Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

²At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop.

³But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.

⁴The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head.

⁵The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed,

⁶until there was only one left — his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

⁷“But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

⁸So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

⁹“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you — he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

¹¹This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ ”

¹²The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

¹³Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

¹⁴“Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us — is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

¹⁵Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?” Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.”

¹⁶When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷“Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” His reply completely amazed them.

¹⁸Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.

²⁰Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.

²¹So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her.

²²This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died.

²³So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”

²⁴Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

²⁵For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.

²⁶“But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

²⁷So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”

²⁸One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.

³⁰And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

³¹The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

³²The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.

³³And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

³⁴Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

³⁵Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?

³⁶For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’

³⁷Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.

³⁸Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces.

³⁹And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.

⁴⁰Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”

⁴¹Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.

⁴²Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

⁴³Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

⁴⁴For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

¹Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master.

²Pharaoh became angry with these two officials,

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

⁴They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

⁵While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.

⁶When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.

⁷“Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

⁸And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

⁹So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me.

¹⁰The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes.

¹¹I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹²“This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days.

¹³Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer.

¹⁴And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.

¹⁵For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head.

¹⁷The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.”

¹⁸“This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days.

¹⁹Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”

²⁰Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials.

²¹He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup.

²²But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream.

²³Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

¹Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.

²They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

³For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.

⁴They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.

⁵They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

⁶So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.

⁷Since you excel in so many ways — in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us — I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

⁸I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.

⁹You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

¹⁰Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.

¹¹Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.

¹²Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

¹³Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.

¹⁴Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.

¹⁵As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

¹⁶But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.

¹⁷Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.

¹⁸We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.

¹⁹He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem — a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.

²⁰We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

²¹We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

²²We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you.

²³If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ.

²⁴So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.

²We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.

³Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

⁵And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross — not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.

⁷So we have these three witnesses —

⁸the Spirit, the water, and the blood — and all three agree.

⁹Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.

¹⁰All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

¹¹And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

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

¹³I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

¹⁴And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

¹⁵And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

¹⁶If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it.

¹⁷All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

¹⁸We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

¹⁹We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

²¹Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

¹Then the LORD said to Job,

²“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

³Then Job replied to the LORD,

⁴“I am nothing — how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand.

⁵I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”

⁶Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

⁷“Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

⁸“Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right?

⁹Are you as strong as God? Can you thunder with a voice like his?

¹⁰All right, put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty.

¹¹Give vent to your anger. Let it overflow against the proud.

¹²Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand.

¹³Bury them in the dust. Imprison them in the world of the dead.

¹⁴Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you.

¹⁵“Take a look at Behemoth, which I made, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly.

¹⁷Its tail is as strong as a cedar. The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.

¹⁸Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its limbs are bars of iron.

¹⁹It is a prime example of God’s handiwork, and only its Creator can threaten it.

²⁰The mountains offer it their best food, where all the wild animals play.

²¹It lies under the lotus plants, hidden by the reeds in the marsh.

²²The lotus plants give it shade among the willows beside the stream.

²³It is not disturbed by the raging river, not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.

²⁴No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.

¹I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.

²He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

³He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.

⁴Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.

⁵O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

⁶You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand — you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.

⁷Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures:

⁸I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”

⁹I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O LORD, well know.

¹⁰I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.

¹¹LORD, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.

¹²For troubles surround me — too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.

¹³Please, LORD, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me.

¹⁴May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace.

¹⁵Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”

¹⁶But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The LORD is great!”

¹⁷As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in his thoughts. You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.

¹Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns.

²She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table.

³She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.

⁴“Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,

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

⁶Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”

⁷Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.

⁸So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.

⁹Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.

¹⁰Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

¹¹Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.

¹²If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

¹³The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.

¹⁴She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city.

¹⁵She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business.

¹⁶“Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,

¹⁷“Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!”

¹⁸But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.

¹One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute.

²Word soon spread that Samson was there, so the men of Gaza gathered together and waited all night at the town gates. They kept quiet during the night, saying to themselves, “When the light of morning comes, we will kill him.”

³But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.

⁴Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.

⁵The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

⁶So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”

⁷Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”

⁸So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them.

⁹She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

¹⁰Afterward Delilah said to him, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now please tell me how you can be tied up securely.”

¹¹Samson replied, “If I were tied up with brand-new ropes that had never been used, I would become as weak as anyone else.”

¹²So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them. The men were hiding in the inner room as before, and again Delilah cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread.

¹³Then Delilah said, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely.” Samson replied, “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.” So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric.

¹⁴Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle. Again she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.

¹⁵Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!”

¹⁶She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.

¹⁷Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”

¹⁸Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. “Come back one more time,” she said, “for he has finally told me his secret.” So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands.

¹⁹Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.

²⁰Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.

²¹So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.

²²But before long, his hair began to grow back.

²³The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”

²⁴When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”

²⁵Half drunk by now, the people demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.

²⁶Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand, “Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.”

²⁷Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them.

²⁸Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.”

²⁹Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands,

³⁰he prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.

³¹Later his brothers and other relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.

¹“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

²“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”

³Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!

⁴Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.

⁵Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”

⁶A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.

⁷The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people.

⁸The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

⁹O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”

¹⁰Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.

¹¹He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

¹²Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

¹³Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

¹⁴Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?

¹⁵No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.

¹⁶All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God.

¹⁷The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing — mere emptiness and froth.

¹⁸To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him?

¹⁹Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?

²⁰Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

²¹Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God — the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?

²²God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.

²³He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.

²⁴They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.

²⁵“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

²⁶Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

²⁷O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

²⁸Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

²⁹He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

³⁰Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.

³¹But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

¹About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.

²He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.

³When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. )

⁴Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

⁶The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

⁷Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

⁹So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.

¹⁰They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

¹²When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

¹³He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

¹⁵“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

¹⁸At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.

¹⁹Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

²⁰Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant,

²¹and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them.

²²The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

²³Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

²⁴Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.