Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

²Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

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

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

¹²Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

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

¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

¹⁸For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

¹⁹Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’

²²But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

²³Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

²⁴leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

²⁶Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

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

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

³¹“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

³²But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

³³“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’

³⁴But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

³⁵nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

³⁷But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

³⁹But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

⁴⁰If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

⁴¹And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

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

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, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

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

⁴⁷And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

¹This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.

²He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

³And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

⁴After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.

⁵So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.

⁶Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.

⁷After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters.

⁸So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.

⁹Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.

¹⁰After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters.

¹¹So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.

¹²Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.

¹³After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters.

¹⁴So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

¹⁵Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.

¹⁶After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters.

¹⁷So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

¹⁸Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.

¹⁹After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

²⁰So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.

²¹Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.

²²After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

²³So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

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

²⁵Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.

²⁶After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters.

²⁷So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

²⁸Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son.

²⁹And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

³⁰After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters.

³¹So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

³²And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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

²through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

³And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

⁴and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

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

⁶For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man 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 wrath through Him.

¹⁰For if when 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 that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

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

¹³(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

¹⁵But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

¹⁶And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.

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

¹⁸Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

¹⁹For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

²⁰Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

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

¹But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.

²For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

³For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

⁴But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

⁵You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

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

⁸But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

⁹For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁰who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

¹¹Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

¹²And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

¹³and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

¹⁴Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

¹⁵See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

¹⁶Rejoice always,

¹⁷pray without ceasing,

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

¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit.

²⁰Do not despise prophecies.

²¹Test all things; hold fast what is good.

²²Abstain from every form of evil.

²³Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

²⁵Brethren, pray for us.

²⁶Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

²⁷I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

¹“Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.

³I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

⁴His sons are far from safety, They are crushed in the gate, And there is no deliverer.

⁵Because the hungry eat up his harvest, Taking it even from the thorns, And a snare snatches their substance.

⁶For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

⁷Yet man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause—

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

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields.

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

¹²He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.

¹³He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope at noontime as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves the needy from the sword, From the mouth of the mighty, And from their hand.

¹⁶So the poor have hope, And injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.

¹⁹He shall deliver you in six troubles, Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

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

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

²²You shall laugh at destruction and famine, And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

²³For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

²⁴You shall know that your tent is in peace; You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.

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

²⁶You shall come to the grave at a full age, As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

²⁷Behold, this we have searched out; It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

¹To the Chief Musician. With flutes. A Psalm of David. [1] Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.

²Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.

³My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.

⁵The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

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

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

¹²For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

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

²That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.

³For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth 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 lay hold of hell.

⁶Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them.

⁷Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

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

⁹Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction!

¹³I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

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

¹⁶Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you.

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

¹⁹As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

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

²²His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

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

¹So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

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

³So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

⁴And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.

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

⁶For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

⁷Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

⁸So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.

⁹Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.

¹¹And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.

¹²Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

¹³And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood 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 adversaries?”

¹⁴So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

¹⁵Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

¹Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill.

²He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.

³“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.

⁴What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?

⁵And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

⁶I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.”

⁷For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

⁸Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!

⁹In my hearing the LORD of hosts said, “Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.

¹⁰For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.”

¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!

¹²The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider the operation of His hands.

¹³Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst.

¹⁴Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.

¹⁵People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

¹⁶But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.

¹⁷Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat.

¹⁸Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;

¹⁹That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.”

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

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

²²Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,

²³Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

²⁴Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

²⁵Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

²⁶He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.

²⁷No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;

²⁸Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind.

²⁹Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver.

³⁰In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds.

¹But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.

²And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

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

⁴While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

⁵Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.

⁶And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”

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

¹⁰Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.

¹¹So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

¹²And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.

¹³Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.

¹⁴And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

¹⁵so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.

¹⁶Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,

¹⁸and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.

¹⁹But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

²¹And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

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

²³saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”

²⁴Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.

²⁵So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.

²⁷And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,

²⁸saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.

³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.

³¹Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

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

³³When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.

³⁴Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.

³⁵And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.

³⁶For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.

³⁷After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed.

³⁸And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;

³⁹but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

⁴⁰And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

⁴²And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.