Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

²this man came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

³Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is bornagain he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”

⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

⁶That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be bornagain.’

⁸The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony.

¹²If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

¹³No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

¹⁵so that everyone whobelieves will have eternal life in Him.

¹⁶“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

¹⁸The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

¹⁹And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.

²⁰For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed.

²¹But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealedas having been performed in God.”

²²After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.

²³Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized—

²⁴for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.

²⁶And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.”

²⁷John replied, “A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

²⁸You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’

²⁹He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.

³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.

³¹“He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

³²What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.

³³The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true.

³⁴For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.

³⁵The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand.

³⁶The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, that is, the land of Canaan according to its borders.

³Your southern region shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall extend from the end of the Salt Sea eastward.

⁴Then your border shall change direction from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and continue to Zin, and its termination shall be to the south of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall reach Hazaraddar and continue to Azmon.

⁵Then the border shall change direction from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the sea.

⁶‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea, that is, its coastline; this shall be your western border.

⁷‘And this shall be your northern border: you shall draw your boundary from the Great Sea to Mount Hor.

⁸You shall draw a boundary from Mount Hor to the Lebo-hamath, and the termination of the border shall be at Zedad;

⁹and the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its termination shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

¹⁰‘For your eastern border you shall also draw a boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham,

¹¹and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the slope on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth.

¹²And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its termination shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders on all sides.’ ”

¹³So Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you are to possess by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes.

¹⁴For the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received theirs according to their fathers’ households, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers’ households, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their possession.

¹⁵The two and a half tribes have received their possession across the Jordan opposite Jericho, eastward toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁷“These are the names of the men who shall assign the land to you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.

¹⁸And you shall take one leader of each tribe to assign the land as an inheritance.

¹⁹These are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

²⁰Of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud.

²¹Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.

²²And of the tribe of the sons of Dan, a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli.

²³Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod.

²⁴Of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.

²⁵Of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.

²⁶Of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan.

²⁷Of the tribe of the sons of Asher, a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.

²⁸Of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”

²⁹These are the ones whom the LORD commanded to apportion the inheritance to the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.

¹For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea;

²and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

³and they all ate the same spiritual food,

⁴and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

⁵Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they indeed craved them.

⁷Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND TO DRINK, AND ROSE UP TO PLAY.”

⁸Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.

⁹Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and were killed by the snakes.

¹⁰Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.

¹¹Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

¹²Therefore let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall.

¹³No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

¹⁴Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

¹⁵I speak as to wise people; you then, judge what I say.

¹⁶Is the cup of blessing which we bless not a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is the bread which we break not a sharing in the body of Christ?

¹⁷Since there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.

¹⁸Look at the people of Israel; are those who eat the sacrifices not partners in the altar?

¹⁹What do I mean then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

²⁰No, but I say that things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons.

²¹You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

²²Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

²³All things are permitted, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted, but not all things build people up.

²⁴No one is to seek his own advantage, but rather that of his neighbor.

²⁵Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions, for the sake of conscience;

²⁶FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS.

²⁷If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions, for the sake of conscience.

²⁸But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of that one who informed you and for the sake of conscience;

²⁹Now by “conscience” I do not mean your own, but the other person’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?

³⁰If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered about that for which I give thanks?

³¹Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God.

³²Do not offend Jews or Greeks, or the church of God;

³³just as I also please everyone in all things, not seeking my own benefit but the benefit of the many, so that they may be saved.

¹Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, and to the younger men as brothers,

²to the older women as mothers, and to the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³Honor widows who are actually widows;

⁴but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show proper respect for their own family and to give back compensation to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.

⁵Now she who is actually a widow and has been left alone has set her hope on God, and she continues in requests and prayers night and day.

⁶But she who indulges herself in luxury is dead, even while she lives.

⁷Give these instructions as well, so that they may be above reproach.

⁸But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,

¹⁰having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.

¹¹But refuse to register younger widows, for when they feel physical desires alienating them from Christ, they want to get married,

¹²thereby incurring condemnation, because they have ignored their previous pledge.

¹³At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also they become gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.

¹⁴Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, have children, manage their households, and give the enemy no opportunity for reproach;

¹⁵for some have already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are actually widows.

¹⁷The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

¹⁸For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE IT IS THRESHING,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

¹⁹Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

²⁰Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

²¹I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.

²²Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

²³Do not go on drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴The sins of some people are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.

²⁵Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

¹“Certainly there is a mine for silver And a place for refining gold.

²Iron is taken from the dust, And copper is smelted from rock.

³Man puts an end to darkness, And to the farthest limit he searches out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

⁴He sinks a shaft away from inhabited areas, Forgotten by the foot; They hang and swing, away from people.

⁵From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over like fire.

⁶Its rocks are the source of sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

⁷No bird of prey knows the path, Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

⁸The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the lion passed over it.

⁹He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base.

¹⁰He carves out channels through the rocks, And his eye sees anything precious.

¹¹He dams up the streams from flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.

¹²“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

¹³Mankind does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

¹⁶It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire.

¹⁷Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.

¹⁸Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is more valuable than pearls.

¹⁹The topaz of Cush cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰Where then does wisdom come from? And where is this place of understanding?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature, And concealed from the birds of the sky.

²²Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

²³“God understands its way, And He knows its place.

