Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

²And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

⁴“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

⁶And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

⁷I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

⁸“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?

⁹And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’

¹⁰Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.

¹²And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.

¹³And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

¹⁴But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

¹⁵Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

¹⁶And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

²⁰“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

²¹And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

²³And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;

²⁴for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

²⁵“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

²⁷And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

²⁸“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.

²⁹So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.

³⁰But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

³¹“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

³²It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

²For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them,

³behold, the hand of the LORD will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence.

⁴And the LORD will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ”

⁵Then the LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”

⁶So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.

⁷Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

⁸So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh.

⁹And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast.

¹¹And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

¹²But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me,

¹⁴for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.

¹⁵Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth.

¹⁶But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.

¹⁷As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go.

¹⁸Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now.

¹⁹Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”

²⁰He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses.

²¹But he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”

²³And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

²⁴So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

²⁵And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field.

²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

²⁷And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked.

²⁸Entreat the LORD, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

²⁹So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.

³⁰But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.”

³¹Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud.

³²But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops.

³³So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.

³⁴And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.

³⁵So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

¹Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

²fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

³Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

⁴Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

¹³for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without complaining and disputing,

¹⁵that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

¹⁶holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

¹⁷Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

¹⁸For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁹But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.

²⁰For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.

²¹For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.

²²But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

²³Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me.

²⁴But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

²⁵Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need;

²⁶since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.

²⁹Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem;

³⁰because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.

¹Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

²So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

³Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

⁴Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

⁵And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.

⁶For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”

⁷And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

⁸Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

⁹And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

¹⁰Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

¹¹They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

¹²Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

¹³And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

¹⁴For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

¹⁶And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

¹⁸And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.

¹⁹Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

²⁰Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

²¹And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

¹I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!

²I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.”

³I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them?

⁴My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him.

⁵I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock.

⁶I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

⁷The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls Took my veil away from me.

⁸I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, That you tell him I am lovesick!

⁹What is your beloved More than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you so charge us?

¹⁰My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters, Washed with milk, And fitly set.

¹³His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh.

¹⁴His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars.

¹⁶His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him. [1] Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me.

²Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men.

³For look, they lie in wait for my life; The mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD.

⁴They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine. Awake to help me, and behold!

⁵You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah

⁶At evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city.

⁷Indeed, they belch with their mouth; Swords are in their lips; For they say, “Who hears?”

⁸But You, O LORD, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the nations in derision.

⁹I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense.

¹⁰My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.

¹¹Do not slay them, lest my people forget; Scatter them by Your power, And bring them down, O Lord our shield.

¹²For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for the cursing and lying which they speak.

¹³Consume them in wrath, consume them, That they may not be; And let them know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah

¹⁴And at evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city.

¹⁵They wander up and down for food, And howl if they are not satisfied.

¹⁶But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.

¹⁷To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

²Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged.

³A poor man who oppresses the poor Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the LORD understand all.

⁶Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

⁷Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, But a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.

⁹One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, He himself will fall into his own pit; But the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding searches him out.

¹²When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people.

¹⁶A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days.

¹⁷A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.

¹⁸Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

¹⁹He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!

²⁰A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

²²A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

²³He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother, And says, “It is no transgression,” The same is companion to a destroyer.

²⁵He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.

²⁶He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

²⁷He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance?

²When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’

³Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.

⁴And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands.

⁵After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.

⁶Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

⁷And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.

⁸You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

⁹So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

¹⁰When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

¹¹And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹²Then a man from there answered and said, “But who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹³And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

¹⁴Then Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” So he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.”

¹⁶So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said.

¹⁷Then Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah,

¹⁸and said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’

¹⁹But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.”

²⁰And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

²¹When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

²²Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”

²³So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

²⁵Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

²⁶And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.

²⁷But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

¹Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.

²But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

³For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.

⁴No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.

⁵They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

⁶Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.

⁷Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.

⁸The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

⁹Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!

¹⁰We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.

¹¹We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.

¹²For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:

¹³In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

¹⁴Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.

¹⁵So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.

¹⁶He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.

¹⁷For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

¹⁸According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.

¹⁹So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

²⁰“The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD.

²¹“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”

¹Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

²And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;

³who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.

⁴And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”

⁵So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

⁶Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

⁷And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

⁸So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.

⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

¹⁰Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

¹¹Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.

¹²So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.

¹⁴But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

¹⁵and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

¹⁶And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

¹⁷“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

¹⁸But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

¹⁹Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

²⁰and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,

²¹whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

²²For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

²³And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

²⁴Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.

²⁵You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

²⁶To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”