Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.

²When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴ Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.

⁵ And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.

⁶He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

⁸And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

¹¹this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹²And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

¹³And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.

¹⁴And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”

¹⁵But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”

¹⁶And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.”

¹⁷Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.

¹⁸And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

²⁰There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.

²¹And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.

²²And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.

²³In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

²⁴Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?

²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

²⁷He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

²⁸And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³²And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.

³³And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

³⁵And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

³⁶David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

³⁷David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

³⁸And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces

³⁹and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,

⁴⁰ who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

⁴¹And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.

⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.

⁴³And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.

⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

¹Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt.

²And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

³and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.

⁴The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

⁵And one night they both dreamed — the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison — each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.

⁶When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.

⁷So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”

⁸They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

⁹So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me,

¹⁰and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes.

¹¹Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.”

¹²Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.

¹³In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer.

¹⁴Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.

¹⁵For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head,

¹⁷and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.

¹⁹In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head — from you! — and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

²⁰On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

²¹He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.

²²But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

¹We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,

²for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

³For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,

⁴begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints —

⁵and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

⁶Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.

⁷But as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you — see that you excel in this act of grace also.

⁸I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

¹⁰And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it.

¹¹So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.

¹²For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

¹³For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness

¹⁴your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.

¹⁵As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

¹⁶But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.

¹⁷For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord.

¹⁸With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.

¹⁹And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will.

²⁰We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us,

²¹for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.

²²And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

²⁴So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men.

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.

⁵Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶This is he who came by water and blood — Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

⁷For there are three that testify:

⁸the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

⁹If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.

¹⁰Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

¹¹And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life — to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

¹⁷All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

¹⁸We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

¹And the LORD said to Job:

²“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

³Then Job answered the LORD and said:

⁴“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.

⁵I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”

⁶Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

⁷“Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.

⁸Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?

⁹Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

¹⁰“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.

¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.

¹²Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand.

¹³Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.

¹⁴Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵“Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly.

¹⁷He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

¹⁸His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹“He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!

²⁰For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play.

²¹Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.

²²For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.

²³Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.

²⁴Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?

¹I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

³He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

⁴Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

⁵You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

⁶In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

⁸I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.

¹⁰I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

¹¹As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

¹²For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.

¹³Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

¹⁴Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

¹⁵Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!”

¹⁷As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

¹Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.

²She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.

³She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town,

⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says,

⁵“Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.

⁶Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

⁷Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

⁸Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

¹¹For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

¹³The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.

¹⁴She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,

¹⁵calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way,

¹⁶“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says,

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

¹⁸But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

¹Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.

²The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.”

³But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

⁴After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

⁵And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

⁶So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”

⁷Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

⁸Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

⁹Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.”

¹¹And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

¹²So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

¹³Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁴So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

¹⁵And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”

¹⁶And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.

¹⁷And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁸When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.

¹⁹She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

²⁰And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

²¹And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.

²²But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

²³Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.”

²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”

²⁵And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars.

²⁶And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.”

²⁷Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

²⁸Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

²⁹And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other.

³⁰And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

³¹Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

¹Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

²Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

³A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

⁵And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

⁶A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

⁷The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.

⁸The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

⁹Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

¹⁰Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

¹¹He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

¹³Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?

¹⁴Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

¹⁵Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

¹⁶Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

¹⁸To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?

¹⁹An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.

²⁰He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

²¹Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

²²It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

²³who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

²⁴Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

²⁵To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

²⁸Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

²⁹He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

³⁰Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

³¹but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

¹About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

²He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

³and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

⁴And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

⁶Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

⁸And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

⁹And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.

¹¹When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

¹²When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

¹³And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.

¹⁵They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”

¹⁶But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.

¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

¹⁹And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

²⁰Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.

²¹On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them.

²²And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”

²³Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

²⁴But the word of God increased and multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.