Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.

²Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.

³Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

⁴Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!

⁵The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.

⁶And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.’”

⁷When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?

⁸Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.

⁹Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰The crowds asked, “What should we do?”

¹¹John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

¹²Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”

¹⁴“What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

¹⁵Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah.

¹⁶John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am — so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹⁷He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

¹⁸John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.

¹⁹John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done.

²⁰So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.

²¹One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy. ”

²³Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli.

²⁴Heli was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Melki. Melki was the son of Jannai. Jannai was the son of Joseph.

²⁵Joseph was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Amos. Amos was the son of Nahum. Nahum was the son of Esli. Esli was the son of Naggai.

²⁶Naggai was the son of Maath. Maath was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Semein. Semein was the son of Josech. Josech was the son of Joda.

²⁷Joda was the son of Joanan. Joanan was the son of Rhesa. Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the son of Neri.

²⁸Neri was the son of Melki. Melki was the son of Addi. Addi was the son of Cosam. Cosam was the son of Elmadam. Elmadam was the son of Er.

²⁹Er was the son of Joshua. Joshua was the son of Eliezer. Eliezer was the son of Jorim. Jorim was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi.

³⁰Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the son of Judah. Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Jonam. Jonam was the son of Eliakim.

³¹Eliakim was the son of Melea. Melea was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of Mattatha. Mattatha was the son of Nathan. Nathan was the son of David.

³²David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obed. Obed was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the son of Salmon. Salmon was the son of Nahshon.

³³Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Arni. Arni was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah.

³⁴Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor.

³⁵Nahor was the son of Serug. Serug was the son of Reu. Reu was the son of Peleg. Peleg was the son of Eber. Eber was the son of Shelah.

³⁶Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech.

³⁷Lamech was the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was the son of Jared. Jared was the son of Mahalalel. Mahalalel was the son of Kenan.

³⁸Kenan was the son of Enosh. Enosh was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.

¹Now the LORD said to Moses,

²“Make two trumpets of hammered silver for calling the community to assemble and for signaling the breaking of camp.

³When both trumpets are blown, everyone must gather before you at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

⁴But if only one trumpet is blown, then only the leaders — the heads of the clans of Israel — must present themselves to you.

⁵“When you sound the signal to move on, the tribes camped on the east side of the Tabernacle must break camp and move forward.

⁶When you sound the signal a second time, the tribes camped on the south will follow. You must sound short blasts as the signal for moving on.

⁷But when you call the people to an assembly, blow the trumpets with a different signal.

⁸Only the priests, Aaron’s descendants, are allowed to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.

⁹“When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the LORD your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies.

¹⁰Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind your God of his covenant with you. I am the LORD your God.”

¹¹In the second year after Israel’s departure from Egypt — on the twentieth day of the second month — the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

¹²So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran.

¹³When the people set out for the first time, following the instructions the LORD had given through Moses,

¹⁴Judah’s troops led the way. They marched behind their banner, and their leader was Nahshon son of Amminadab.

¹⁵They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Issachar, led by Nethanel son of Zuar,

¹⁶and the troops of the tribe of Zebulun, led by Eliab son of Helon.

¹⁷Then the Tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonite and Merarite divisions of the Levites were next in the line of march, carrying the Tabernacle with them.

¹⁸Reuben’s troops went next, marching behind their banner. Their leader was Elizur son of Shedeur.

¹⁹They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Simeon, led by Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai,

²⁰and the troops of the tribe of Gad, led by Eliasaph son of Deuel.

²¹Next came the Kohathite division of the Levites, carrying the sacred objects from the Tabernacle. Before they arrived at the next camp, the Tabernacle would already be set up at its new location.

²²Ephraim’s troops went next, marching behind their banner. Their leader was Elishama son of Ammihud.

²³They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Manasseh, led by Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,

²⁴and the troops of the tribe of Benjamin, led by Abidan son of Gideoni.

²⁵Dan’s troops went last, marching behind their banner and serving as the rear guard for all the tribal camps. Their leader was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

²⁶They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Asher, led by Pagiel son of Ocran,

²⁷and the troops of the tribe of Naphtali, led by Ahira son of Enan.

