Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

²And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³“ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

¹⁵nor do people light a lamp and put it under abasket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

¹⁸For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, notthe smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!

¹⁹Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teachesothers to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoeverkeeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰“For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’

²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable tothe supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into thefiery hell.

²³Therefore, if you are presenting youroffering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,

²⁴leave youroffering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present youroffering.

²⁵Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison.

²⁶Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the lastquadrans.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;

²⁸but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to be thrown intohell.

³⁰And if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for youto lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to go intohell.

³¹“Now it was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY IS TO GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

³²but I say to you that everyone whodivorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries adivorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘ YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’

³⁴But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, norby Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.

³⁶Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

³⁷But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these isof evil origin.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘EYE FOR EYE, and TOOTH FOR TOOTH.’

³⁹But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also.

⁴⁰And if anyone wants to sue you and take yourtunic, let him have yourcloak also.

⁴¹Whoeverforces you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴²Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’

⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same?

⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.

²He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them “mankind” on the day when they were created.

³When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

⁴Then the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

⁵So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

⁶Now Seth lived 105 years, and fathered Enosh.

⁷Then Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

⁸So all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

⁹Now Enosh lived ninety years, and fathered Kenan.

¹⁰Then Enosh lived 815 years after he fathered Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹¹So all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

¹²Now Kenan lived seventy years, and fathered Mahalalel.

¹³Then Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁴So all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

¹⁵Now Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and fathered Jared.

¹⁶Then Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁷So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

¹⁸Now Jared lived 162 years, and fathered Enoch.

¹⁹Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁰So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

²¹Now Enoch lived sixty-five years, and fathered Methuselah.

²²Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²³So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

²⁴Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

²⁵Now Methuselah lived 187 years, and fathered Lamech.

²⁶Then Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁷So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

²⁸Now Lamech lived 182 years, and fathered a son.

²⁹And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

³⁰Then Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

³¹So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

³²Now after Noah was five hundred years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

²through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.

³And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

⁴and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

⁵and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die.

⁸But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

¹⁰For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

¹¹And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

¹²Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—

¹³for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not counted against anyone when there is no law.

¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

¹⁵But the gracious gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many.

¹⁶The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one offense, resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many offenses, resulting in justification.

¹⁷For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind.

¹⁹For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

²⁰The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

²¹so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you.

²For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night.

³While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief;

⁵for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;

⁶so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober.

⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night.

⁸But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

⁹For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

¹¹Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.

¹²But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to recognize those who diligently labor among you and are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you instruction,

¹³and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

¹⁴We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

¹⁵See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.

¹⁶Rejoice always,

¹⁷pray without ceasing,

¹⁸in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit,

²⁰do not utterly reject prophecies,

²¹but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good,

²²abstain from every form of evil.

²³Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.

²⁵Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

²⁶Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.

²⁷I put you under oath by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

²⁸May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

¹“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For irritation kills the fool, And jealousy brings death to the simple.

³I have seen the fool taking root, And I cursed his home immediately.

⁴His sons are far from safety, They are also oppressed at the gate, And there is no one to save them.

⁵The hungry devour his harvest And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

⁶For disaster does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷For man is born for trouble, As sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God, And I would make my plea before God,

⁹Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields,

¹¹So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the schemes of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.

¹³He captures the wise by their own cleverness, And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

¹⁴By day they meet with darkness, And grope at noon as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves from the sword of their mouth, And the poor from the hand of the strong.

¹⁶So the helpless has hope, And injustice has shut its mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the person whom God disciplines, So do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, but His hands also heal.

¹⁹In six troubles He will save you; Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

²⁰In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war, from the power of the sword.

²¹You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²²You will laugh at violence and hunger, And you will not be afraid of wild animals.

²³For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your home and have nothing missing.

²⁵You will also know that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶You will come to the grave at a ripe age, Like the stacking of grain in its season.

²⁷Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

¹Listen to my words, LORD, Consider my sighing.

