Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.

²As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him.

³He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore — not even with a chain  —

⁴because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him.

⁷And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you before God, don’t torment me!”

⁸For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

⁹“What is your name?” he asked him. “My name is Legion,” he answered him, “because we are many.”

¹⁰And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

¹¹A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside.

¹²The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.”

¹³So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.

¹⁴The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened.

¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

¹⁶Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs.

¹⁷Then they began to beg him to leave their region.

¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him.

¹⁹Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.”

²⁰So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.

²¹When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea.

²²One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet

²³and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.”

²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him.

²⁵Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years

²⁶had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse.

²⁷Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing.

²⁸For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.”

²⁹Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

³⁰At once Jesus realized in himself that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

³²But he was looking around to see who had done this.

³³The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.

³⁴“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

³⁵While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”

³⁷He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother.

³⁸They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion — people weeping and wailing loudly.

³⁹He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

⁴⁰They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was.

⁴¹Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up” ).

⁴²Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.

⁴³Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and told them to give her something to eat.

¹Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave women.

²He put the slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.

³He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother.

⁴But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept.

⁵When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.”

⁶Then the slaves and their children approached him and bowed down.

⁷Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.

⁸So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession I met?” “To find favor with you, my lord,” he answered.

⁹“I have enough, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what you have.”

¹⁰But Jacob said, “No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from me. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me.

¹¹Please take my present that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have everything I need.” So Jacob urged him until he accepted.

¹²Then Esau said, “Let’s move on, and I’ll go ahead of you.”

¹³Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing flocks and herds. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die.

¹⁴Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

¹⁵Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.” But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me, my lord.”

¹⁶That day Esau started on his way back to Seir,

¹⁷but Jacob went to Succoth. He built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.

¹⁸After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at Shechem in the land of Canaan and camped in front of the city.

¹⁹He purchased a section of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.

²⁰And he set up an altar there and called it God, the God of Israel.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: To the church of God at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.

⁴He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

⁶If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.

⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort.

⁸We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed — beyond our strength  — so that we even despaired of life itself.

⁹Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

¹⁰He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again

¹¹while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.

¹²Indeed, this is our boast: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom but by God’s grace.

¹³For we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely —

¹⁴just as you have partially understood us — that we are your reason for pride, just as you also are ours in the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹⁵Because of this confidence, I planned to come to you first, so that you could have a second benefit,

¹⁶and to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and then come to you again from Macedonia and be helped by you on my journey to Judea.

¹⁷Now when I planned this, was I of two minds? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?

¹⁸As God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes and no.”

¹⁹For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you — Silvanus, Timothy, and I — did not become “Yes and no.” On the contrary, in him it is always “Yes.”

²⁰For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.

²¹Now it is God who strengthens us together with you in Christ, and who has anointed us.

²²He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

²³I call on God as a witness, on my life, that it was to spare you that I did not come to Corinth.

²⁴I do not mean that we lord it over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in your faith.

¹Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

²May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

³His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

⁴By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,

⁶knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness,

⁷godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.

¹¹For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

¹²Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.

¹³I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder,

¹⁴since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.

¹⁵And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

¹⁷For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!”

¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

²⁰Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation,

²¹because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

¹But now, Job, pay attention to my speech, and listen to all my words.

²I am going to open my mouth; my tongue will form words on my palate.

³My words come from my upright heart, and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Refute me if you can. Prepare your case against me; take your stand.

⁶I am just like you before God; I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.

⁷Fear of me should not terrify you; no pressure from me should weigh you down.

⁸Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:

⁹“I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.

¹⁰But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”

¹²But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter, since God is greater than man.

¹³Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks?

¹⁴For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it.

¹⁵In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds,

¹⁶he uncovers their ears and terrifies them with warnings,

¹⁷in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress the pride of a person.

¹⁸God spares his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death.

¹⁹A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,

²⁰so that he detests bread, and his soul despises his favorite food.

²¹His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out.

²²He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners.

²³If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him

²⁴and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,”

²⁵then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.

²⁶He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. That person will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore his righteousness to him.

²⁷He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.

²⁸He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”

²⁹God certainly does all these things two or three times to a person

³⁰in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak.

³²But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, for I would like to justify you.

³³If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.

¹Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful.

²Praise the LORD with the lyre; make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.

³Sing a new song to him; play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

⁴For the word of the LORD is right, and all his work is trustworthy.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the LORD’s unfailing love.

⁶The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathers the water of the sea into a heap; he puts the depths into storehouses.

⁸Let the whole earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

⁹For he spoke, and it came into being; he commanded, and it came into existence.

¹⁰The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; he thwarts the plans of the peoples.

¹¹The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart from generation to generation.

¹²Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD  — the people he has chosen to be his own possession!

¹³The LORD looks down from heaven; he observes everyone.

¹⁴He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth from his dwelling place.

¹⁵He forms the hearts of them all; he considers all their works.

¹⁶A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.

¹⁷The horse is a false hope for safety; it provides no escape by its great power.

¹⁸But look, the LORD keeps his eye on those who fear him — those who depend on his faithful love

¹⁹to rescue them from death and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰We wait for the LORD; he is our help and shield.

²¹For our hearts rejoice in him because we trust in his holy name.

²²May your faithful love rest on us, LORD, for we put our hope in you.

¹My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,

²listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;

³furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,

⁵then you will understand the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity

⁸so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of his faithful followers.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity — every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight you.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you.

¹²It will rescue you from the way of evil — from anyone who says perverse things,

¹³from those who abandon the right paths to walk in ways of darkness,

¹⁴from those who enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion,

¹⁵whose paths are crooked, and whose ways are devious.

