Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain.

²But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

³Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

⁴He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

⁵And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

⁶On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching.

⁷The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

⁸But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward.

⁹Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

¹¹At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

¹²One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

¹³At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

¹⁴Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

¹⁵Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot),

¹⁶Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

¹⁷When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.

¹⁸They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed.

¹⁹Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

²⁰Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.

²¹God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.

²²What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.

²³When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

²⁴“What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now.

²⁵What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.

²⁶What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

²⁷“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.

²⁸Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

²⁹If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.

³⁰Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.

³¹Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

³²“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!

³³And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!

³⁴And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

³⁵“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

³⁶You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

³⁷“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.

³⁸Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full — pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. ”

³⁹Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?

⁴⁰Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

⁴¹“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?

⁴²How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁴³“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

⁴⁴A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.

⁴⁵A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

⁴⁶“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

⁴⁷I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.

⁴⁸It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.

⁴⁹But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

¹The LORD now said to Moses,

²“Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”

³So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.

⁴These were the tribes and the names of their leaders: Tribe — Leader Reuben — Shammua son of Zaccur

⁵Simeon — Shaphat son of Hori

⁶Judah — Caleb son of Jephunneh

⁷Issachar — Igal son of Joseph

⁸Ephraim — Hoshea son of Nun

⁹Benjamin — Palti son of Raphu

¹⁰Zebulun — Gaddiel son of Sodi

¹¹Manasseh son of Joseph — Gaddi son of Susi

¹²Dan — Ammiel son of Gemalli

¹³Asher — Sethur son of Michael

¹⁴Naphtali — Nahbi son of Vophsi

¹⁵Gad — Geuel son of Maki

¹⁶These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)

¹⁷Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country.

¹⁸See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.

¹⁹See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?

²⁰Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)

²¹So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.

²²Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai — all descendants of Anak — lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)

²³When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.

²⁴That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

²⁵After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned

²⁶to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.

²⁷This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country — a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.

²⁸But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

²⁹The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.”

³⁰But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

³¹But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”

³²So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.

³³We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

¹Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

²Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

³We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

⁴And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

⁵And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

⁶When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

⁷Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.

⁸But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

⁹And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.

¹⁰For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

¹¹So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

¹²When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

¹³Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.

¹⁴Still, everyone died — from the time of Adam to the time of Moses — even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.

¹⁵But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁶And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

¹⁷For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.

¹⁹Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

²⁰God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.

²¹So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹Then I saw 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.

²And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.

³This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.

⁵They have told no lies; they are without blame.

⁶And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world — to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

⁷“Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”

⁸Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen — that great city is fallen — because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.”

⁹Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand

¹⁰must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

¹¹The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”

¹²This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

¹⁴Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”

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

¹⁷After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

¹⁸Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

²⁰The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.

¹“Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand,

²like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid.

³I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.

⁴Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

⁵My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

⁶“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope.

⁷O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.

⁸You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone.

⁹Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.

¹⁰They are gone forever from their home — never to be seen again.

¹¹“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain.

¹²Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard?

¹³I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’

¹⁴but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions.

¹⁵I would rather be strangled — rather die than suffer like this.

¹⁶I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

¹⁷“What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?

¹⁸For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.

¹⁹Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow!

²⁰If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you?

²¹Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.”

¹O LORD, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips.

²Declare me innocent, for you see those who do right.

³You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say.

⁴I have followed your commands, which keep me from following cruel and evil people.

⁵My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you.

⁶I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.

⁷Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.

⁸Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.

⁹Protect me from wicked people who attack me, from murderous enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They are without pity. Listen to their boasting!

¹¹They track me down and surround me, watching for the chance to throw me to the ground.

¹²They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart — like young lions hiding in ambush.

¹³Arise, O LORD! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!

¹⁴By the power of your hand, O LORD, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants.

¹⁵Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

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

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

¹Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David,

²told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.

³I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

⁴The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could.

⁵Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the LORD brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”

⁶So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed.”

⁷Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.

⁸War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.

⁹But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the LORD suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp,

¹⁰Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

¹¹Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.”

¹²So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped.

¹³Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

¹⁴When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.

¹⁵But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!”

¹⁶But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

¹⁷“Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal. “I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”

¹⁸So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. Then Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth.

¹⁹When the report reached Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah,

²⁰he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy.

²¹When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other troops, but they, too, prophesied! The same thing happened a third time.

²²Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded. “They are at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him.

²³But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth!

²⁴He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?”

¹These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

²The LORD first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

³The LORD’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.

⁴The LORD gave me this message:

⁵“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

⁶“O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

⁷The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

⁸And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

⁹Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!

¹⁰Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”

¹¹Then the LORD said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”

¹²And the LORD said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”

¹³Then the LORD spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?” And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.”

¹⁴“Yes,” the LORD said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land.

¹⁵Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the LORD, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah.

¹⁶I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil — for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!

¹⁷“Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.

¹⁸For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land — the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.

¹⁹They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.

²He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them — both men and women — back to Jerusalem in chains.

³As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

⁵“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!

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

⁷The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!

⁸Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus.

⁹He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

¹⁰Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied.

¹¹The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.

¹²I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

¹³“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!

¹⁴And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.

¹⁶And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

¹⁷So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

¹⁹Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.

²⁰And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”

²¹All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?”

²²Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

²³After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him.

²⁴They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot.

²⁵So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.

²⁶When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!

²⁷Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

²⁸So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him.

³⁰When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown.

³¹The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

³²Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda.

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

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!” And he was healed instantly.

³⁵Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas ). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.

³⁷About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room.

³⁸But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”

³⁹So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.

⁴⁰But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!

⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.

⁴²The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.