Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely.

²And there in front of Him was a man suffering from edema.

³And Jesus responded and said to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

⁴But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.

⁵And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

⁶And they could offer no reply to this.

⁷Now He began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,

⁸“Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do nottake the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,

⁹and the one who invited youboth will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then in disgrace you will proceed to occupy the last place.

¹⁰But whenever you are invited, go andtake the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who aredining at the table with you.

¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be yourrepayment.

¹³But whenever you give abanquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind;

¹⁴and you will be blessed, since theydo not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

¹⁶But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;

¹⁷and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’

¹⁸And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it;please consider me excused.’

¹⁹And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out;please consider me excused.’

²⁰And another one said, ‘I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’

²¹And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’

²²And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’

²³And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled.

²⁴For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’ ”

²⁵Now large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them,

²⁶“If anyone comes to Me and does nothate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

²⁷Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

²⁸For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?

²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him,

³⁰saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’

³¹Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

³²Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace.

³³So then, none of you can be My disciple who does notgive up all his own possessions.

³⁴“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?

³⁵It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

²But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs.

³The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house, and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.

⁴So the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

⁶So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

⁷However, the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”

⁹And Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they be left only in the Nile?”

¹⁰Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

¹¹The frogs will depart from you and your houses, and from your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

¹²Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh.

¹³The LORD did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.

¹⁴So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank.

¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

¹⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may turn into gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ”

¹⁷They did so; and Aaron extended his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on every person and animal. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats through all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸The soothsayer priests tried with their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on every person and animal.

¹⁹Then the soothsayer priests said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

²⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water; and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

²¹For if you are not going to let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they live.

²²But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the land.

²³I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.” ’ ”

²⁴Then the LORD did so. And thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

²⁵Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”

²⁶But Moses said, “It is not permissible for us to do so, because we will sacrifice to the LORD our God that which is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice that which is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?

²⁷We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God, just as He commands us.”

²⁸Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead for me.”

²⁹Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going to leave you, and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”

³⁰So Moses left Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD.

³¹The LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.

³²But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

¹Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

⁴always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

⁵in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

⁶For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

⁸For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;

¹¹having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,

¹³so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else,

¹⁴and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

¹⁵Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill;

¹⁶the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

¹⁷the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.

¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But not only that, I also will rejoice,

¹⁹for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

²²But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

²³But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;

²⁴yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.

²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁶so that your pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

²⁸and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God.

²⁹For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,

³⁰experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

¹Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

²And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who were victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.

³And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!

⁴Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,

⁶and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and their chests wrapped with golden sashes.

⁷And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

⁸And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

¹“How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead.

²Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep Which have come up from their watering place, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.

³Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is beautiful. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil.

⁴Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with layers of stones On which are hung a thousand shields, All the round shields of the warriors.

⁵Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle That graze among the lilies.

⁶Until the cool of the day When the shadows flee, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense.

⁷“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish on you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, You shall come with me from Lebanon. You shall come down from the summit of Amana, From the summit of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions, From the mountains of leopards.

⁹You have enchanted my heart, my sister, my bride; You have enchanted my heart with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace.

¹⁰How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much sweeter is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than that of all kinds of balsam oils!

¹¹Your lips drip honey, my bride; Honey and milk are under your tongue, And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹²A locked garden is my sister, my bride, A locked spring, a sealed fountain.

¹³Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates With delicious fruits, henna with nard plants,

¹⁴Nard and saffron, spice reed and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh, and aloes, along with all the finest balsam oils.

¹⁵You are a garden spring, A well of fresh water, And flowing streams from Lebanon.”

¹⁶“Awake, north wind, And come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, May its balsam oils flow. May my beloved come into his garden And eat its delicious fruits!”

¹Do you indeed speak righteousness, you gods? Do you judge fairly, you sons of mankind?

²No, in heart you practice injustice; On earth you clear a way for the violence of your hands.

³The wicked have turned away from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.

⁴They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,

⁵So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells.

⁶God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, LORD.

⁷May they flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, may they be as headless shafts.

⁸May they be like a snail which goes along in slime, Like the miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹And people will say, “There certainly is a reward for the righteous; There certainly is a God who judges on the earth!”

¹Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.

⁴Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood, But who can stand before jealousy?

⁵Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed.

⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

⁷A satisfied person despises honey, But to a hungry person any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that wanders from its nest, So is a person who wanders from his home.

⁹Oil and perfume make the heart glad, And a person’s advice is sweet to his friend.

¹⁰Do not abandon your friend or your father’s friend, And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your disaster; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, So that I may reply to one who taunts me.

¹²A prudent person sees evil and hides himself; But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.

¹³Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger; And for a foreign woman seize a pledge from him.

¹⁴One who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, It will be considered a curse to him.

¹⁵A constant dripping on a day of steady rain And a contentious woman are alike;

¹⁶He who would restrain her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron, So one person sharpens another.

¹⁸One who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, And one who cares for his master will be honored.

¹⁹As in water a face reflects the face, So the heart of a person reflects the person.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of a person ever satisfied.

²¹The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.

²²Though you pound the fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, His foolishness still will not leave him.

²³Know well the condition of your flocks, And pay attention to your herds;

²⁴For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations.

²⁵When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,

²⁶The lambs will be for your clothing, And the goats will bring the price of a field,

²⁷And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your attendants.

¹Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a valiant mighty man.

²He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.”

⁴So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.

⁵When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.”

⁶But he said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.”

⁷Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.”

⁹(Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called a seer.)

¹⁰Then Saul said to his servant, “Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?”

¹²They answered them and said, “He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today.

¹³As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.”

¹⁴So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

¹⁵Now a day before Saul’s coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel, saying,

¹⁶“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.”

¹⁷When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.”

¹⁸Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind.

²⁰And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?”

²¹Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²²Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men.

²³And Samuel said to the cook, “Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’ ”

²⁴Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof.

²⁶And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

²⁷As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”

¹“Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins.

²Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.

³‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.

⁴Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high!

⁵Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?

⁶Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?

⁷Is it not to break your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

⁸Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will spring up quickly; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

⁹Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

¹⁰And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.

¹¹And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

¹²Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

¹³“If, because of the Sabbath, you restrain your foot From doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a pleasure, and the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,

¹⁴Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

²And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

³And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them.

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.

⁵Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

⁶And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

⁷They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

⁹Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.”

¹²And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”

¹⁴But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day;

¹⁶but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS;

¹⁸AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, And they will prophesy.

¹⁹AND I WILL DISPLAY WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

²⁰THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD COMES.

²¹AND IT SHALL BE that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

²²“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—

²³this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

²⁴But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

²⁵For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME, BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.

²⁶THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE WAS OVERJOYED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;

²⁷FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.

²⁸YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’

²⁹“Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰So because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne,

³¹he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.

³²It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses.

³³Therefore, since He has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.

³⁴For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

³⁵UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?”

³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

⁴⁰And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

⁴¹So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

⁴²They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

⁴³Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

⁴⁴And all the believers were together and had all things in common;

⁴⁵and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.

⁴⁶Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.