³So they camped or traveled at the LORD’s command, and they did whatever the LORD told them through Moses.

¹This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.

²God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.

³The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,

⁴and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

⁵Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

⁶And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

⁸Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.

⁹God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

¹⁰One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you.

¹¹For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.

¹²When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

¹³I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.

¹⁴For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.

¹⁵So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the Jew first and also the Gentile.

¹⁷This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

¹⁸But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

¹⁹They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.

²⁰For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

²¹Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

²²Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

²³And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.

²⁵They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

²⁶That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.

²⁷And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

²⁸Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

²⁹Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.

³⁰They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.

³¹They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.

³²They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

¹Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire.

²And in his hand was a small scroll that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.

³And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered.

⁴When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.”

⁵Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven.

⁶He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay.

⁷When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets.”

⁸Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again: “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

⁹So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!”

¹⁰So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach.

¹¹Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

¹At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth.

²He said:

³“Let the day of my birth be erased, and the night I was conceived.

⁴Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let no light shine on it.

⁵Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it.

⁶Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months.

⁷Let that night be childless. Let it have no joy.

⁸Let those who are experts at cursing — whose cursing could rouse Leviathan — curse that day.

⁹Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light.

¹⁰Curse that day for failing to shut my mother’s womb, for letting me be born to see all this trouble.

¹¹“Why wasn’t I born dead? Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

¹²Why was I laid on my mother’s lap? Why did she nurse me at her breasts?

¹³Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace. I would be asleep and at rest.

¹⁴I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers, whose great buildings now lie in ruins.

¹⁵I would rest with princes, rich in gold, whose palaces were filled with silver.

¹⁶Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light?

¹⁷For in death the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest.

¹⁸Even captives are at ease in death, with no guards to curse them.

¹⁹Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Oh, why give light to those in misery, and life to those who are bitter?

²¹They long for death, and it won’t come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure.

²²They’re filled with joy when they finally die, and rejoice when they find the grave.

²³Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties?

²⁴I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water.

²⁵What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true.

²⁶I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.”

¹O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?

²How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

³Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

⁴Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

⁵But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

⁶I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me.

¹My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.

²If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.

³Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

⁷Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

¹⁰Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

¹¹My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

¹²For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

¹³Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.

¹⁴For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

¹⁵Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.

¹⁷She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.

¹⁸Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.

¹⁹By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.

²⁰By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.

²¹My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,

²²for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.

²³They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.

²⁴You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.

²⁵You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,

²⁶for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.

²⁸If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”

²⁹Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.

³⁰Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.

³¹Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.

³²Such wicked people are detestable to the LORD, but he offers his friendship to the godly.

³³The LORD curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.

³⁴The LORD mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.

³⁵The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!

¹One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the LORD who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the LORD!

²This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt.

³Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation — men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”

⁴So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah.

⁵Then Saul and his army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley.

⁶Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left.

⁷Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt.

⁸He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else.

⁹Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs — everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.

¹⁰Then the LORD said to Samuel,

¹¹“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the LORD all night.

¹²Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”

¹³When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the LORD bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the LORD’s command!”

¹⁴“Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.

¹⁵“It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the LORD your God. We have destroyed everything else.”

¹⁶Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the LORD told me last night!” “What did he tell you?” Saul asked.

¹⁷And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed you king of Israel.

¹⁸And the LORD sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’

¹⁹Why haven’t you obeyed the LORD? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the LORD’s sight?”

²⁰“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else.

²¹Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

²²But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

²³Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

²⁴Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.

²⁵But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the LORD.”

²⁶But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the LORD’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”

²⁷As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe.

²⁸And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else — one who is better than you.

²⁹And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”

³⁰Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the LORD your God.”

³¹So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

³²Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!”

³³But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.

³⁴Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

³⁵Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the LORD was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel.

¹Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in his great strength? “It is I, the LORD, announcing your salvation! It is I, the LORD, who has the power to save!”

²Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes?

³“I have been treading the winepress alone; no one was there to help me. In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. Their blood has stained my clothes.

⁴For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors.

⁵I was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So I myself stepped in to save them with my strong arm, and my wrath sustained me.

⁶I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground, spilling their blood upon the earth.”

⁷I will tell of the LORD’s unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.

⁸He said, “They are my very own people. Surely they will not betray me again.” And he became their Savior.

⁹In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

¹⁰But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.

¹¹Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, “Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people?

¹²Where is the one whose power was displayed when Moses lifted up his hand — the one who divided the sea before them, making himself famous forever?

¹³Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling.

¹⁴As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led your people, LORD, and gained a magnificent reputation.”

¹⁵LORD, look down from heaven; look from your holy, glorious home, and see us. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now?

¹⁶Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, LORD, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past.

¹⁷LORD, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you? Return and help us, for we are your servants, the tribes that are your special possession.

¹⁸How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place, and now our enemies have destroyed it.

¹⁹Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you, as though we had never been known as your people.

¹But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.

²He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.

⁴The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

⁵As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.

⁶Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”

¹⁰Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

¹²The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.

¹⁴Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord — crowds of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.

¹⁶Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them,

²⁰“Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!”

²¹So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council — the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.

²²But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported,

²³“The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”

²⁴When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.

²⁵Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”

²⁶The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.

²⁷Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.

³¹Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

³²We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.

³⁴But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.

³⁵Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!

³⁶Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.

³⁷After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸“So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

⁴⁰The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.

⁴¹The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

⁴²And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”