Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

⁸All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

¹⁹The Jews who heard these words were again divided.

²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²²Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,

²³and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

²⁴The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

²⁶but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

³⁰I and the Father are one.”

³¹Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,

³²but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’?

³⁵If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—

³⁶what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

³⁷Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.

³⁸But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

³⁹Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed,

⁴¹and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.”

⁴²And in that place many believed in Jesus.

¹Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.

²The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

³It was not with our ancestors that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

⁴The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.

⁵(At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

⁶“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

⁷“You shall have no other gods before me.

⁸“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

⁹You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

¹⁰but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

¹¹“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

¹²“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

¹³Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁴but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.

¹⁵Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

¹⁶“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

¹⁷“You shall not murder.

¹⁸“You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹“You shall not steal.

²⁰“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

²¹“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

²²These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

²³When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me.

²⁴And you said, “The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.

²⁵But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.

²⁶For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?

²⁷Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”

²⁸The LORD heard you when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.

²⁹Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

³⁰“Go, tell them to return to their tents.

³¹But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

³²So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.

³³Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

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

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

⁵For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

⁶If we are distressed, 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 we suffer.

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

⁸We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.

⁹Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,

¹¹as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

¹²Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.

¹³For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that,

¹⁴as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice.

¹⁶I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.

¹⁷Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

¹⁸But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

¹⁹For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”

²⁰For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

²¹Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,

²²set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

²³I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

²⁴Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

¹You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

²Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

³Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

⁴Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,

⁵to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

⁷In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness

⁸and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

⁹Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,

¹⁰and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

¹²It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

¹⁵These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

¹Then Elihu said:

²“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’

³Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’

⁴“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.

⁵Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.

⁶If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

⁷If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?

⁸Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.

⁹“People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

¹⁰But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,

¹¹who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’

¹²He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked.

¹³Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.

¹⁴How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you must wait for him,

¹⁵and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.

¹⁶So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”

¹For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

²You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.

³Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

⁴In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

⁵Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

⁷You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

⁸All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad.

⁹Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house.

¹¹Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.

¹²The city of Tyre will come with a gift, people of wealth will seek your favor.

¹³All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.

¹⁴In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her— those brought to be with her.

¹⁵Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.

¹⁷I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

¹Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.

²I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.

³For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother.

⁴Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live.

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them.

⁶Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.

⁷The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

⁸Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.

⁹She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.”

¹⁰Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.

¹¹I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.

¹²When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

¹⁴Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.

¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.

¹⁶For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.

¹⁷They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words.

²¹Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;

²²for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

²³Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

²⁴Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

²⁶Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.

²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

¹When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.

²The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

³The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’ ”

⁴Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” “I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

⁵As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out.

⁶He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left.

⁷As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel!

⁸The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

⁹Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”

¹⁰But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’ ”

¹¹David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.

¹²It may be that the LORD will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

¹³So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt.

¹⁴The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

¹⁵Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.

¹⁶Then Hushai the Arkite, David’s confidant, went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷Absalom said to Hushai, “So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?”

¹⁸Hushai said to Absalom, “No, the one chosen by the LORD, by these people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and I will remain with him.

¹⁹Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.”

²⁰Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”

²¹Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.”

²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

²³Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.

¹This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²(This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)

³He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

⁴This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.

⁶Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.

⁷Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

⁸Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.

⁹They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the LORD.

¹⁰This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

¹²Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

¹⁵You may say, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,”

¹⁶but this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile—

¹⁷yes, this is what the LORD Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.

¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them.

¹⁹For they have not listened to my words,” declares the LORD, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the LORD.

²⁰Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes.

²²Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’

²³For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the LORD.

²⁴Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite,

²⁵“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah,

²⁶‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the LORD; you should put any maniac who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons.

²⁷So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?

²⁸He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’ ”

²⁹Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet.

³⁰Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

³¹“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies,

³²this is what the LORD says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the LORD, because he has preached rebellion against me.’ ”

¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest

²and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

⁶“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

⁸Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.

¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

²¹All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

²²Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

²³After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him,

²⁴but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him.

²⁵But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.

²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.

³⁰When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

³²As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

³⁴“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up.

³⁵All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor.

³⁷About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.

³⁸Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

³⁹Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

⁴⁰Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

⁴¹He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.

⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

⁴³Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.