Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!”

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another — all will be thrown down.”

³While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,

⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

⁵Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you.

⁶Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.

⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.

¹⁰And it is necessary that the gospel be preached to all nations.

¹¹So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

¹³You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴“When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

¹⁵A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house,

¹⁶and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.

¹⁷Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

¹⁸“Pray it won’t happen in winter.

¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of creation until now and never will be again.

²⁰If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect, whom he chose.

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah! See, there! ’ do not believe it.

²²For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

²³And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light;

²⁵the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷He will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸“Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near — at the door.

³⁰“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³²“Now concerning that day or hour no one knows — neither the angels in heaven nor the Son  — but only the Father.

³³“Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is coming.

³⁴“It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert.

³⁵Therefore be alert, since you don’t know when the master of the house is coming — whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning.

³⁶Otherwise, when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping.

³⁷And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”

¹At the end of two years Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,

²when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds.

³After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the bank of the Nile.

⁴The sickly, thin cows ate the healthy, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and good, came up on one stalk.

⁶After them, seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up.

⁷The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, full ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream.

⁸When morning came, he was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

⁹Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I remember my faults.

¹⁰Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guards.

¹¹He and I had dreams on the same night; each dream had its own meaning.

¹²Now a young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, he interpreted our dreams for us, and each had its own interpretation.

¹³It turned out just the way he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.

¹⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.”

¹⁶“I am not able to,” Joseph answered Pharaoh. “It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

¹⁷So Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,

¹⁸when seven well-fed, healthy-looking cows came up from the Nile and grazed among the reeds.

¹⁹After them, seven other cows — weak, very sickly, and thin — came up. I’ve never seen such sickly ones as these in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰Then the thin, sickly cows ate the first seven well-fed cows.

²¹When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up.

²²In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stalk.

²³After them, seven heads of grain — withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind — sprouted up.

²⁴The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good ones. I told this to the magicians, but no one can tell me what it means.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing.

²⁷The seven thin, sickly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless, scorched heads of grain are seven years of famine.

²⁸“It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

²⁹Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt.

³⁰After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land.

³¹The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe.

³²Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and he will carry it out soon.

³³“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take a fifth of the harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

³⁵Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food.

³⁶The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”

³⁷The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants,

³⁸and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him?”

³⁹So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are.

⁴⁰You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only I, as king, will be greater than you.”

⁴¹Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴²Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, clothed him with fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, and servants called out before him, “Make way!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh and no one will be able to raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt without your permission.”

⁴⁵Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷During the seven years of abundance the land produced outstanding harvests.

⁴⁸Joseph gathered all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and put it in the cities. He put the food in every city from the fields around it.

⁴⁹So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance — like the sand of the sea — that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰Two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine arrived. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On, bore them to him.

⁵¹Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh and said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family.”

⁵²And the second son he named Ephraim and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end,

⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every land, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.

⁵⁵When the whole land of Egypt was stricken with famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh told all Egypt, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

⁵⁶Now the famine had spread across the whole region, so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷Every land came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.

¹Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you.

²For I know your eagerness, and I boast about you to the Macedonians: “Achaia has been ready since last year,” and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

³But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you in this matter would not prove empty, and so that you would be ready just as I said.

⁴Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be put to shame in that situation.

⁵Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.

⁶The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.

⁷Each person should do as he has decided in his heart — not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.

⁹As it is written: He distributed freely; he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.

¹⁰Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.

¹²For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

¹³Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.

¹⁴And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

¹The elder: To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth — and not only I, but also all who know the truth  —

²because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever.

³Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father.

⁵So now I ask you, dear lady — not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning — that we love one another.

⁶This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.

⁷Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

⁸Watch yourselves so you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.

⁹Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and don’t greet him;

¹¹for the one who greets him shares in his evil works.

¹²Though I have many things to write to you, I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so that our joy may be complete.

¹³The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

¹Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie his tongue down with a rope?

²Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

³Will he beg you for mercy or speak softly to you?

⁴Will he make a covenant with you so that you can take him as a slave forever?

⁵Can you play with him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?

⁶Will traders bargain for him or divide him among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay a hand on him. You will remember the battle and never repeat it!

⁹Any hope of capturing him proves false. Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

¹⁰No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan; who then can stand against me?

¹¹Who confronted me, that I should repay him? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹²I cannot be silent about his limbs, his power, and his graceful proportions.

¹³Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?

¹⁴Who can open his jaws, surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

¹⁵His pride is in his rows of scales, closely sealed together.

¹⁶One scale is so close to another that no air can pass between them.

¹⁷They are joined to one another, so closely connected they cannot be separated.

¹⁸His snorting flashes with light, while his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

¹⁹Flaming torches shoot from his mouth; fiery sparks fly out!

²⁰Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

²¹His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour out of his mouth.

²²Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances before him.

²³The folds of his flesh are joined together, solid as metal and immovable.

²⁴His heart is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone!

²⁵When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw because of his thrashing.

