Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.

²And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

³“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.

⁶And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

⁸And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

⁹And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

¹¹And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

¹² so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

¹³And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

¹⁴ The sower sows the word.

¹⁵And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

¹⁶And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.

¹⁷And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

¹⁸And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,

¹⁹but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

²⁰But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

²¹And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?

²² For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.

²⁵ For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

²⁶And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

²⁷He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

²⁸The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,

³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

³⁴He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

³⁶And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.

³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

³⁸But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

⁴¹And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

¹Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

²And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God's camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,

⁴instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now.

⁵I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’”

⁶And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.”

⁷Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,

⁸thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”

⁹And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’

¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

¹¹Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.

¹²But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

¹³So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau,

¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

¹⁵thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

¹⁶These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.”

¹⁷He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’

¹⁸then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’”

¹⁹He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him,

²⁰and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”

²¹So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

²²The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

²³He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.

²⁴And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

²⁵When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

²⁶Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

²⁸Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

²⁹Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.

³⁰So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

³¹The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

³²Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

¹Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.

²On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

³And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

⁵I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia,

⁶and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go.

⁷For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.

⁸But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,

⁹for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.

¹¹So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

¹²Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

¹³Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

¹⁴Let all that you do be done in love.

¹⁵Now I urge you, brothers — you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints —

¹⁶be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.

¹⁷I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,

¹⁸for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.

¹⁹The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

²⁰All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.

²²If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

¹So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:

²shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

³not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

⁴And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

⁵Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

⁷casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

⁹Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

¹¹To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

¹²By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

¹³She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.

¹⁴Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

¹So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God.

³He burned with anger also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

⁵And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

⁶And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.

⁷I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

⁸But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.

⁹It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.

¹⁰Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.’

¹¹“Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your wise sayings, while you searched out what to say.

¹²I gave you my attention, and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job or who answered his words.

¹³Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not a man.’

¹⁴He has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your speeches.

¹⁵“They are dismayed; they answer no more; they have not a word to say.

¹⁶And shall I wait, because they do not speak, because they stand there, and answer no more?

¹⁷I also will answer with my share; I also will declare my opinion.

¹⁸For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me.

¹⁹Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst.

²⁰I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.

²¹I will not show partiality to any man or use flattery toward any person.

²²For I do not know how to flatter, else my Maker would soon take me away.

¹Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

²Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

¹¹Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

¹The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,

³to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

⁴to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth —

⁵Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

⁶to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,

⁹for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason;

¹²like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

¹³we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse” —

¹⁵my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,

¹⁶for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,

¹⁸but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.

²⁰Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;

²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

²³If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

²⁵because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

³⁰would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,

³¹therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

³²For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

³³but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

¹Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely.

²And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

³God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.

⁴And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.

⁵So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”

⁷So Gideon said, “Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

⁸And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

⁹And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword.

¹¹And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure.

¹²And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.

¹³Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

¹⁴And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men.

¹⁵And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’”

¹⁶And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson.

¹⁷And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

¹⁸Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.”

¹⁹And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.”

²⁰So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man.

²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

²²Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

²³Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”

²⁴And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

²⁵And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil.

²⁶And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels.

²⁷And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.

²⁸So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.

³⁰Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.

³¹And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.

³²And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

³⁴And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side,

³⁵and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.

¹Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice.

²Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.

³Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention.

⁴The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.

⁵The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.

⁶For the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity, to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the LORD, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.

⁷As for the scoundrel — his devices are evil; he plans wicked schemes to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.

⁸But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.

⁹Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.

¹⁰In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come.

¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist.

¹²Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

¹³for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city.

¹⁴For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks;

¹⁵until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

¹⁶Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.

¹⁷And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

¹⁸My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

¹⁹And it will hail when the forest falls down, and the city will be utterly laid low.

²⁰Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.

¹And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

²greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

⁵On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,

⁶with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.

⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,

⁹if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by him this man is standing before you well.

¹¹This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

¹⁵But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another,

¹⁶saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,

²⁰for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

²¹And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

²²For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,

²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?

²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’ —

²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

³²Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.

³³And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold

³⁵and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

³⁶Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,

³⁷sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.