²⁸This was the order in which the Israelites marched, division by division.

²⁹One day Moses said to his brother-in-law, Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, “We are on our way to the place the LORD promised us, for he said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised wonderful blessings for Israel!”

³⁰But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go. I must return to my own land and family.”

³¹“Please don’t leave us,” Moses pleaded. “You know the places in the wilderness where we should camp. Come, be our guide.

³²If you do, we’ll share with you all the blessings the LORD gives us.”

³³They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest.

³⁴As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them.

³⁵And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!”

³⁶And when the Ark was set down, he would say, “Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel!”

¹You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.

²And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.

³Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?

⁴Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

⁵But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁶He will judge everyone according to what they have done.

⁷He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

⁸But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.

⁹There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil — for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.

¹⁰But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good — for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.

¹¹For God does not show favoritism.

¹²When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.

¹³For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.

¹⁴Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.

¹⁵They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.

¹⁶And this is the message I proclaim — that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

¹⁷You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him.

¹⁸You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law.

¹⁹You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness.

²⁰You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth.

²¹Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal?

²²You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples?

²³You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it.

²⁴No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.”

²⁵The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile.

²⁶And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people?

²⁷In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it.

²⁸For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.

²⁹No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

¹Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers.

²But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months.

³And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”

⁴These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.

⁵If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die.

⁶They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.

⁷When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.

⁸And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified.

⁹And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them.

¹⁰All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.

¹¹But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them.

¹²Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.

¹³At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.

¹⁵Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

¹⁶The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.

¹⁷And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.

¹⁸The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”

¹⁹Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:

²“Will you be patient and let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out?

³“In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak.

⁴Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees.

⁵But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you.

⁶Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

⁷“Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed?

⁸My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.

⁹A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.

¹⁰The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.

¹¹The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

¹²“This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear.

¹³It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep.

¹⁴Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled.

¹⁵A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end.

¹⁶The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say,

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

¹⁸“If God does not trust his own angels and has charged his messengers with foolishness,

¹⁹how much less will he trust people made of clay! They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.

²⁰They are alive in the morning but dead by evening, gone forever without a trace.

²¹Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses, and they die in ignorance.

¹Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!

²The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.

³But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

⁴Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to the LORD.

⁵Terror will grip them, for God is with those who obey him.

⁶The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed, but the LORD will protect his people.

⁷Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When the LORD restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

¹My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment,

²for I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions.

³For I, too, was once my father’s son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.

⁴My father taught me, “Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live.

⁵Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.

⁶Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.

⁷Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.

⁸If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you.

⁹She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

¹⁰My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.

¹¹I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths.

¹²When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.

¹³Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.

¹⁴Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers.

¹⁵Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.

¹⁶For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.

¹⁷They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!

¹⁸The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

²⁰My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words.

²¹Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart,

²²for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

²³Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

²⁴Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.

²⁵Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

²⁶Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.

²⁷Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

¹Now the LORD said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

²But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” “Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.

³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”

⁴So Samuel did as the LORD instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”

⁵“Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.

⁶When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the LORD’s anointed!”

⁷But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

⁸Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the LORD has chosen.”

⁹Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the LORD has chosen.”

¹⁰In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.”

¹¹Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹²So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the LORD said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

¹³So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

¹⁴Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

¹⁵Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you.

¹⁶Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”

¹⁷“All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”

¹⁸One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that — he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the LORD is with him.”

¹⁹So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.”

²⁰Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.

²¹So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.

²²Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”

²³And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.

¹Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence!

²As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!

³When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked!

⁴For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!

⁵You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved?

⁶We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

⁷Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins.

⁸And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.

⁹Don’t be so angry with us, LORD. Please don’t remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.

¹⁰Your holy cities are destroyed. Zion is a wilderness; yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.

¹¹The holy and beautiful Temple where our ancestors praised you has been burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed.

¹²After all this, LORD, must you still refuse to help us? Will you continue to be silent and punish us?

¹But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

²So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.

³And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.

⁴Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

⁶These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁸Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.

⁹But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia.

¹⁰None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

¹¹So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.”

¹²This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

¹³The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.

¹⁴We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.