²⁴For He looks to the ends of the earth; He sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When He imparted weight to the wind, And assessed the waters by measure,

²⁶When He made a limit for the rain, And a course for the thunderbolt,

²⁷Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.

²⁸And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”

¹LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, And do not punish me in Your burning anger.

²For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me.

³There is no healthy part in my flesh because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my guilty deeds have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

⁵My wounds grow foul and fester Because of my foolishness.

⁶I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go in mourning all day long.

⁷For my sides are filled with burning, And there is no healthy part in my flesh.

⁸I feel faint and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart throbs, my strength fails me; And the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me.

¹¹My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand far away.

¹²Those who seek my life lay snares for me; And those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, And they plot deception all day long.

¹³But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear; And I am like a person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴Yes, I am like a person who does not hear, And in whose mouth are no arguments.

¹⁵For I wait for You, LORD; You will answer, Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “May they not rejoice over me, Who, when my foot slips, would exalt themselves over me.”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.

¹⁸For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin.

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous and strong, And those who wrongfully hate me are many.

²⁰And those who repay evil for good, They become my enemies, because I follow what is good.

²¹Do not abandon me, LORD; My God, do not be far from me!

²²Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation!

¹The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

²Due to a wrongdoing of a land its leaders are many, But by a person of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.

³A poor man who oppresses the helpless Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

⁴Those who abandon the Law praise the wicked, But those who keep the Law strive against them.

⁵Evil people do not understand justice, But those who seek the LORD understand everything.

⁶Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity, Than a person who is crooked, though he is rich.

⁷He who keeps the Law is a discerning son, But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.

⁸One who increases his wealth by interest of any kind, Collects it for one who is gracious to the poor.

⁹One who turns his ear away from listening to the Law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰One who leads the upright astray in an evil way Will himself fall into his own pit, But the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich person is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, But when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

¹³One who conceals his wrongdoings will not prosper, But one who confesses and abandons them will find compassion.

¹⁴How blessed is the person who fears always, But one who hardens his heart will fall into disaster.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

¹⁶A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding, But a person who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

¹⁷A person who is burdened with the guilt of human blood Will be a fugitive until death; no one is to support him!

¹⁸One who walks blamelessly will receive help, But one who is crooked will fall all at once.

¹⁹One who works his land will have plenty of food, But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

²⁰A faithful person will abound with blessings, But one who hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

²²A person with an evil eye hurries after wealth And does not know that poverty will come upon him.

²³One who rebukes a person will afterward find more favor Than one who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴He who robs his father or his mother And says, “There is no wrong done,” Is the companion of a person who destroys.

²⁵An arrogant person stirs up strife, But one who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

²⁶One who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But one who walks wisely will flee to safety.

²⁷One who gives to the poor will never lack anything, But one who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked rise, people hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹Then David said, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul, so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

²Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”

³Then the king said, “Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.”

⁴So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.”

⁵Then King David sent messengers who brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.

⁶Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!”

⁷Then David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you yourself shall eat at my table regularly.”

⁸Again he prostrated himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should be concerned about a dead dog like me?”

⁹Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.

¹⁰You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson will have food to eat; nevertheless Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “In accordance with everything that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.

¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he ate at the king’s table regularly. And he was disabled in his two feet.

¹This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word,

²and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.

³This is what the LORD says: “Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. And do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴For if you will indeed perform this instruction, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people.

⁵But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the LORD, “that this house will become a place of ruins.” ’ ”

⁶For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, Like the summit of Lebanon; Yet most assuredly I will make you a wilderness, Cities that are not inhabited.

⁷For I will set apart destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your choicest cedars And throw them on the fire.

⁸“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this great city?’

⁹Then they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’ ”

¹⁰Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him, But weep deeply for the one who goes away; For he will never return Or see his native land.

¹¹For this is what the LORD says regarding Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there;

¹²but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will die and he will not see this land again.

¹³“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, And his upstairs rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages,

¹⁴Who says, ‘I will build myself a large house With spacious upstairs rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’

¹⁵Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did your father not eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well for him.

¹⁶He pled the cause of the afflicted and the poor, Then it was well. Is that not what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD.

¹⁷“But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood, And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

¹⁸Therefore this is what the LORD says regarding Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Oh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’

¹⁹He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And raise your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed.

²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your way from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice.

²²The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness.

²³You who live in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when sharp pains come on you, Pain like a woman in childbirth!

²⁴“As I live,” declares the LORD, “even if Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off;

²⁵and I will hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans.

²⁶I will hurl you and your mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die.

²⁷But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.

²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known?

²⁹O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD!

³⁰This is what the LORD says: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man among his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

²And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

³And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them.

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.

⁵Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

⁶And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

⁷They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

⁹Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.”

¹²And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”

¹⁴But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day;

¹⁶but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS;

¹⁸AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, And they will prophesy.

¹⁹AND I WILL DISPLAY WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

²⁰THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD COMES.

²¹AND IT SHALL BE that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

²²“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—

²³this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

²⁴But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

²⁵For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME, BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.

²⁶THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE WAS OVERJOYED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;

²⁷FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.

²⁸YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’

²⁹“Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰So because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne,

³¹he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.

³²It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses.

³³Therefore, since He has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.

³⁴For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

³⁵UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

⁴⁰And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

⁴¹So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

⁴²They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

⁴³Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

⁴⁴And all the believers were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.

⁴⁶Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.