Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.

²He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.

³“Truly I tell you,” he said. “This poor widow has put in more than all of them.

⁴For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

⁵As some were talking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,

⁶“These things that you see — the days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”

⁷“Teacher,” they asked him, “so when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

⁸Then he said, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them.

⁹When you hear of wars and rebellions, don’t be alarmed. Indeed, it is necessary that these things take place first, but the end won’t come right away.”

¹⁰Then he told them: “Nation will be raised up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹There will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.

¹²But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

¹³This will give you an opportunity to bear witness.

¹⁴Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time,

¹⁵for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

¹⁶You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will kill some of you.

¹⁷You will be hated by everyone because of my name,

¹⁸but not a hair of your head will be lost.

¹⁹By your endurance, gain your lives.

²⁰“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near.

²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Those inside the city must leave it, and those who are in the country must not enter it,

²²because these are days of vengeance to fulfill all the things that are written.

²³Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.

²⁴They will be killed by the sword and be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵“Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

²⁶People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

²⁷Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”

²⁹Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.

³⁰As soon as they put out leaves you can see for yourselves and recognize that summer is already near.

³¹In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

³²Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all things take place.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁴“Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly

³⁵like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth.

³⁶But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷During the day, he was teaching in the temple, but in the evening he would go out and spend the night on what is called the Mount of Olives.

³⁸Then all the people would come early in the morning to hear him in the temple.

¹Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said: I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted; he has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.

²The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

³The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.

⁴He threw Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea; the elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵The floods covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

⁶LORD, your right hand is glorious in power. LORD, your right hand shattered the enemy.

⁷You overthrew your adversaries by your great majesty. You unleashed your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.

⁸The water heaped up at the blast from your nostrils; the currents stood firm like a dam. The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹The enemy said: “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My desire will be gratified at their expense. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.”

¹⁰But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹LORD, who is like you among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

¹²You stretched out your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.

¹³With your faithful love, you will lead the people you have redeemed; you will guide them to your holy dwelling with your strength.

¹⁴When the peoples hear, they will shudder; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.

¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;

¹⁶terror and dread will fall on them. They will be as still as a stone because of your powerful arm until your people pass by, LORD, until the people whom you purchased pass by.

¹⁷You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your possession; LORD, you have prepared the place for your dwelling; Lord, your hands have established the sanctuary.

¹⁸The LORD will reign forever and ever!

¹⁹When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the water of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

²⁰Then the prophetess Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out following her with tambourines and dancing.

²¹Miriam sang to them: Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted; he has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.

²²Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water.

²³They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter — that is why it was named Marah.

²⁴The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?”

²⁵So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable. The LORD made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there.

²⁶He said, “If you will carefully obey the LORD your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy date palms, and they camped there by the water.

¹Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.

²Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

³At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains,

⁴so that I may make it known as I should.

⁵Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

⁷Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

⁸I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts.

⁹He is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

¹⁰Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

¹¹and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.

¹³For I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.

¹⁴Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

¹⁵Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home.

¹⁶After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

¹⁸I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

¹Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

²down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations,

³and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.

⁴They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

⁵Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.

⁶Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

⁷“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me.

⁹But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

¹⁰Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.

¹¹Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness, let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.”

¹²“Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

¹⁴“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.

¹⁵Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

¹⁷Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

¹⁸I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.

¹⁹And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.

²⁰He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.

¹After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born.

²He said:

³May the day I was born perish, and the night that said, “A boy is conceived.”

⁴If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it.

⁵May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May what darkens the day terrify it.

⁶If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year or be listed in the calendar.

⁷Yes, may that night be barren; may no joyful shout be heard in it.

⁸Let those who curse days condemn it, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

⁹May its morning stars grow dark. May it wait for daylight but have none; may it not see the breaking of dawn.

¹⁰For that night did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide sorrow from my eyes.

¹¹Why was I not stillborn; why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

¹²Why did the knees receive me, and why were there breasts for me to nurse?

¹³Now I would certainly be lying down in peace; I would be asleep. Then I would be at rest

¹⁴with the kings and counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves,

¹⁵or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child, like infants who never see daylight?

¹⁷There the wicked cease to make trouble, and there the weary find rest.

¹⁸The captives are completely at rest; they do not hear a taskmaster’s voice.

¹⁹Both small and great are there, and the slave is set free from his master.

²⁰Why is light given to one burdened with grief, and life to those whose existence is bitter,

²¹who wait for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasure,

²²who are filled with much joy and are glad when they reach the grave?

²³Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

²⁴I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.

²⁵For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.

²⁶I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song. [1] Praise is rightfully yours, God, in Zion; vows to you will be fulfilled.

²All humanity will come to you, the one who hears prayer.

³Iniquities overwhelm me; only you can atone for our rebellions.

⁴How happy is the one you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple.

⁵You answer us in righteousness, with awe-inspiring works, God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the distant seas.

