Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate.

²Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.”

³And the chief priests started accusing Him of many things.

⁴But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!”

⁵But Jesus said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.

⁶Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

⁷And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt.

⁸And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

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

¹⁰For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

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

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

¹³They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁵Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

¹⁶Now the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman cohort.

¹⁷And they *dressed Him in purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him;

¹⁸and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹And they repeatedly beat His head with a reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him.

²⁰And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

²²Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.

²³And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.

²⁴And they *crucified Him, and *divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man would take.

²⁵Now it was the third hour when they crucified Him.

²⁶The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷And they *crucified two rebels with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

²⁸

²⁹Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

³⁰save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”

³¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself!

³²Let this Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

³³When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

³⁵And when some of the bystanders heard Him, they began saying, “Look! He is calling for Elijah!”

³⁶And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

³⁷But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died.

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

³⁹And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw that He died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰Now there were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome.

⁴¹When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and serve Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When evening had already come, since it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴Now Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

⁴⁵And after learning this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been cut out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.

¹Now the famine was severe in the land.

²So it came about, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

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

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

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

⁶Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, by telling the man whether you still had another brother?”

⁷But they said, “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

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

⁹I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then you can let me take the blame forever.

¹⁰For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”

¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a gift, a little balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

¹²And take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.

¹³Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man;

¹⁴and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!”

¹⁵So the men took this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they set out and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

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

¹⁷So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house.

¹⁸Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, so that he may attack us and overpower us, and take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

¹⁹So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house,

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

²¹and it happened when we came to the campsite, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the opening of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand.

²²We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³But he said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your money was in my possession.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.

²⁵So they prepared the gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.

²⁶When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift which was in their hand, and they bowed down to the ground before him.

²⁷Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” Then they bowed down again in homage.

²⁹And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

³⁰Joseph then hurried out, for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there.

³¹Then he washed his face and came out; and he controlled himself and said, “Serve the meal.”

³²Then they served him by himself, and Joseph’s brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

³³Now they were seated before him, from the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.

³⁴Then he took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank freely with him.

¹I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.

²For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for 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 trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

⁴For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, this you tolerate very well!

⁵For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.

⁶But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.

⁷Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?

⁸I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you;

⁹and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brothers came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.

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

¹¹Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

¹²But what I am doing I will also continue to do, so that I may eliminate the opportunity from those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.

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

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

¹⁵Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

¹⁶Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little.

¹⁷What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.

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

¹⁹For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly.

²⁰For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, if anyone devours you, if anyone takes advantage of you, if anyone exalts himself, if anyone hits you in the face.

²¹To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else is bold—I am speaking in foolishness—I too am bold.

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

²³Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea.

²⁶I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers;

²⁷I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

²⁸Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?

³⁰If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

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

³²In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me,

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

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

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

³Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.

⁴For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into indecent behavior and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵Now I want to remind you, though you know everything once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

⁸Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties.

⁹But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

¹⁰But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

¹²These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

¹³wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones,

¹⁵to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

¹⁶These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

¹⁷But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁸that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”

¹⁹These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

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

²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

²²And have mercy on some, who are doubting;

²³save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

²⁴Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless 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.

²“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “Futility of futilities! All is futility.”

³What advantage does a person have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

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

⁵Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hurrying to its place it rises there again.

⁶Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.

⁷All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

⁸All things are wearisome; No one can tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

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

¹⁰Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? It has already existed for ages Which were before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of the earlier things, And of the later things as well, which will occur, There will be no remembrance of them Among those who will come later still.

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

¹³And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled.

¹⁴I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is futility and striving after wind.

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

¹⁶I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

¹⁸Because in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

¹Vindicate me, God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; Save me from the deceitful and unjust person!

²For You are the God of my strength; 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, they shall lead me; They shall bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And I will praise You on the lyre, God, my God.

⁵Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.

¹One who loves discipline loves knowledge, But one who hates rebuke is stupid.

²A good person will obtain favor from the LORD, But He will condemn a person who devises evil.

³A person will not be established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous will not be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.

