Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching.

²The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the people.

³Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was numbered among the Twelve.

⁴He went away and discussed with the chief priests and temple police how he could hand him over to them.

⁵They were glad and agreed to give him silver.

⁶So he accepted the offer and started looking for a good opportunity to betray him to them when the crowd was not present.

⁷Then the Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹“Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.

¹⁰“Listen,” he said to them, “when you’ve entered the city, a man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters.

¹¹Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

¹²Then he will show you a large, furnished room upstairs. Make the preparations there.”

¹³So they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him.

¹⁵Then he said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

¹⁶For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves.

¹⁸For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

²¹But look, the hand of the one betraying me is at the table with me.

²²For the Son of Man will go away as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

²³So they began to argue among themselves which of them it could be who was going to do it.

²⁴Then a dispute also arose among them about who should be considered the greatest.

²⁵But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them have themselves called ‘Benefactors.’

²⁶It is not to be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever is greatest among you should become like the youngest, and whoever leads, like the one serving.

²⁷For who is greater, the one at the table or the one serving? Isn’t it the one at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸You are those who stood by me in my trials.

²⁹I bestow on you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one on me,

³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹“Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.

³²But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³³“Lord,” he told him, “I’m ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”

³⁴“I tell you, Peter,” he said, “the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me.”

³⁵He also said to them, “When I sent you out without money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Not a thing,” they said.

³⁶Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one.

³⁷For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in me: And he was counted among the lawless. Yes, what is written about me is coming to its fulfillment.”

³⁸“Lord,” they said, “look, here are two swords.” “That is enough!” he told them.

³⁹He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

⁴⁰When he reached the place, he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.”

⁴¹Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray,

⁴²“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me — nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.

⁴⁴Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief.

⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, suddenly a mob came, and one of the Twelve named Judas was leading them. He came near Jesus to kiss him,

⁴⁸but Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When those around him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?”

⁵⁰Then one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus responded, “No more of this!” And touching his ear, he healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal?

⁵³Every day while I was with you in the temple, you never laid a hand on me. But this is your hour — and the dominion of darkness.”

⁵⁴They seized him, led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house. Meanwhile Peter was following at a distance.

⁵⁵They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, and Peter sat among them.

⁵⁶When a servant saw him sitting in the light, and looked closely at him, she said, “This man was with him too.”

⁵⁷But he denied it: “Woman, I don’t know him.”

⁵⁸After a little while, someone else saw him and said, “You’re one of them too.” “Man, I am not!” Peter said.

⁵⁹About an hour later, another kept insisting, “This man was certainly with him, since he’s also a Galilean.”

⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

⁶¹Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”

⁶²And he went outside and wept bitterly.

⁶³The men who were holding Jesus started mocking and beating him.

⁶⁴After blindfolding him, they kept asking, “Prophesy! Who was it that hit you?”

⁶⁵And they were saying many other blasphemous things to him.

⁶⁶When daylight came, the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the scribes, convened and brought him before their Sanhedrin.

⁶⁷They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I do tell you, you will not believe.

⁶⁸And if I ask you, you will not answer.

⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰They all asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹“Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we’ve heard it ourselves from his mouth?”

¹The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.

²The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

³The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

⁵On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

⁷and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?”

⁸Moses continued, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”

⁹Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your complaints.’”

¹⁰As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the LORD’s glory appeared.

¹¹The LORD spoke to Moses,

¹²“I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.”

¹³So at evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp.

¹⁴When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground.

¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was. Moses told them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’”

¹⁷So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little.

¹⁸When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat.

¹⁹Moses said to them, “No one is to let any of it remain until morning.”

²⁰But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.

²¹They gathered it every morning. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts apiece, and all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.

²³He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.’”

²⁴So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn’t stink or have maggots in it.

²⁵“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you won’t find any in the field.

²⁶For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any.

²⁸Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and instructions?

²⁹Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he will give you two days’ worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.”

³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The house of Israel named the substance manna. It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.

³²Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Two quarts of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

³³Moses told Aaron, “Take a container and put two quarts of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be preserved throughout your generations.”

³⁴As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the testimony to be preserved.

³⁵The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.

³⁶(They used a measure called an omer, which held two quarts. )

¹Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.

²In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.

³The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

⁴So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵For to which of the angels did he ever say, You are my Son; today I have become your Father, or again, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son?

⁶Again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says, And let all God’s angels worship him.

⁷And about the angels he says: He makes his angels winds, and his servants a fiery flame,

⁸but to the Son: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; this is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.

¹⁰And: In the beginning, Lord, you established the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands;

¹¹they will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like clothing;

¹²you will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like clothing. But you are the same, and your years will never end.

¹³Now to which of the angels has he ever said: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool?

¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

²Should anyone try to speak with you when you are exhausted? Yet who can keep from speaking?

³Indeed, you have instructed many and have strengthened weak hands.

⁴Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling and braced the knees that were buckling.

⁵But now that this has happened to you, you have become exhausted. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

⁶Isn’t your piety your confidence, and the integrity of your life your hope?

⁷Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed?

⁸In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same.

⁹They perish at a single blast from God and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁰The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl, but the teeth of young lions are broken.

¹¹The strong lion dies if it catches no prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it.

¹³Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep comes over men,

¹⁴fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shake.

¹⁵I felt a draft on my face, and the hair on my body stood up.

