Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”

²Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

³When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,

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

⁵Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.

⁶Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.

⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

⁹“As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them.

¹⁰And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations.

¹¹When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;

¹³and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴“But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains;

¹⁵the one on the housetop must not go down or enter the house to take anything away;

¹⁶the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat.

¹⁷Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days!

¹⁸Pray that it may not be in winter.

¹⁹For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be.

²⁰And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days.

²¹And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ — do not believe it.

²²False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

²³But be alert; I have already told you everything.

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

²⁵and the stars will be falling from heaven, 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.

²⁷Then he 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“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

³⁰Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³²“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³³Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.

³⁴It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.

³⁵Therefore, keep awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn,

³⁶or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.

³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

¹After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile,

²and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek and fat cows, and they grazed in the reed grass.

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

⁴The ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. And Pharaoh awoke.

⁵Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk.

⁶Then seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them.

⁷The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and it was a dream.

⁸In the morning his spirit was troubled; so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

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

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

¹¹We dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning.

¹²A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each according to his dream.

¹³As he interpreted to us, so it turned out; I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was hurriedly brought out of the dungeon. When he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.

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

¹⁶Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile;

¹⁸and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass.

¹⁹Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰The thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows,

²¹but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

²²I fell asleep a second time and I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one stalk,

²³and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouting after them;

²⁴and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

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

²⁷The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind. They are seven years of famine.

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

²⁹There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt.

³⁰After them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land.

³¹The plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very grievous.

³²And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.

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

³⁴Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years.

³⁵Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.

³⁶That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

³⁷The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants.

³⁸Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this — one in whom is the spirit of God?”

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

⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with 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.”

⁴²Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Moreover Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

⁴⁵Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷During the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly.

⁴⁸He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it.

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

⁵⁰Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

⁵¹Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”

⁵²The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.”

⁵³The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end;

⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread.

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

⁵⁶And since the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world.

¹Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints,

²for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

³But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;

⁴otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated — to say nothing of you — in this undertaking.

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion.

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

⁷Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

⁹As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us;

¹²for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.

¹³Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others,

¹⁴while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given 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 abides 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 Father’s Son, in truth and love.

⁴I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father.

⁵But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another.

⁶And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning — you must walk in it.

⁷Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist!

⁸Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward.

⁹Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching;

¹¹for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

¹²Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

¹³The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.

¹“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord?

²Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook?

³Will it make many supplications to you? Will it speak soft words to you?

⁴Will it make a covenant with you to be taken as your servant forever?

⁵Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls?

⁶Will traders bargain over it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay hands on it; think of the battle; you will not do it again!

⁹Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed; were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it?

¹⁰No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it?

¹¹Who can confront it and be safe? — under the whole heaven, who?

¹²“I will not keep silence concerning its limbs, or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame.

¹³Who can strip off its outer garment? Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?

¹⁴Who can open the doors of its face? There is terror all around its teeth.

¹⁵Its back is made of shields in rows, shut up closely as with a seal.

¹⁶One is so near to another that no air can come between them.

¹⁷They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated.

¹⁸Its sneezes flash forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

¹⁹From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out.

²⁰Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

²¹Its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of its mouth.

²²In its neck abides strength, and terror dances before it.

²³The folds of its flesh cling together; it is firmly cast and immovable.

²⁴Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as the lower millstone.

²⁵When it raises itself up the gods are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.

²⁶Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail, nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.

²⁷It counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.

²⁸The arrow cannot make it flee; slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.

²⁹Clubs are counted as chaff; it laughs at the rattle of javelins.

³⁰Its underparts are like sharp potsherds; it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.

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

³²It leaves a shining wake behind it; one would think the deep to be white-haired.

³³On earth it has no equal, a creature without fear.

³⁴It surveys everything that is lofty; it is king over all that are proud.”

¹Happy are those who consider the poor; the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble.

²The LORD protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.

³The LORD sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.

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

⁵My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish.

⁶And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad.

⁷All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.

⁸They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie.

⁹Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.

¹⁰But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me.

¹²But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.

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

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.

²Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.

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

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

⁸The wise of heart will heed commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but the one who rebukes boldly makes peace.

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

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

¹³On the lips of one who has understanding wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise lay up knowledge, but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

¹⁶The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but one who rejects a rebuke goes astray.

¹⁸Lying lips conceal hatred, and whoever utters slander is a fool.

¹⁹When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech.

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

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

²²The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

²³Doing wrong is like sport to a fool, but wise conduct is pleasure to a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dread will come upon them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are established forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so are the lazy to their employers.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the upright, but destruction for evildoers.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not remain in the land.

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

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

¹There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

²He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my hearing, — that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you.” And his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the LORD!”

³Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, “I consecrate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal.”

⁴So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah.

⁵This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.

⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.

⁷Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite residing there.

⁸This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to live wherever he could find a place. He came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his work.

⁹Micah said to him, “From where do you come?” He replied, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰Then Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your living.”

¹¹The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became to him like one of his sons.

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

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

¹Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.

²Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service? He delivers up nations to him, and tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.

³He pursues them and passes on safely, scarcely touching the path with his feet.

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

⁵The coastlands have seen and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come.

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

⁷The artisan encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

⁸But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

⁹you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

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 uphold you with my victorious right hand.

¹¹Yes, all who are incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

¹²You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

¹³For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

¹⁴Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you insect Israel! I will help you, says the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff.

¹⁶You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. Then you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

¹⁷When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers on the bare 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 put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,

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

²¹Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

²²Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, so that we may consider them, and that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

²³Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be afraid and terrified.

²⁴You, indeed, are nothing and your work is nothing at all; whoever chooses you is an abomination.

²⁵I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name. He shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

²⁶Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know, and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”? There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

²⁷I first have declared it to Zion, and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.

²⁸But when I look there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.

²⁹No, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their images are empty wind.

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

²While 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 fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

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

⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them.

⁶When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus.

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

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

⁹But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

¹⁰and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹And now listen — the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

¹³Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem;

¹⁴but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.”

¹⁶So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: “You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen.

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

¹⁸For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

¹⁹After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance

²⁰for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.

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

²²When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’

²³Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;

²⁴before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him.

²⁸Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead;

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

³²And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors

³³he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy promises made to David.’

³⁵Therefore he has also said in another psalm, ‘You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.’

³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died, was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption;

³⁷but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption.

³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you;

³⁹by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:

⁴¹‘Look, you scoffers! Be amazed and perish, for in your days I am doing a work, a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.’”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath.

⁴³When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.

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

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers.

⁴⁹Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.

⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium.

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