Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.

²And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?

³Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

⁴And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

⁵And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.

⁶And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

⁷And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.

⁸He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts —

⁹but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.

¹⁰And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.

¹¹And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹²So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.

¹³And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

¹⁴King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”

¹⁵But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

¹⁷For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.”

¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,

²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

²¹But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

²²For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”

²³And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

²⁵And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.

²⁷And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison

²⁸and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.

³¹And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

³²And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

³⁴When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

³⁵And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.

³⁶Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

³⁹Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.

⁴¹And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.

⁴²And they all ate and were satisfied.

⁴³And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.

⁴⁴And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

⁴⁵Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

⁴⁶And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.

⁴⁸And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,

⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,

⁵⁰for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

⁵¹And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,

⁵²for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.

⁵⁴And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him

⁵⁵and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.

⁵⁶And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

¹Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.

²And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.

³And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.

⁴So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

⁵Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.

⁶And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

⁷The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done.

⁸But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.

⁹Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

¹⁰You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.”

¹¹Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

¹²Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”

¹³The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.

¹⁴They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.

¹⁵Only on this condition will we agree with you — that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised.

¹⁶Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people.

¹⁷But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”

¹⁸Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem.

¹⁹And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house.

²⁰So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

²¹“These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

²²Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people — when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.

²³Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”

²⁴And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.

²⁶They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away.

²⁷The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

²⁸They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.

²⁹All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”

³¹But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

¹For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you.

²For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained?

³And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all.

⁴For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

⁵Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure — not to put it too severely — to all of you.

⁶For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,

⁷so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

⁸So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

⁹For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.

¹⁰Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,

¹¹so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

¹²When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord,

¹³my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

¹⁵For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

¹⁶to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

¹⁷For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

²And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

³And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

⁵if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

⁶if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

⁷and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked

⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

⁹then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

¹⁰and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

¹¹whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.

¹²But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,

¹³suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.

¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!

¹⁵Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

¹⁶but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.

¹⁸For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.

¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

²¹For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

²²What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

¹Then Elihu answered and said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know;

³for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

⁴Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job has said, ‘I am in the right, and God has taken away my right;

⁶in spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

⁷What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,

⁸who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men?

⁹For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’

¹⁰“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹¹For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him.

¹²Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world?

¹⁴If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,

¹⁵all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.

¹⁶“If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.

¹⁷Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,

¹⁸who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’

¹⁹who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

²⁰In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

²¹“For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.

²²There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

²³For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.

²⁴He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place.

²⁵Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶He strikes them for their wickedness in a place for all to see,

²⁷because they turned aside from following him and had no regard for any of his ways,

²⁸so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted —

²⁹When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or a man? —

³⁰that a godless man should not reign, that he should not ensnare the people.

³¹“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;

³²teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

³³Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.

³⁴Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say:

³⁵‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.’

³⁶Would that Job were tried to the end, because he answers like wicked men.

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”

¹I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.

³Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

⁴I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

⁹Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!

¹⁰The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

²⁰He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

²²The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

¹My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

²for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.

³Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

⁷Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,

¹²for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

¹³Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,

¹⁴for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

¹⁹The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;

²⁰by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My son, do not lose sight of these — keep sound wisdom and discretion,

²²and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.

²³Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.

²⁴If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it” — when you have it with you.

²⁹Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.

³⁰Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,

³²for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.

³³The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

³⁴Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.

¹After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.

²And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir.

³After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.

⁴And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

⁵And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

⁶The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him.

⁷So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,

⁸and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

⁹And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

¹⁰And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.”

¹¹And the LORD said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines?

¹²The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand.

¹³Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more.

¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

¹⁵And the people of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.”

¹⁶So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah.

¹⁸And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

¹Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it.

²For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.

³Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood.

⁴All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.

⁵For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.

⁶The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

⁷Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall drink its fill of blood, and their soil shall be gorged with fat.

⁸For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

⁹And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch.

¹⁰Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.

¹¹But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.

¹²Its nobles — there is no one there to call it a kingdom, and all its princes shall be nothing.

¹³Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches.

¹⁴And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place.

¹⁵There the owl nests and lays and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow; indeed, there the hawks are gathered, each one with her mate.

¹⁶Seek and read from the book of the LORD: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.

¹⁷He has cast the lot for them; his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.

¹Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

²And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

³Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

⁴But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

⁶These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

¹⁰But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

¹¹Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

¹²And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,

¹³and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,

¹⁴for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”

¹⁵And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.