Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him

²and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

³But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:

⁴The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

⁵And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

⁹Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.

¹⁰Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.

¹³“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’

¹⁴But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’

¹⁵So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”

¹⁷Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone’?

¹⁸Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

¹⁹And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people —for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

²¹Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me?

²⁴Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,

²⁸saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

²⁹Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children.

³⁰And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.

³¹Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.

³²Last of all the woman died also.

³³Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”

³⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

³⁶nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

³⁷But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

³⁸For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

³⁹Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

⁴⁰But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

⁴¹And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?

⁴²Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,

⁴³Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

⁴⁴Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”

⁴⁵Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,

⁴⁷who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.

³For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’

⁴Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.

⁵Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

⁶So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him.

⁷Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them.

⁸And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.

⁹So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

¹¹Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?

¹²Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

¹³And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

¹⁴The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

¹⁵And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

¹⁶But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

¹⁷And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.

¹⁸Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.

²⁰So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

²²So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

²³And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

²⁴Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.

²⁵And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”

²⁷And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

²⁸Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

²⁹But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

³¹Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

²Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

³For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

⁵Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

⁶Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

⁷in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

⁸But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

¹⁰and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

¹¹where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

¹⁴But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

¹⁷And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

¹⁸Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

²²Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.

²³And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

²⁴knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

²⁵But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

¹Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

²Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

⁴And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

⁶And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

⁷He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

⁸But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

⁹Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

¹¹having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

¹²Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

¹³three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

¹⁶The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

¹⁷Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

¹⁸The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

¹⁹The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

²⁰the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

²¹The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²²But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

²³The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

²⁴And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

²⁵Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

²⁶And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

²⁷But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

¹Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

²And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

³Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”

⁴So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.

⁵But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

⁶And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”

⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

⁸And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him.

¹²And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven.

¹³So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

²Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

³Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

⁴That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

⁵They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?”

⁶They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

⁷But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded.

⁸So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away.

⁹All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing.

¹⁰The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

¹My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,

²So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

³Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,

⁴If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

⁸He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.

¹⁰When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

¹¹Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,

¹²To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;

¹⁵Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;

¹⁶To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life—

²⁰So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.

²¹For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

¹Samuel also said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.

²Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.

³Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

⁴So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.

⁵And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.

⁶Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

⁷And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

⁸He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

⁹But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

¹⁰Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

¹¹“I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

¹²So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.”

¹³Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

¹⁴But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

¹⁵And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

¹⁶Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.”

¹⁷So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?

¹⁸Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’

¹⁹Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”

²⁰And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

²¹But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

²²So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”

²⁴Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

²⁵Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.”

²⁶But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

²⁷And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

²⁸So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

²⁹And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

³⁰Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.”

³¹So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

³²Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

³³But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

³⁵And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

¹Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence—

²As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

³When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence.

⁴For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.

⁵You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.

⁶But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

⁷And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities.

⁸But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.

⁹Do not be furious, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!

¹⁰Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

¹¹Our holy and beautiful temple, Where our fathers praised You, Is burned up with fire; And all our pleasant things are laid waste.

¹²Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O LORD? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

¹Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

²And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

³As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

⁴Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

⁵Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

⁶And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

⁷For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

⁸And there was great joy in that city.

⁹But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great,

¹⁰to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”

¹¹And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.

¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

¹³Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

¹⁴Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,

¹⁵who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁷Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,

¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!

²¹You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

²²Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

²³For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

²⁴Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

²⁵So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.

²⁷So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,

²⁸was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

³³In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”

³⁴So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”

³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.

³⁶Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

³⁷Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

³⁸So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

³⁹Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.