Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

²And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

³Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,

⁴“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

⁵And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

⁶For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.

⁷But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

⁹“But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.

¹⁰And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

¹¹But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

¹³And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

¹⁴“So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁵Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.

¹⁶And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

¹⁷But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

¹⁸And pray that your flight may not be in winter.

¹⁹For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.

²⁰And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

²¹“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.

²²For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

²³But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

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

²⁵the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

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

²⁷And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

²⁸“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!

³⁰Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

³²“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³³Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

³⁴It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.

³⁵Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—

³⁶lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

³⁷And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

¹Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.

²Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

³Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

⁴And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

⁵He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.

⁶Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

⁷And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

⁸Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day.

¹⁰When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker,

¹¹we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

¹²Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream.

¹³And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river.

¹⁸Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

¹⁹Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows.

²¹When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

²²Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good.

²³Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

²⁴And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:

²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one.

²⁷And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.

²⁸This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

²⁹Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt;

³⁰but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.

³¹So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.

³²And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.

³⁵And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.

³⁶Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

³⁷So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴²Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly.

⁴⁸So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.

⁴⁹Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

⁵⁰And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.

⁵¹Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”

⁵²And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended,

⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

⁵⁵So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.”

⁵⁶The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

¹Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you;

²for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority.

³Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready;

⁴lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting.

⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.

⁶But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

⁷So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

⁹As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,

¹¹while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

¹²For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God,

¹³while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,

¹⁴and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding 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 truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth,

²because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

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

⁴I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.

⁵And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.

⁶This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

⁷For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

⁸Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

⁹Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;

¹¹for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

¹²Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

¹³The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

¹“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?

²Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook?

³Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?

⁴Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever?

⁵Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?

⁶Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle— Never do it again!

⁹Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?

¹⁰No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me?

¹¹Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.

¹²“I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.

¹³Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle?

¹⁴Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around?

¹⁵His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal;

¹⁶One is so near another That no air can come between them;

¹⁷They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted.

¹⁸His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

¹⁹Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out.

²⁰Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

²¹His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth.

²²Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him.

²³The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved.

²⁴His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone.

²⁵When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.

²⁶Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.

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

²⁸The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him.

²⁹Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins.

³⁰His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire.

³¹He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

³²He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair.

³³On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear.

³⁴He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.

⁴I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt.

⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

⁹Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.

¹³Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked.

⁴He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.

⁹He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.

¹⁰He who winks with the eye causes trouble, But a prating fool will fall.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.

¹⁴Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

¹⁵The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life, The wages of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.

¹⁸Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom.

²²The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

²³To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.

²⁴The fear of the wicked will come upon him, And the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

¹Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

²And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!”

³So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.”

⁴Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.

⁵The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there.

⁸The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

⁹And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”

¹⁰Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in.

¹¹Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him.

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

¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!”

¹“Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment.

²“Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow?

³Who pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet?

⁴Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.’ ”

⁵The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came.

⁶Everyone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, “Be of good courage!”

⁷So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”; Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter.

⁸“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.

⁹You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

¹⁰Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

¹¹“Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.

¹²You shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.

¹³For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

¹⁴“Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the LORD And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff.

¹⁶You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the LORD, And glory in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.

¹⁹I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together,

²⁰That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.

²²“Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.

²³Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together.

²⁴Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.

²⁵“I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay.

²⁶Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words.

²⁷The first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.

²⁸For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

²⁹Indeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion.

¹Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

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

⁵And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

¹⁰and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹¹And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

¹⁵And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”

¹⁶Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.

¹⁸Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.

¹⁹And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.

²⁰“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

²¹And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

²³From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—

²⁴after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’

²⁶“Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.

²⁹Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead.

³¹He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.

³²And we declare to you glad tidings— that promise which was made to the fathers.

³³God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’

³⁴And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’

³⁵Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

³⁶“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;

³⁷but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

³⁹and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

⁴¹‘Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”

⁴²So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.

⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.

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