Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

²It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

³So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

⁴But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

⁶So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

⁸The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

¹⁰But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

¹¹After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”

¹²The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

¹³Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,

¹⁵and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

¹⁸Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

²⁰So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

²¹Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

²²But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

²⁸When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

²⁹And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

³¹When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

³²Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

³⁴And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

⁴⁴The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

⁴⁶but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.

⁵⁰Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

⁵¹He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

⁵²and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

⁵³So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

⁵⁶They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?”

⁵⁷Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

¹“Now this is the commandment — the statutes and the rules — that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it,

²that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.

³Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁴“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

⁷You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

⁸You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

⁹You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

¹⁰“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you — with great and good cities that you did not build,

¹¹and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant — and when you eat and are full,

¹²then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹³It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

¹⁴You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you —

¹⁵for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God — lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

¹⁶“You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

¹⁷You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you.

¹⁸And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers

¹⁹by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised.

²⁰“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’

²¹then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

²²And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes.

²³And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers.

²⁴And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.

²⁵And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’

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.

¹Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

²to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

³For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

⁴But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,

⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

⁸The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

¹⁰As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,

¹¹knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

¹²When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

¹³Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.

¹⁴And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

¹⁵All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

¹And Elihu continued, and said:

²“Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.

³I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵“Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right.

⁷He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted.

⁸And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction,

⁹then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.

¹⁰He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity.

¹¹If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness.

¹²But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

¹³“The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.

¹⁴They die in youth, and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.

¹⁵He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.

¹⁶He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

¹⁷“But you are full of the judgment on the wicked; judgment and justice seize you.

¹⁸Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing, and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

¹⁹Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress, or all the force of your strength?

²⁰Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place.

²¹Take care; do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen rather than affliction.

²²Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?

²³Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴“Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung.

²⁵All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar.

²⁶Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.

²⁷For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain,

²⁸which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly.

²⁹Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion?

³⁰Behold, he scatters his lightning about him and covers the roots of the sea.

³¹For by these he judges peoples; he gives food in abundance.

³²He covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark.

³³Its crashing declares his presence; the cattle also declare that he rises.

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

⁶The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

¹My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,

²that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

³For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,

⁴but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;

⁶she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,

⁹lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,

¹⁰lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

¹¹and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,

¹²and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.

¹⁴I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

¹⁹a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.

²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

²¹For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.

²²The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

²³He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

¹Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.

²I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,

³and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.”

⁴And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.”

⁶And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.”

⁷Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.”

⁸Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people.

⁹Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’

¹⁰Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men.

¹¹But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.

¹²So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left.

¹³If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.”

¹⁴And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.

¹⁵Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled.

¹⁶Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’”

¹⁷Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city.

¹⁸But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it.

¹⁹And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it.

²⁰When Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, “Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.”

²²Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

²⁴Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.

²⁵Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

²⁶And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,

²⁸brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils,

²⁹honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

²“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.

³For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

⁵“Thus says the LORD: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace.

⁶Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?

⁷Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

⁸“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.

⁹But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

¹¹For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you.

¹⁴All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant.

¹⁵Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you.

¹⁶Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.

¹⁷For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

¹⁹Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

²⁰Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the LORD.

²²And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

²³Behold the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this.

¹At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,

²a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

³About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

⁵And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

⁶He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,

⁸and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

¹⁰And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance

¹¹and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

¹²In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

¹³And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

¹⁷Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate

¹⁸and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

¹⁹And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

²¹And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”

²²And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

²³So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

³⁰And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁶As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

³⁷you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

⁴¹not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.

⁴⁵And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.