²⁶The sword that reaches him will have no effect, nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.

²⁷He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.

²⁸No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him.

²⁹A club is regarded as stubble, and he laughs at the sound of a javelin.

³⁰His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.

³¹He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like an ointment jar.

³²He leaves a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had gray hair!

³³He has no equal on earth — a creature devoid of fear!

³⁴He surveys everything that is haughty; he is king over all the proud beasts.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] Happy is one who is considerate of the poor; the LORD will save him in a day of adversity.

²The LORD will keep him and preserve him; he will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

³The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed; you will heal him on the bed where he lies.

⁴I said, “LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

⁵My enemies speak maliciously about me: “When will he die and be forgotten?”

⁶When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully; he stores up evil in his heart; he goes out and talks.

⁷All who hate me whisper together about me; they plan to harm me.

⁸“Something awful has overwhelmed him, and he won’t rise again from where he lies!”

⁹Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me.

¹⁰But you, LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up; then I will repay them.

¹¹By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.

¹²You supported me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever.

¹³Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen.

¹Solomon’s proverbs: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.

²Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.

³The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry, but he denies the wicked what they crave.

⁴Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.

⁵The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸A wise heart accepts commands, but foolish lips will be destroyed.

⁹The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰A sly wink of the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will be destroyed.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of the one who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool hastens destruction.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

¹⁶The reward of the righteous is life; the wages of the wicked is punishment.

¹⁷The one who follows instruction is on the path to life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray.

¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is prudent.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The LORD’s blessing enriches, and he adds no painful effort to it.

²³As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desire will be given to them.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the honorable, but destruction awaits the malicious.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not remain on the earth.

³¹The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate, but the mouth of the wicked, only what is perverse.

¹There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah.

²He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you place a curse on — here’s the silver. I took it.” Then his mother said, “My son, may you be blessed by the LORD!”

³He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I personally consecrate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit to make a carved image and a silver idol. I will give it back to you.”

⁴So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a silver idol, and it was in Micah’s house.

⁵This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.

⁷There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the clan of Judah.

⁸The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to stay wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰Micah replied, “Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in

¹¹and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons.

¹²Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.

¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

¹“Be silent before me, coasts and islands! And let peoples renew their strength. Let them approach; let them testify; let’s come together for the trial.

²Who has stirred up someone from the east? In righteousness he calls him to serve. The LORD hands nations over to him, and he subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like wind-driven stubble with his bow.

³He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.

⁴Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I am the LORD, the first and with the last  — I am he.”

⁵The coasts and islands see and are afraid, the whole earth trembles. They approach and arrive.

⁶Each one helps the other, and says to another, “Take courage!”

⁷The craftsman encourages the metalworker; the one who flattens with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good.” He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.

⁸But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, my friend  —

⁹I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said to you: You are my servant; I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.

¹⁰Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

¹¹Be sure that all who are enraged against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will become as nothing and will perish.

¹²You will look for those who contend with you, but you will not find them. Those who war against you will become absolutely nothing.

¹³For I am the LORD your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.

¹⁴Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you’ — this is the LORD’s declaration. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board, new, with many teeth. You will thresh mountains and pulverize them and make hills into chaff.

¹⁶You will winnow them and a wind will carry them away, a whirlwind will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I will answer them. I am the LORD, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.

¹⁸I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool and dry land into springs.

¹⁹I will plant cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees in the wilderness. I will put juniper trees, elms, and cypress trees together in the desert,

²⁰so that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹“Submit your case,” says the LORD. “Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

²²“Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell us the past events, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome, or tell us the future.

²³Tell us the coming events, then we will know that you are gods. Indeed, do something good or bad, then we will be in awe when we see it.

²⁴Look, you are nothing and your work is worthless. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

²⁵“I have stirred up one from the north, and he has come, one from the east who invokes my name. He will march over rulers as if they were mud, like a potter who treads the clay.

²⁶Who told about this from the beginning, so that we might know, and from times past, so that we might say, ‘He is right’? No one announced it, no one told it, no one heard your words.

²⁷I was the first to say to Zion, ‘Look! Here they are!’ And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.

²⁸When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

²⁹Look, all of them are a delusion; their works are nonexistent; their images are wind and emptiness.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul — also called Paul — filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas

¹⁰and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”

¹⁶Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm.

¹⁸And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness;

¹⁹and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

²⁰This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him:’ I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’

²³“From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.

²⁴Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵Now as John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But one is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him.

²⁸Though they found no grounds for the death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead,

³¹and he appeared for many days to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

³²And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.

³³God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father.

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure promises of David.

³⁵Therefore he also says in another passage, You will not let your Holy One see decay.

³⁶For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed,

³⁷but the one God raised up did not decay.

³⁸Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you.

³⁹Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

⁴⁰So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴¹Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”

⁴²As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath.

⁴³After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the end of the earth.”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the prominent God-fearing women and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.

⁵¹But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.