Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.

²Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

³Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.

⁴Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.

⁵But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’

⁶And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.

⁷And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.

⁸Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.

⁹And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

¹⁰But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,

¹¹‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’

¹²But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

¹³“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

¹⁴But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

¹⁵And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.

¹⁶He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

¹⁷Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

¹⁸And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

¹⁹Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

²⁰Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

²¹In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

²²All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

²³Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see;

²⁴for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”

²⁵And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

²⁷So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁸And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

²⁹But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

³¹Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

³²Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.

³³But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.

³⁴So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

³⁵On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

³⁶So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

³⁷And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

³⁸Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

⁴¹And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

⁴²But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod.

³And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house.

⁴Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you.

⁵And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

⁷And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.

⁸Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.

⁹Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.”

¹¹Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

¹²So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish!

¹³Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?”

¹I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,

²that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.

³For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,

⁴who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;

⁵of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

⁶But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

⁷nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”

⁸That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

⁹For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”

¹⁰And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac

¹¹(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),

¹²it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”

¹³As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!

¹⁵For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”

¹⁶So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

¹⁷For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

¹⁸Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

¹⁹You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?”

²⁰But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

²¹Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

²²What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

²³and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,

²⁴even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

²⁵As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.”

²⁶“And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

²⁷Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.

²⁸For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”

²⁹And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

³⁰What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;

³¹but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.

³²Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

³³As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

¹After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

²And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

³For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”

⁴And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

⁵For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

⁶Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.

⁷In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’

⁸Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

⁹“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,

¹⁰standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:

¹²merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;

¹³and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.

¹⁴The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.

¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

¹⁶and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!

¹⁷For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance

¹⁸and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

¹⁹“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’

²⁰“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”

²¹Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.

²²The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.

²³The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

²⁴And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated?

³Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?

⁴For you have said, ‘My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes.’

⁵But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you,

⁶That He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that God exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than heaven— what can you do? Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?

⁹Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.

¹⁰“If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment, Then who can hinder Him?

¹¹For He knows deceitful men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it?

¹²For an empty-headed man will be wise, When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

¹³“If you would prepare your heart, And stretch out your hands toward Him;

¹⁴If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away, And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

¹⁵Then surely you could lift up your face without spot; Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;

¹⁶Because you would forget your misery, And remember it as waters that have passed away,

¹⁷And your life would be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.

¹⁸And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.

¹⁹You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid; Yes, many would court your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

²You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

³For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.

⁴He asked life from You, and You gave it to him— Length of days forever and ever.

⁵His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.

⁶For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

⁸Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.

⁹You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.

¹⁰Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.

¹¹For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.

¹²Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

¹³Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

¹Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

⁷When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.

⁸The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead.

⁹The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

¹⁴Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

¹⁵He who is surety for a stranger will suffer, But one who hates being surety is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman retains honor, But ruthless men retain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

¹⁹As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.

²⁰Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their ways are His delight.

²¹Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.

²²As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.

²⁵The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.

²⁶The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage.

²⁹He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.

³¹If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, How much more the ungodly and the sinner.

¹Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

²Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

³But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

⁴Then David inquired of the LORD once again. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

⁵And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.”

⁸Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”

¹⁰Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.

¹¹Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

¹²Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.”

¹³So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

¹⁴And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

¹⁵So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.

¹⁶Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

¹⁷And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.”

¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

¹⁹Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?

²⁰Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

²¹And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compassion on me.

²²Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty.

²³See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

²⁴So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

²⁵When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon.

²⁶Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.

²⁷But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!”

²⁸Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape.

²⁹Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.

¹“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.

²Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”

³O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return.

⁴Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.

⁵I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.” But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds.

⁶Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased.

⁷“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

⁸They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.

⁹Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

¹⁰“Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the LORD’s.

¹¹For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD.

¹²They have lied about the LORD, And said, “It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.

¹³And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.”

¹⁴Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them.

¹⁵Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.

¹⁶Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men.

¹⁷And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword.

¹⁸“Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you.

¹⁹And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’

²⁰“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

²¹‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:

²²Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

²³But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed.

²⁴They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”

²⁵Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you.

²⁶‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men.

²⁷As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.

²⁸They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend.

²⁹Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

³⁰“An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land:

³¹The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?

¹Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

⁴So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

¹⁰and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹¹And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

¹⁵And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”

¹⁶Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.

¹⁸Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.

¹⁹And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.

²⁰“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

²¹And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

²³From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—

²⁴after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’

²⁶“Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.

²⁹Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead.

³¹He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.

³²And we declare to you glad tidings— that promise which was made to the fathers.

³³God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’

³⁴And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’

³⁵Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

³⁶“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;

³⁷but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

³⁹and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

⁴¹‘Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”

⁴²So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.

⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.