¹⁶It will rescue you from a forbidden woman, from a wayward woman with her flattering talk,

¹⁷who abandons the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.

¹⁹None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life.

²⁰So follow the way of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will inhabit the land, and those of integrity will remain in it;

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous ripped out of it.

¹Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem and spoke to his uncles and to his mother’s whole clan, saying,

²“Please speak in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you? ’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”

³His mother’s relatives spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”

⁴So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith. Abimelech used it to hire worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.

⁵He went to his father’s house in Ophrah and killed his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on top of a large stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid.

⁶Then all the citizens of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

⁷When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and called to them: Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, and may God listen to you:

⁸The trees decided to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, “Reign over us.”

⁹But the olive tree said to them, “Should I stop giving my oil that people use to honor both God and men, and rule over the trees?”

¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree, “Come and reign over us.”

¹¹But the fig tree said to them, “Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, and rule over trees?”

¹²Later, the trees said to the grapevine, “Come and reign over us.”

¹³But the grapevine said to them, “Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, and rule over trees?”

¹⁴Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, “Come and reign over us.”

¹⁵The bramble said to the trees, “If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”

¹⁶“Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did —

¹⁷for my father fought for you, risked his life, and rescued you from Midian,

¹⁸and now you have attacked my father’s family today, killed his seventy sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the citizens of Shechem ‘because he is your brother’ —

¹⁹so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.

²⁰But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”

²¹Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.

²²When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years,

²³God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully,

²⁴so that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers.

²⁵The citizens of Shechem rebelled against him by putting men in ambush on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the citizens of Shechem trusted him.

²⁷So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

²⁸Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn’t Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

²⁹If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech.” So he said to Abimelech, “Gather your army and come out.”

³⁰When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was angry.

³¹So he secretly sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Beware! Gaal son of Ebed, with his brothers, have come to Shechem and are turning the city against you.

³²Now tonight, you and the troops with you, come and wait in ambush in the countryside.

³³Then get up early, and at sunrise attack the city. When he and the troops who are with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”

³⁴So Abimelech and all the troops with him got up at night and waited in ambush for Shechem in four units.

³⁵Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. Then Abimelech and the troops who were with him got up from their ambush.

³⁶When Gaal saw the troops, he said to Zebul, “Look, troops are coming down from the mountaintops!” But Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”

³⁷Then Gaal spoke again, “Look, troops are coming down from the central part of the land, and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.”

³⁸Zebul replied, “What do you have to say now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? ’ Aren’t these the troops you despised? Now go and fight them!”

³⁹So Gaal went out leading the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,

⁴⁰but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Numerous bodies were strewn as far as the entrance of the city gate.

⁴¹Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers from Shechem.

⁴²The next day when the people of Shechem went into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelech.

⁴³He took the troops, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down.

⁴⁴Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down.

⁴⁵So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶When all the citizens of the Tower of Shechem heard, they entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.

⁴⁷Then it was reported to Abimelech that all the citizens of the Tower of Shechem had gathered.

⁴⁸So Abimelech and all the troops who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the troops who were with him, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”

⁴⁹Each of the troops also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire; about a thousand men and women died, including all the men of the Tower of Shechem.

⁵⁰Abimelech went to Thebez, camped against it, and captured it.

⁵¹There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and citizens of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.

⁵²When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.

⁵³But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull.

⁵⁴He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his armor-bearer ran him through, and he died.

⁵⁵When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

⁵⁶In this way, God brought back Abimelech’s evil—the evil that Abimelech had done to his father when he killed his seventy brothers.

⁵⁷God also brought back to the men of Shechem all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

¹Woe, you destroyer never destroyed, you traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, they will betray you.

²LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for you. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.

³The peoples flee at the thunderous noise; the nations scatter when you rise in your majesty.

⁴Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered; people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.

⁵The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶There will be times of security for you — a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.

⁷Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.

⁸The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. An agreement has been broken, cities despised, and human life disregarded.

⁹The land mourns and withers; Lebanon is ashamed and wilted. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

¹⁰“Now I will rise up,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift myself up. Now I will be exalted.

¹¹You will conceive chaff; you will give birth to stubble. Your breath is fire that will consume you.

¹²The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.

¹³You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, know my strength.”

¹⁴The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling seizes the ungodly: “Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?”

¹⁵The one who lives righteously and speaks rightly, who refuses profit from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots and shuts his eyes against evil schemes  —

¹⁶he will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the rocky fortresses, his food provided, his water assured.

¹⁷Your eyes will see the King in his beauty; you will see a vast land.

¹⁸Your mind will meditate on the past terror: “Where is the accountant? Where is the tribute collector? Where is the one who spied out our defenses?”

¹⁹You will no longer see the barbarians, a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend — who stammer in a language that is not understood.

²⁰Look at Zion, the city of our festival times. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up nor will any of its cords be loosened.

²¹For the majestic one, our LORD, will be there, a place of rivers and broad streams where ships that are rowed will not go, and majestic vessels will not pass.

²²For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, the LORD is our King. He will save us.

²³Your ropes are slack; they cannot hold the base of the mast or spread out the flag. Then abundant spoil will be divided, the lame will plunder it,

²⁴and none there will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

²However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

⁴Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

⁵When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

⁶The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸“Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?” “Yes,” she said, “for that price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

¹⁰Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

¹²Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them.

¹⁴Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers — multitudes of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶In addition, a multitude came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.”

²¹Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin — the full council of the Israelites — and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

²²But when the servants got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported,

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

²⁵Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

²⁶Then the commander went with the servants and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them.

²⁷After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked,

²⁸“Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

³¹God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

³⁵He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men.

³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail;

³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

⁴⁰After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

⁴¹Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.

⁴²Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.