Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.

²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”

³Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’

⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”

¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.

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

¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one 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,

¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

¹⁸Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have 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 darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

²⁰For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.

²¹But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

²²After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized.

²³John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized

²⁴— John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew.

²⁶They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”

²⁷John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.

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

²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.

³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.”

³¹The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all.

³²He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.

³³Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true.

³⁴He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.

³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²Command the Israelites, and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries),

³your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea on the east;

⁴your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its outer limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and cross to Azmon;

⁵the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the Sea.

⁶For the western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast; this shall be your western boundary.

⁷This shall be your northern boundary: from the Great Sea you shall mark out your line to Mount Hor;

⁸from Mount Hor you shall mark it out to Lebo-hamath, and the outer limit of the boundary shall be at Zedad;

⁹then the boundary shall extend to Ziphron, and its end shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall be your northern boundary.

¹⁰You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham;

¹¹and the boundary shall continue down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the boundary shall go down, and reach the eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth;

¹²and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Dead Sea. This shall be your land with its boundaries all around.

¹³Moses commanded the Israelites, saying: This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe;

¹⁴for the tribe of the Reubenites by their ancestral houses and the tribe of the Gadites by their ancestral houses have taken their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh;

¹⁵the two tribes and the half-tribe have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.

¹⁶The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

¹⁷These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun.

¹⁸You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance.

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

²⁰Of the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud.

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

²²Of the tribe of the Danites a leader, Bukki son of Jogli.

²³Of the Josephites: of the tribe of the Manassites a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod,

²⁴and of the tribe of the Ephraimites a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan.

²⁵Of the tribe of the Zebulunites a leader, Eli-zaphan son of Parnach.

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

²⁷And of the tribe of the Asherites a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi.

²⁸Of the tribe of the Naphtalites a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud.

²⁹These were the ones whom the LORD commanded to apportion the inheritance for the Israelites in the land of Canaan.

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

²and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

³and all ate the same spiritual food,

⁴and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.

⁷Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”

⁸We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

⁹We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.

¹⁰And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

¹¹These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.

¹²So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.

¹³No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

¹⁴Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.

¹⁵I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.

¹⁶The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?

¹⁷Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

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

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

²⁰No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be 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 are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

²³“All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

²⁴Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other.

²⁵Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience,

²⁶for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.”

²⁷If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.

²⁸But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience —

²⁹I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience?

³⁰If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

³¹So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

³²Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God,

³³just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.

¹Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as to a father, to younger men as brothers,

²to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters — with absolute purity.

³Honor widows who are really widows.

⁴If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some repayment to their parents; for this is pleasing in God’s sight.

⁵The real widow, left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day;

⁶but the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.

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

⁸And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹Let a widow be put on the list if she is not less than sixty years old and has been married only once;

¹⁰she must be well attested for her good works, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way.

¹¹But refuse to put younger widows on the list; for when their sensual desires alienate them from Christ, they want to marry,

¹²and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge.

¹³Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house; and they are not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say.

¹⁴So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.

¹⁵For some have already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶If any believing woman has relatives who are really widows, let her assist them; let the church not be burdened, so that it can assist those who are real widows.

¹⁷Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching;

¹⁸for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves to be paid.”

¹⁹Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

²⁰As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear.

²¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality.

²²Do not ordain anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

²³No longer drink only water, but take a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴The sins of some people are conspicuous and precede them to judgment, while the sins of others follow them there.

²⁵So also good works are conspicuous; and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden.

¹“Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold to be refined.

²Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

³Miners put an end to darkness, and search out to the farthest bound the ore in gloom and deep darkness.

⁴They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation; they are forgotten by travelers, they sway suspended, remote from people.

⁵As for the earth, out of it comes bread; but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

⁶Its stones are the place of sapphires, and its dust contains gold.

⁷“That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.

⁸The proud wild animals have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it.

⁹“They put their hand to the flinty rock, and overturn mountains by the roots.

¹⁰They cut out channels in the rocks, and their eyes see every precious thing.

¹¹The sources of the rivers they probe; hidden things they bring to light.

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

¹³Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.

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

¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.

¹⁹The chrysolite of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

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

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air.

²²Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

²³“God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.

²⁴For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When he gave to the wind its weight, and apportioned out the waters by measure;

²⁶when he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the thunderbolt;

²⁷then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.