²Listen to the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray.

³In the morning, LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will present my prayer to You and be on the watch.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil can dwell with You.

⁵The boastful will not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do injustice.

⁶You destroy those who speak lies; The LORD loathes the person of bloodshed and deceit.

⁷But as for me, by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

⁸LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before me.

⁹For there is nothing trustworthy in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰Make them pay, God; Have them fall by their own schemes! Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings, For they are rebellious against You.

¹¹But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, Sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

¹²For You bless the righteous person, LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding,

²So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

⁶She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

⁹Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you will groan in the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, “How I hated instruction! And my heart disdainfully rejected rebuke!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!

¹⁴I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹Like a loving doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a foreigner?

²¹For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He observes all his paths.

²²His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.

²³He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

¹Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.

²At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.”

³So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.

⁴This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt.

⁵For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.

⁶For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD, to whom the LORD had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁷So their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way.

⁸Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they recovered.

⁹Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.

¹¹Then on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted grain.

¹²And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.

¹³Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”

¹⁵And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

¹Let me sing now for my beloved A song of my beloved about His vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

²He dug it all around, cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, And also carved out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.

³“And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard.

⁴What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

⁵So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

⁶I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned nor hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.”

⁷For the vineyard of the LORD of armies is the house of Israel, And the people of Judah are His delightful plant. So He waited for justice, but behold, there was bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

⁸Woe to those who attach house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!

⁹In my ears the LORD of armies has sworn, “Many houses shall certainly become desolate, Even great and fine ones, without occupants.

¹⁰For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”

¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue intoxicating drink, Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!

¹²Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

¹³Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their nobles are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.

¹⁴Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth beyond measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.

¹⁵So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low, The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.

¹⁶But the LORD of armies will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.

¹⁷Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And strangers will eat in the ruins of the wealthy.

¹⁸Woe to those who drag wrongdoing with the cords of deceit, And sin as if with cart ropes;

¹⁹Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it; And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach And come to pass, so that we may know it!”

²⁰Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

²¹Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!

²²Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,

²³Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

²⁴Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble, And dry grass collapses in the flame, So their root will become like rot, and their blossom blow away like dust; For they have rejected the Law of the LORD of armies, And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.

²⁵For this reason the anger of the LORD has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched out.

²⁶He will also lift up a flag to the distant nation, And whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed swiftly.

²⁷No one in it is tired or stumbles, No one slumbers or sleeps; Nor is the undergarment at his waist loosened, Nor his sandal strap broken.

²⁸Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like flint, and its chariot wheels like a storm wind.

²⁹Its roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions; It growls as it seizes the prey And carries it off with no one to save it.

³⁰And it will roar against it on that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks across to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

²and kept back some of the proceeds for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land?

⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”

⁵And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and died; and great fear came over all who heard about it.

⁶The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

⁷Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for this price?” And she said, “Yes, for that price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”

¹⁰And immediately she collapsed at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.

¹²At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all together in Solomon’s portico.

¹³But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.

¹⁴And increasingly believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number,

¹⁵to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any of them.

¹⁶The people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

¹⁷But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public prison.

¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and leading them out, he said,

²⁰“Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple area the whole message of this Life.”

²¹Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple area about daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, that is, all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison for them to be brought.

²²But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported,

²³saying, “We found the prison locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.

²⁵But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple area and teaching the people!”

²⁶Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

²⁷When they had brought them, they had them stand before the Council. The high priest interrogated them,

²⁸saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross.

³¹He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

³²And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

³³But when they heard this, they became infuriated and nearly decided to execute them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.

³⁵And he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful as to what you are about to do with these men.

³⁶For, some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas of Galilee appeared in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he also perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.

³⁸And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, for if the source of this plan or movement is men, it will be overthrown;

³⁹but if the source is God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”

⁴⁰They followed his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.

⁴¹So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

⁴²And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus as the Christ.