Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On a Sabbath, he passed through the grainfields. His disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.

²But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

³Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry — 

⁴how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat? He even gave some to those who were with him.”

⁵Then he told them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁶On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there whose right hand was shriveled.

⁷The scribes and Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a charge against him.

⁸But he knew their thoughts and told the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand here.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰After looking around at them all, he told him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored.

¹¹They, however, were filled with rage and started discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹²During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God.

¹³When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:

¹⁴Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;

¹⁵Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;

¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷After coming down with them, he stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

¹⁸They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well.

¹⁹The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all.

²⁰Then looking up at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor, because the kingdom of God is yours.

²¹Blessed are you who are now hungry, because you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh.

²²Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Take note — your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.

²⁴But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.

²⁵Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.

²⁷“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you,

²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

²⁹If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don’t ask for them back.

³¹Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.

³²If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

³³If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.

³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full.

³⁵But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.

³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

³⁸Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹He also told them a parable: “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit?

⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹“Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?

⁴²Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.

⁴³“A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit; on the other hand, a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit.

⁴⁴For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush.

⁴⁵A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

⁴⁶“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?

⁴⁷I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them:

⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.

⁴⁹But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses:

²“Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

³Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the LORD’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.

⁴These were their names: Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben;

⁵Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon;

⁶Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;

⁷Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar;

⁸Hoshea son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim;

⁹Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin;

¹⁰Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun;

¹¹Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph);

¹²Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan;

¹³Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher;

¹⁴Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali;

¹⁵Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad.

¹⁶These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country.

¹⁸See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.

¹⁹Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?

²⁰Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.

²¹So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath.

²²They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

²³When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.

²⁴That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there.

²⁵At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.

²⁶The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.

²⁷They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit.

²⁸However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there.

²⁹The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”

³⁰Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”

³¹But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!”

³²So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

³³We even saw the Nephilim there — the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

¹Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

²We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

³And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance,

⁴endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.

⁵This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die.

⁸But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.

¹⁰For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

¹¹And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

¹³In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law.

¹⁴Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One.

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many.

¹⁶And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.

¹⁷Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.

¹⁹For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

²⁰The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more

²¹so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

²I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps.

³They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.

⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth — to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

⁷He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸And another, a second angel, followed, saying, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen. She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”

⁹And another, a third angel, followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

¹⁰he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,

¹¹and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name.

¹²This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

¹⁴Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

¹⁶So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven.

¹⁸Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because its grapes have ripened.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

²⁰Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles.

¹Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired worker?

²Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired worker he waits for his pay.

³So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me.

⁴When I lie down I think, “When will I get up?” But the evening drags on endlessly, and I toss and turn until dawn.

⁵My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt. My skin forms scabs and then oozes.

⁶My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.

⁷Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good.

⁸The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

⁹As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again.

¹⁰He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him.

¹¹Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹²Am I the sea or a sea monster, that you keep me under guard?

¹³When I say, “My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint,”

¹⁴then you frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions,

¹⁵so that I prefer strangling  — death rather than life in this body.

¹⁶I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

¹⁷What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him?

¹⁸You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment.

¹⁹Will you ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow?

²⁰If I have sinned, what have I done to you, Watcher of humanity? Why have you made me your target, so that I have become a burden to you?

²¹Why not forgive my sin and pardon my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.

¹A prayer of David. [1] LORD, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry; listen to my prayer — from lips free of deceit.

²Let my vindication come from you, for you see what is right.

³You have tested my heart; you have examined me at night. You have tried me and found nothing evil; I have determined that my mouth will not sin.

⁴Concerning what people do: by the words from your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵My steps are on your paths; my feet have not slipped.

⁶I call on you, God, because you will answer me; listen closely to me; hear what I say.

⁷Display the wonders of your faithful love, Savior of all who seek refuge from those who rebel against your right hand.

⁸Protect me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁹from the wicked who treat me violently, my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They are uncaring; their mouths speak arrogantly.

¹¹They advance against me; now they surround me. They are determined to throw me to the ground.

¹²They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³Rise up, LORD! Confront him; bring him down. With your sword, save me from the wicked.

¹⁴With your hand, LORD, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.

¹⁵But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.

¹My son, obey my words, and treasure my commands.

²Keep my commands and live, and guard my instructions as you would the pupil of your eye.

³Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your relative.

⁵She will keep you from a forbidden woman, a wayward woman with her flattering talk.

⁶At the window of my house I looked through my lattice.