⁶You establish the mountains by your power; you are robed with strength.

⁷You silence the roar of the seas, the roar of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.

⁸Those who live far away are awed by your signs; you make east and west shout for joy.

⁹You visit the earth and water it abundantly, enriching it greatly. God’s stream is filled with water, for you prepare the earth in this way, providing people with grain.

¹⁰You soften it with showers and bless its growth, soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.

¹¹You crown the year with your goodness; your carts overflow with plenty.

¹²The wilderness pastures overflow, and the hills are robed with joy.

¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks and the valleys covered with grain. They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.

¹My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands;

²for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being.

³Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;

⁶in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

⁷Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest;

¹⁰then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹Do not despise the LORD’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline;

¹²for the LORD disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding,

¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver, and her revenue is better than gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; in her left, riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths, peaceful.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are happy.

¹⁹The LORD founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.

²⁰By his knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew.

²¹Maintain sound wisdom and discretion. My son, don’t lose sight of them.

²²They will be life for you and adornment for your neck.

²³Then you will go safely on your way; your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.

²⁵Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes,

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.

²⁷When it is in your power, don’t withhold good from the one to whom it belongs.

²⁸Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later. I’ll give it tomorrow” — when it is there with you.

²⁹Don’t plan any harm against your neighbor, for he trusts you and lives near you.

³⁰Don’t accuse anyone without cause, when he has done you no harm.

³¹Don’t envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;

³²for the devious are detestable to the LORD, but he is a friend to the upright.

³³The LORD’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous;

³⁴He mocks those who mock, but gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor, but he holds up fools to dishonor.

¹The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected a king from his sons.”

²Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

³Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate to you.”

⁴Samuel did what the LORD directed and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵“In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the LORD’s anointed one is here before him.”

⁷But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the LORD sees, for humans see what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart.”

⁸Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said.

⁹Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.”

¹⁰After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t chosen any of these.”

¹¹Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.”

¹²So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then the LORD said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.”

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

¹⁴Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the LORD began to torment him,

¹⁵so Saul’s servants said to him, “You see that an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.

¹⁶Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil spirit from God comes on you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better.”

¹⁷Then Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is also a valiant man, a warrior, eloquent, handsome, and the LORD is with him.”

¹⁹Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”

²⁰So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a wineskin, and one young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul.

²¹When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul loved him very much, and David became his armor-bearer.

²²Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor with me.”

²³Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

¹“I was sought by those who did not ask; I was found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that did not call on my name.

²I spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in the path that is not good, following their own thoughts.

³These people continually anger me to my face, sacrificing in gardens, burning incense on bricks,

⁴sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs, and putting polluted broth in their bowls.

⁵They say, ‘Keep to yourself, don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’ These practices are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

⁶Look, it is written in front of me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will repay them fully

⁷for your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” says the LORD. “Because they burned incense on the mountains and reproached me on the hills, I will reward them fully for their former deeds.”

⁸The LORD says this: “As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for there’s some good in it,’ so I will act because of my servants and not destroy them all.

⁹I will produce descendants from Jacob, and heirs to my mountains from Judah; my chosen ones will possess it, and my servants will dwell there.

¹⁰Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.

¹¹But you who abandon the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

¹²I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not hear; you did what was evil in my sight and chose what I did not delight in.”

¹³Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will be hungry; my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

¹⁴My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart, but you will cry out from an anguished heart, and you will lament out of a broken spirit.

¹⁵You will leave your name behind as a curse for my chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will kill you; but he will give his servants another name.

¹⁶Whoever asks for a blessing in the land will ask for a blessing by the God of truth, and whoever swears in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my sight.

¹⁷“For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.

¹⁸Then be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight.

¹⁹I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people. The sound of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.

²⁰In her, a nursing infant will no longer live only a few days, or an old man not live out his days. Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old will be mourned as a young man, and the one who misses a hundred years will be considered cursed.

²¹People will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²They will not build and others live in them; they will not plant and others eat. For my people’s lives will be like the lifetime of a tree. My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.

²³They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster, for they will be a people blessed by the LORD along with their descendants.

²⁴Even before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain,” says the LORD.

¹Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest

²and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

³As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.

⁴Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

⁵“Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied.

⁶“But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

⁹He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

¹⁰There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” “Here I am, Lord,” he replied.

¹¹“Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there.

¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

¹³“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.

¹⁴And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

¹⁹And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time.

²⁰Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

²¹All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

²²But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

²³After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,

²⁴but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him,

²⁵but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.

²⁷Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.

³⁰When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

³²As Peter was traveling from place to place, he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed,” and immediately he got up.

³⁵So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated Dorcas). She was always doing good works and acts of charity.

³⁷About that time she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who urged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.”

³⁹Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.

⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive.

⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³Peter stayed for some time in Joppa with Simon, a leather tanner.