Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

²Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

³Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

⁴“Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”

⁵But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts.

⁶But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation.

⁷‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,

⁸and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one,

⁹let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

¹⁰Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again.

¹¹He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her.

¹²And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

¹³One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.

¹⁵I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

¹⁶Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

¹⁷As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.

¹⁹But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

²⁰“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

²¹Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁴This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.

²⁵In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁶The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁷Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

²⁸Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

²⁹“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,

³⁰will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property — along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.

³¹But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then. ”

³²They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him.

³³“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans.

³⁴They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

³⁶“What is your request?” he asked.

³⁷They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

³⁹“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering.

⁴⁰But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

⁴¹When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.

⁴²So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

⁴³But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road.

⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!”

⁵⁰Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi, ” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

⁵²And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

¹About this time, Judah left home and moved to Adullam, where he stayed with a man named Hirah.

²There he saw a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and he married her. When he slept with her,

³she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and he named the boy Er.

⁴Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, and she named him Onan.

⁵And when she gave birth to a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah’s birth, they were living at Kezib.

⁶In the course of time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar.

⁷But Er was a wicked man in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD took his life.

⁸Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”

⁹But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground. This prevented her from having a child who would belong to his brother.

¹⁰But the LORD considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the LORD took Onan’s life, too.

¹¹Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Go back to your parents’ home and remain a widow until my son Shelah is old enough to marry you.” (But Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her father’s home.

¹²Some years later Judah’s wife died. After the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep.

¹³Someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

¹⁴Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but no arrangements had been made for her to come and marry him. So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.

¹⁵Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face.

¹⁶So he stopped and propositioned her. “Let me have sex with you,” he said, not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law. “How much will you pay to have sex with me?” Tamar asked.

¹⁷“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah promised. “But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?” she asked.

¹⁸“What kind of guarantee do you want?” he replied. She answered, “Leave me your identification seal and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave them to her. Then he had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant.

¹⁹Afterward she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.

²⁰Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat to the woman and to pick up the things he had given her as his guarantee. But Hirah couldn’t find her.

²¹So he asked the men who lived there, “Where can I find the shrine prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to Enaim?” “We’ve never had a shrine prostitute here,” they replied.

²²So Hirah returned to Judah and told him, “I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the men of the village claim they’ve never had a shrine prostitute there.”

²³“Then let her keep the things I gave her,” Judah said. “I sent the young goat as we agreed, but you couldn’t find her. We’d be the laughingstock of the village if we went back again to look for her.”

²⁴About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute. And now, because of this, she’s pregnant.” “Bring her out, and let her be burned!” Judah demanded.

²⁵But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these?”

²⁶Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She is more righteous than I am, because I didn’t arrange for her to marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never slept with Tamar again.

²⁷When the time came for Tamar to give birth, it was discovered that she was carrying twins.

²⁸While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand. The midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.”

²⁹But then he pulled back his hand, and out came his brother! “What!” the midwife exclaimed. “How did you break out first?” So he was named Perez.

³⁰Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah.

¹As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.

²For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

³We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry.

⁴In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.

⁵We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.

⁶We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.

⁷We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

⁸We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.

⁹We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed.

¹⁰Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

¹¹Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you.

¹²There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us.

¹³I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

¹⁴Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

¹⁵What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil ? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

¹⁶And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

¹⁷Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

¹⁸And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty. ”

¹See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

²Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

³And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

⁴Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.

⁵And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.

⁶Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

⁷Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

⁸But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

⁹Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.

¹⁰So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

¹¹This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

¹²We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.

¹³So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

¹⁴If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

¹⁵Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

¹⁶We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

¹⁷If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion — how can God’s love be in that person?

¹⁸Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

¹⁹Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.

²⁰Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

²¹Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.

²²And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

²³And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.

²⁴Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

¹Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

²“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?

³Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.

⁵Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?

⁶What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone

⁷as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

⁸“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,

⁹and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?

¹⁰For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.

¹¹I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’

¹²“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?

¹³Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

¹⁴As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.

¹⁵The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

¹⁶“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?

¹⁷Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?

¹⁸Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!

¹⁹“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?

²⁰Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there?

²¹But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

²²“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?

²³(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)

²⁴Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

²⁵“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?

²⁶Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?

²⁷Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

²⁸“Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew?

²⁹Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?

³⁰For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

³¹“Can you direct the movement of the stars — binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?

³²Can you direct the constellations through the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?

³³Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

³⁴“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?

³⁵Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?

³⁶Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?

³⁷Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven

³⁸when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?

³⁹“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites

⁴⁰as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket?

⁴¹Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?

¹O LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage!

²Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.

³Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.

⁴My guilt overwhelms me — it is a burden too heavy to bear.

⁵My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.

⁶I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.

⁷A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.

⁸I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.

⁹You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh.

¹⁰My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.

¹¹My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance.

¹²Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me. Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me. All day long they plan their treachery.

¹³But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.

¹⁴I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply.

¹⁵For I am waiting for you, O LORD. You must answer for me, O Lord my God.

¹⁶I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.”

¹⁷I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.

¹⁸But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.

¹⁹I have many aggressive enemies; they hate me without reason.

²⁰They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.

²¹Do not abandon me, O LORD. Do not stand at a distance, my God.

²²Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

¹One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.

²When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”

³His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”

⁴His father and mother didn’t realize the LORD was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.

⁵As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah.

⁶At that moment the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn’t tell his father or mother about it.

⁷When Samson arrived in Timnah, he talked with the woman and was very pleased with her.

⁸Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass.

⁹He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.

¹⁰As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party at Timnah, as was the custom for elite young men.

¹¹When the bride’s parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.

¹²Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.

¹³But if you can’t solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.” “All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.”

¹⁴So he said: “Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet.” Three days later they were still trying to figure it out.

¹⁵On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?”

¹⁶So Samson’s wife came to him in tears and said, “You don’t love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.” “I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother,” he replied. “Why should I tell you?”

¹⁷So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.

¹⁸So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer: “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” Samson replied, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!”

¹⁹Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother.

²⁰So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.

¹About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

²When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

³“Remember, O LORD, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

⁴Then this message came to Isaiah from the LORD:

⁵“Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life,

⁶and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

⁷“‘And this is the sign from the LORD to prove that he will do as he promised:

⁸I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

⁹When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem:

¹⁰I said, “In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?”

¹¹I said, “Never again will I see the LORD GOD while still in the land of the living. Never again will I see my friends or be with those who live in this world.

¹²My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over.

¹³I waited patiently all night, but I was torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over.

¹⁴Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”

¹⁵But what could I say? For he himself sent this sickness. Now I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt.

¹⁶Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live!

¹⁷Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.

¹⁸For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can no longer hope in your faithfulness.

¹⁹Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next.

²⁰Think of it — the LORD is ready to heal me! I will sing his praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the LORD.

²¹Isaiah had said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover.”

²²And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the LORD?”

¹In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

³One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

⁴Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!

⁵Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.

⁶He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

⁷As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants.

⁸He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

⁹The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

¹⁰and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.

¹²In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.

¹³Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

¹⁴“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean. ”

¹⁵But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

¹⁶The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

¹⁷Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate,

¹⁸they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

²¹So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²²They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”

²³So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

²⁴They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!”

²⁷So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

²⁸Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

²⁹So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.

³¹He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!

³²Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”

³⁴Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

³⁵In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.

³⁶This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel — that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

³⁷You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism.

³⁸And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross,

⁴⁰but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear,

⁴¹not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all — the living and the dead.

⁴³He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

⁴⁴Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.

⁴⁵The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked,

⁴⁷“Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”

⁴⁸So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.