⁷I saw among the inexperienced, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking sense.

⁸Crossing the street near her corner, he strolled down the road to her house

⁹at twilight, in the evening, in the dark of the night.

¹⁰A woman came to meet him dressed like a prostitute, having a hidden agenda.

¹¹She is loud and defiant; her feet do not stay at home.

¹²Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.

¹³She grabs him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him,

¹⁴“I’ve made fellowship offerings; today I’ve fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵So I came out to meet you, to search for you, and I’ve found you.

¹⁶I’ve spread coverings on my bed  — richly colored linen from Egypt.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning. Let’s feast on each other’s love!

¹⁹My husband isn’t home; he went on a long journey.

²⁰He took a bag of silver with him and will come home at the time of the full moon.”

²¹She seduces him with her persistent pleading; she lures with her flattering talk.

²²He follows her impulsively like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding toward a trap

²³until an arrow pierces its liver, like a bird darting into a snare  — he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

²⁴Now, sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words from my mouth.

²⁵Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways; don’t stray onto her paths.

²⁶For she has brought many down to death; her victims are countless.

²⁷Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

¹Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much,

²so he told him: “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning and hide in a secret place and stay there.

³I’ll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are and talk to him about you. When I see what he says, I’ll tell you.”

⁴Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said to him: “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.

⁵He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

⁶Saul listened to Jonathan’s advice and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed.”

⁷So Jonathan summoned David and told him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he did before.

⁸When war broke out again, David went out and fought against the Philistines. He defeated them with such great force that they fled from him.

⁹Now an evil spirit sent from the LORD came on Saul as he was sitting in his palace holding a spear. David was playing the lyre,

¹⁰and Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. As the spear struck the wall, David eluded Saul, ran away, and escaped that night.

¹¹Saul sent agents to David’s house to watch for him and kill him in the morning. But his wife Michal warned David, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead tomorrow!”

¹²So she lowered David from the window, and he fled and escaped.

¹³Then Michal took the household idol and put it on the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.

¹⁴When Saul sent agents to seize David, Michal said, “He’s sick.”

¹⁵Saul sent the agents back to see David and said, “Bring him on his bed so I can kill him.”

¹⁶When the agents arrived, to their surprise, the household idol was on the bed with some goat hair on its head.

¹⁷Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!” She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you? ’”

¹⁸So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel left and stayed at Naioth.

¹⁹When it was reported to Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah,

²⁰he sent agents to seize David. However, when they saw the group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s agents, and they also started prophesying.

²¹When they reported to Saul, he sent other agents, and they also began prophesying. So Saul tried again and sent a third group of agents, and even they began prophesying.

²²Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the large cistern at Secu and asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “At Naioth in Ramah,” someone said.

²³So he went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God also came on him, and as he walked along, he prophesied until he entered Naioth in Ramah.

²⁴Saul then removed his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel; he collapsed and lay naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

²The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

³It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

⁴The word of the LORD came to me:

⁵I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

⁶But I protested, “Oh no, Lord GOD! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.”

⁷Then the LORD said to me: Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you.

⁸Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the LORD’s declaration.

⁹Then the LORD reached out his hand, touched my mouth, and told me: I have now filled your mouth with my words.

¹⁰See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.

¹¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

¹²The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over my word to accomplish it.”

¹³Again the word of the LORD came to me asking, “What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a boiling pot, its lip tilted from the north to the south.”

¹⁴Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster will be poured out from the north on all who live in the land.

¹⁵Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.” This is the LORD’s declaration. They will come, and each king will set up his throne at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.

¹⁶“I will pronounce my judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.

¹⁷“Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them.

¹⁸Today, I am the one who has made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land — against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population.

¹⁹They will fight against you but never prevail over you, since I am with you to rescue you.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

¹Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest

²and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

³As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.

⁴Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

⁵“Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied.

⁶“But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

⁹He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

¹⁰There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” “Here I am, Lord,” he replied.

¹¹“Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there.

¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

¹³“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.

¹⁴And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

¹⁹And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time.

²⁰Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

²¹All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

²²But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

²³After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,

²⁴but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him,

²⁵but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.

²⁷Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.

³⁰When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

³²As Peter was traveling from place to place, he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed,” and immediately he got up.

³⁵So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated Dorcas). She was always doing good works and acts of charity.

³⁷About that time she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who urged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.”

³⁹Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.

⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive.

⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³Peter stayed for some time in Joppa with Simon, a leather tanner.