Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.

²And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”

³And the chief priests accused him of many things.

⁴And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.”

⁵But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

⁶Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked.

⁷And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas.

⁸And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them.

⁹And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

¹⁰For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

¹²And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”

¹⁴And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”

¹⁵So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

¹⁶And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion.

¹⁷And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.

¹⁸And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.

²⁰And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

²¹And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

²²And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).

²³And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

²⁴And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.

²⁵And it was the third hour when they crucified him.

²⁶And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”

²⁷And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.

²⁸

²⁹And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

³⁰save yourself, and come down from the cross!”

³¹So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.

³²Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

³³And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

³⁵And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”

³⁶And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”

³⁷And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

³⁸And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

³⁹And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.

⁴¹When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

⁴²And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.

⁴⁵And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.

⁴⁶And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

¹Now the famine was severe in the land.

²And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.”

³But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’

⁴If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.

⁵But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’”

⁶Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”

⁷They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.

⁹I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

¹⁰If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

¹²Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.

¹³Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man.

¹⁴May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

¹⁵So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”

¹⁷The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house.

¹⁸And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.”

¹⁹So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house,

²⁰and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.

²¹And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us,

²²and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder,

²⁵they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

²⁶When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground.

²⁷And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.

²⁹And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!”

³⁰Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.

³¹Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.”

³²They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

³³And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement.

³⁴Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.

¹I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!

²For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

³But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

⁴For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

⁵Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

⁶Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

⁷Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge?

⁸I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.

⁹And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.

¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

¹¹And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

¹²And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

¹⁵So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

¹⁶I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

¹⁷What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool.

¹⁸Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.

¹⁹For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!

²⁰For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.

²¹To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast of that.

²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.

²³Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one — I am talking like a madman — with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.

²⁴Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

²⁶on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;

²⁷in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

²⁸And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

³⁰If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

³¹The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

³²At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,

³³but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

¹Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

²May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

³Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

⁴For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day —

⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

⁸Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

⁹But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

¹⁰But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

¹¹Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.

¹²These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

¹³wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,

¹⁵to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

¹⁶These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

¹⁷But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.”

¹⁹It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

²²And have mercy on those who doubt;

²³save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

²⁴Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,

²⁵to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

¹The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

³What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

⁵The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.

⁶The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.

⁷All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

⁸All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

¹²I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

¹⁴I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

¹Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!

²For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns.

³No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised.

⁹Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.

¹⁰Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

¹²Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

¹³An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

¹⁶The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.

¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.

¹⁸There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.

²¹No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

²³A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

²⁶One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

²⁸In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.

¹In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

²And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months.

³Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house. And when the girl's father saw him, he came with joy to meet him.

⁴And his father-in-law, the girl's father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there.

⁵And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go.”

⁶So the two of them sat and ate and drank together. And the girl's father said to the man, “Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry.”

⁷And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him, till he spent the night there again.

⁸And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning to depart. And the girl's father said, “Strengthen your heart and wait until the day declines.” So they ate, both of them.

⁹And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, “Behold, now the day has waned toward evening. Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home.”

¹⁰But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.

¹¹When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”

¹²And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.”

¹³And he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.”

¹⁴So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin,

¹⁵and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites.

¹⁷And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come from?”

¹⁸And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the LORD, but no one has taken me into his house.

¹⁹We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.”

²⁰And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.”

²¹So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

²²As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.”

²³And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing.

²⁴Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.”

²⁵But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.

²⁶And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light.

²⁷And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

²⁸He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home.

²⁹And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

³⁰And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

¹But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

³For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

⁴Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

⁵Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

⁶I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

⁷everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

⁸Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!

⁹All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true.

¹⁰“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

¹¹I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

¹²I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.

¹³Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”

¹⁴Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.

¹⁵I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

¹⁶Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,

¹⁷who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

¹⁸“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

¹⁹Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

²⁰The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,

²¹the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

²²“Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel!

²³You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense.

²⁴You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

²⁵“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

²⁶Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.

²⁷Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.

²⁸Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.

¹But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

⁵But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

⁷And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,

⁹and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

¹²And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶“‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,

¹⁷that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things

¹⁸known from of old.’

¹⁹Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,

²⁰but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

²¹For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

²³with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,

²⁵it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:

²⁹that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

³¹And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

³²And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.

³³And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.