Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,

²and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

⁴And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:

⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

⁹Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

¹¹“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

¹²Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

¹³But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

¹⁴Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

¹⁶“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

¹⁹Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

²²Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.

²³But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.

²⁴And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.

²⁵But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.

²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”

²⁹For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

³⁰Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.

³¹And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

³²Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.

³³Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

³⁵Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

³⁶They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.

³⁷Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

³⁸Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.

⁴¹And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,

⁴²for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.

⁴³Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,

⁴⁴came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”

⁵¹When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.

⁵²Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.”

⁵³And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.”

⁵⁵Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.

⁵⁶And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you,

³and you make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the LORD, from the herd or the flock,

⁴then he who presents his offering to the LORD shall bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil;

⁵and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb.

⁶Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil;

⁷and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD.

⁸And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a peace offering to the LORD,

⁹then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil;

¹⁰and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

¹¹‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat.

¹²According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number.

¹³All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

¹⁴And if a stranger dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD, just as you do, so shall he do.

¹⁵One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.

¹⁶One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”

¹⁷Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁸“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you,

¹⁹then it will be, when you eat of the bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the LORD.

²⁰You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up.

²¹Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations.

²²‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses—

²³all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations—

²⁴then it will be, if it is unintentionally committed, without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats as a sin offering.

²⁵So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintended sin.

²⁶It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally.

²⁷‘And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.

²⁸So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

²⁹You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.

³⁰‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people.

³¹Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’ ”

³²Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

³³And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.

³⁴They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.

³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”

³⁶So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.

³⁷Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁸“Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.

³⁹And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

⁴⁰and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.

⁴¹I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”

¹Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

²For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.

³So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

⁴Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

⁵For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

⁶But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

⁷What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

⁸But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

⁹I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

¹⁰And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.

¹¹For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

¹²Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

¹³Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

¹⁴For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

¹⁵For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.

¹⁶If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

¹⁷But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

¹⁸For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

¹⁹For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

²⁰Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

²¹I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

²²For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

²³But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

²⁴O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

²⁵I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

¹Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

²So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

³Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

⁴Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

⁵And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.

⁶For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”

⁷And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

⁸Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

⁹And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

¹⁰Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

¹¹They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

¹²Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

¹³And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

¹⁴For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

¹⁶And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

¹⁸And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.

¹⁹Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

²⁰Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

²¹And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?

³If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

⁴God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?

⁵He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger;

⁶He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble;

⁷He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars;

⁸He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;

⁹He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;

¹⁰He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number.

¹¹If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;

¹²If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

¹³God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

¹⁴“How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him?

¹⁵For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge.

¹⁶If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

¹⁷For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?

²⁰Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

²¹“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life.

²²It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’

²³If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, who else could it be?

²⁵“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

²⁶They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.

²⁷If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’

²⁸I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent.

²⁹If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain?

³⁰If I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with soap,

³¹Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me.

³²“For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together.

³³Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.

³⁴Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me.

³⁵Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

²Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.

³There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.

⁴Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

⁵Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.

⁶Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

⁸The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;

⁹The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

¹¹Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.

¹³Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

¹Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;

²She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table.

³She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city,

⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

⁵“Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed.

⁶Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding.

⁷“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

⁸Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

¹⁰“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”

¹³A foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing.

¹⁴For she sits at the door of her house, On a seat by the highest places of the city,

¹⁵To call to those who pass by, Who go straight on their way:

¹⁶“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

¹⁸But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell.

¹Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”

²So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place.

³Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

⁴And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”

⁵Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.”

⁶So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

⁷Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

⁸And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”

⁹So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

¹⁰Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

¹¹And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

¹²Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

¹³So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

¹⁴Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?

¹⁵Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

¹“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the LORD.

²“Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in the wilderness; And you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness.

³Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; You refuse to be ashamed.

⁴Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth?

⁵Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, As you were able.”

⁶The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

⁷And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

⁸Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

⁹So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

¹⁰And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD.

¹¹Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

¹²Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever.

¹³Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD.

¹⁴“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

¹⁵And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

¹⁷“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

¹⁸“In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

¹⁹“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’

²⁰Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

²¹A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the LORD their God.

²²“Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God.

²³Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel.

²⁴For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters.

²⁵We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

¹Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

²And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,

³saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

⁴But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying:

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me.

⁶When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’

⁹But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’

¹⁰Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea.

¹²Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

¹³And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter,

¹⁴who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

¹⁹Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.

²⁰But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

²²Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.

²³When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

²⁴For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.

²⁶And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

²⁷And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

²⁹Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

³⁰This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.