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

⁶The words of the wicked wait in ambush for blood, But the mouth of the upright will rescue them.

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

⁸A person will be praised according to his insight, But one of perverse mind will be despised.

⁹Better is one who is lightly esteemed and has a servant, Than one who honors himself and lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous person has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹One who works his land will have plenty of bread, But one who pursues worthless things lacks sense.

¹²The wicked person desires the plunder of evil people, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³An evil person is ensnared by the offense of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble.

¹⁴A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a person’s hands will return to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a person who listens to advice is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent person conceals dishonor.

¹⁷One who declares truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips will endure forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

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

²¹No harm happens to the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

²³A prudent person conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy hand will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous person is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷A lazy person does not roast his prey, But the precious possession of a person is diligence.

²⁸In the way of righteousness there is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.

²But his concubine found him repugnant, and she left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and remained there for a period of four months.

³Then her husband set out and went after her to speak gently to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he was glad to meet him.

⁴His father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him, and he remained with him for three days. So they ate and drank and stayed there.

⁵Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.”

⁶So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be so kind as to spend the night, and let your heart be cheerful.”

⁷However, the man got up to go; but his father-in-law urged him, and he spent the night there again.

⁸Now on the fifth day he got up to go early in the morning, but the girl’s father said, “Please strengthen yourself, and wait until late afternoon”; so both of them ate.

⁹When the man got up to go, along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is coming to an end; spend the night here so that your heart may be cheerful. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey and go home.”

¹⁰But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And with him was a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him.

¹¹When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and the servant said to his master, “Please come, and let’s turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”

¹²However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; instead, we will go on as far as Gibeah.”

¹³And he said to his servant, “Come, and let’s approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”

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

¹⁵They turned aside there to enter and spend the night in Gibeah. When they entered, they sat down in the public square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjaminites.

¹⁷And he raised his eyes and saw the traveler in the public 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 part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no one will take me into his house.

¹⁹Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, and your female slave, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.”

²⁰Then the old man said, “Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the public square.”

²¹So he took him into his house and fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

²²While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless men, surrounded the house, pushing one another at the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who entered your house that we may have relations with him.”

²³Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not act so wickedly. Since this man has come into my house, do not commit this vile sin.

²⁴Here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out, then rape them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit this act of vile sin against this man.”

²⁵But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her outside to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn.

²⁶As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.

²⁷When her master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold.

²⁸And he said to her, “Get up and let’s go,” but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his home.

²⁹When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb. Then he sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

³⁰All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, make a plan, and speak up!”

¹But now, this is what the LORD says, He who is your Creator, Jacob, And He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, 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 will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

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

⁴Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.

⁵Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west.

⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

⁷Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

⁸Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.

⁹All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses so that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

¹⁰“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.

¹¹I, only I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.

¹²It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God.

¹³Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act, and who can reverse it?”

¹⁴This is what the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships over which they rejoice.

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

¹⁶This is what the LORD says, He who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷Who brings out the chariot and the horse, The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):

¹⁸“Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past.

¹⁹Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.

²⁰The animals of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people.

²¹The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

²²“Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob; But you have become weary of Me, Israel.

²³You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, Nor wearied you with incense.

²⁴You have not bought Me sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your wrongdoings.

²⁵“I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

²⁶Meet Me in court, let’s argue our case together; State your cause, so that you may be proved right.

²⁷Your first forefather sinned, And your spokesmen have rebelled against Me.

²⁸So I will profane the officials of the sanctuary, And I will turn Jacob over to destruction and Israel to abuse.

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

²And after Paul and Barnabas had a heated argument and debate with them, the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

³Therefore, after being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

⁷After 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 would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.

¹⁵The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN TABERNACLE OF DAVID, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

¹⁷SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

¹⁸SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS known from long ago.

¹⁹Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.

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

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

²³and they sent this letter with them: “The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching, upsetting your souls,

²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

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

²⁷Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

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

³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message.

³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters in peace to those who had sent them out.

³⁴

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

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.

³⁸But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

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