²⁸And he said to humankind, ‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

¹O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath.

²For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.

³There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness;

⁶I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all day long I go around mourning.

⁷For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is known to you; my sighing is not hidden from you.

¹⁰My heart throbs, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes — it also has gone from me.

¹¹My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction, and my neighbors stand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all day long.

¹³But I am like the deaf, I do not hear; like the mute, who cannot speak.

¹⁴Truly, I am like one who does not hear, and in whose mouth is no retort.

¹⁵But it is for you, O LORD, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

¹⁶For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me, those who boast against me when my foot slips.”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever with me.

¹⁸I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.

¹⁹Those who are my foes without cause are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

²⁰Those who render me evil for good are my adversaries because I follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, do not be far from me;

²²make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²When a land rebels it has many rulers; but with an intelligent ruler there is lasting order.

³A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law struggle against them.

⁵The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.

⁶Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.

⁷Those who keep the law are wise children, but companions of gluttons shame their parents.

⁸One who augments wealth by exorbitant interest gathers it for another who is kind to the poor.

⁹When one will not listen to the law, even one’s prayers are an abomination.

¹⁰Those who mislead the upright into evil ways will fall into pits of their own making, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.

¹¹The rich is wise in self-esteem, but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked prevail, people go into hiding.

¹³No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the one who is never without fear, but one who is hard-hearted will fall into calamity.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

¹⁶A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.

¹⁷If someone is burdened with the blood of another, let that killer be a fugitive until death; let no one offer assistance.

¹⁸One who walks in integrity will be safe, but whoever follows crooked ways will fall into the Pit.

¹⁹Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread, but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

²⁰The faithful will abound with blessings, but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good — yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong.

²²The miser is in a hurry to get rich and does not know that loss is sure to come.

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

²⁴Anyone who robs father or mother and says, “That is no crime,” is partner to a thug.

²⁵The greedy person stirs up strife, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be enriched.

²⁶Those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely.

²⁷Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.

²⁸When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding; but when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

²Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!”

³The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”

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

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

⁶Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.”

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

⁸He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”

⁹Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All 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 till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons.

¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.

¹³Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

¹Thus says the LORD: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

²and say: Hear the word of the LORD, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David — you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates.

³Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people.

⁵But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

⁶For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: You are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I swear that I will make you a desert, an uninhabited city.

⁷I will prepare destroyers against you, all with their weapons; they shall cut down your choicest cedars and cast them into the fire.

⁸And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the LORD dealt in this way with that great city?”

⁹And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”

¹⁰Do not weep for him who is dead, nor bemoan him; weep rather for him who goes away, for he shall return no more to see his native land.

¹¹For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah, and who went away from this place: He shall return here no more,

¹²but in the place where they have carried him captive he shall die, and he shall never see this land again.

¹³Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages;

¹⁴who says, “I will build myself a spacious house with large upper rooms,” and who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar, and painting it with vermilion.

¹⁵Are you a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.

¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the LORD.

¹⁷But your eyes and heart are only on your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.

¹⁸Therefore thus says the LORD concerning King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah: They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” or “Alas, sister!” They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, lord!” or “Alas, his majesty!”

¹⁹With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried — dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰Go up to Lebanon, and cry out, and lift up your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers are crushed.

²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, “I will not listen.” This has been your way from your youth, for you have not obeyed my voice.

²²The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; then you will be ashamed and dismayed because of all your wickedness.

²³O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!

²⁴As I live, says the LORD, even if King Coniah son of Jehoiakim of Judah were the signet ring on my right hand, even from there I would tear you off

²⁵and give you into the hands of those who seek your life, into the hands of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and into the hands of the Chaldeans.

²⁶I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die.

²⁷But they shall not return to the land to which they long to return.

²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised broken pot, a vessel no one wants? Why are he and his offspring hurled out and cast away in a land that they do not know?

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

³⁰Thus says the LORD: Record this man as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days; for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David, and ruling again in Judah.

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

²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.

⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.

⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

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

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

¹¹Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.

¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

²²“You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know —

²³this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.

²⁴But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

²⁵For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;

²⁶therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope.

²⁷For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption.

²⁸You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne.

³¹Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’

³²This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

³³Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.

³⁴For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

³⁶Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.