¹⁶A figure stood there, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes. I heard a whispering voice:

¹⁷“Can a mortal be righteous before God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?”

¹⁸If God puts no trust in his servants and he charges his angels with foolishness,

¹⁹how much more those who dwell in clay houses, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth!

²⁰They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices.

²¹Are their tent cords not pulled up? They die without wisdom.

¹For the choir director. A song. A psalm. [1] Let the whole earth shout joyfully to God!

²Sing about the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.

³Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works! Your enemies will cringe before you because of your great strength.

⁴The whole earth will worship you and sing praise to you. They will sing praise to your name.” Selah

⁵Come and see the wonders of God; his acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.

⁶He turned the sea into dry land, and they crossed the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him.

⁷He rules forever by his might; he keeps his eye on the nations. The rebellious should not exalt themselves. Selah

⁸Bless our God, you peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard.

⁹He keeps us alive and does not allow our feet to slip.

¹⁰For you, God, tested us; you refined us as silver is refined.

¹¹You lured us into a trap; you placed burdens on our backs.

¹²You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us out to abundance.

¹³I will enter your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows

¹⁴that my lips promised and my mouth spoke during my distress.

¹⁵I will offer you fattened sheep as burnt offerings, with the fragrant smoke of rams; I will sacrifice bulls with goats. Selah

¹⁶Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

¹⁷I cried out to him with my mouth, and praise was on my tongue.

¹⁸If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹However, God has listened; he has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God! He has not turned away my prayer or turned his faithful love from me.

¹Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline, and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,

²for I am giving you good instruction. Don’t abandon my teaching.

³When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother,

⁴he taught me and said: “Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live.

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth.

⁶Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you.

⁷Wisdom is supreme — so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding.

⁸Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.

⁹She will place a garland of favor on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years.

¹¹I am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths.

¹²When you walk, your steps will not be hindered; when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. Guard it, for it is your life.

¹⁴Keep off the path of the wicked; don’t proceed on the way of evil ones.

¹⁵Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it, and pass it by.

¹⁶For they can’t sleep unless they have done what is evil; they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

¹⁷They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, pay attention to my words; listen closely to my sayings.

²¹Don’t lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body.

²³Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

²⁴Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously.

²⁵Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.

²⁶Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established.

²⁷Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil.

¹The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

²Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.

³The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.

⁴Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall

⁵and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds.

⁶There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders.

⁷His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him.

⁸He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations: “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.

⁹If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.”

¹⁰Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!”

¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

¹²Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and during Saul’s reign was already an old man.

¹³Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third,

¹⁴and David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,

¹⁵but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

¹⁶Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand.

¹⁷One day Jesse had told his son David: “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.

¹⁸Also take these ten portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the well-being of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them.

¹⁹They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.”

²⁰So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had charged him. He arrived at the perimeter of the camp as the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry.

²¹Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other.

²²David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were.

²³While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard.

²⁴When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.

²⁵Previously, an Israelite man had declared: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the family of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”

²⁶David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷The troops told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart — you came down to see the battle!”

²⁹“What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.”

³⁰Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.

³¹What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him.

³²David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”

³³But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

³⁴David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

³⁵I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.

³⁶Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

³⁷Then David said, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

³⁸Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor.

³⁹David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off.

⁴⁰Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.

⁴²When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome.

⁴³He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴“Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!”

⁴⁵David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him.

⁴⁶Today, the LORD will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,

⁴⁷and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD’s. He will hand you over to us.”

⁴⁸When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.

⁵⁰David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword.

⁵¹David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.

⁵²The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

⁵³When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.

⁵⁴David took Goliath’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

⁵⁵When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” “Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.

⁵⁶The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”

⁵⁷When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.

⁵⁸Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” “The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David answered.

¹This is what the LORD says: Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. Where could you possibly build a house for me? And where would my resting place be?

²My hand made all these things, and so they all came into being. This is the LORD’s declaration. I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and trembles at my word.

³One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person; one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog’s neck; one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig’s blood; one person offers incense, another praises an idol — all these have chosen their ways and delight in their abhorrent practices.

⁴So I will choose their punishment, and I will bring on them what they dread because I called and no one answered; I spoke and they did not listen; they did what was evil in my sight and chose what I did not delight in.

⁵You who tremble at his word, hear the word of the LORD: “Your brothers who hate and exclude you for my name’s sake have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified so that we can see your joy!’ But they will be put to shame.”

⁶A sound of uproar from the city! A voice from the temple — the voice of the LORD, paying back his enemies what they deserve!

⁷Before Zion was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.

⁸Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day or a nation be delivered in an instant? Yet as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her sons.

⁹“Will I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD; “or will I who deliver, close the womb?” says your God.

¹⁰Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her, all who love her. Rejoice greatly with her, all who mourn over her —

¹¹so that you may nurse and be satisfied from her comforting breast and drink deeply and delight yourselves from her glorious breasts.

¹²For this is what the LORD says: I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip and bounced on her lap.

¹³As a mother comforts her son, so I will comfort you, and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.

¹⁴You will see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the LORD’s power will be revealed to his servants, but he will show his wrath against his enemies.

¹⁵Look, the LORD will come with fire  — his chariots are like the whirlwind  — to execute his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For the LORD will execute judgment on all people with his fiery sword, and many will be slain by the LORD.

¹⁷“Those who dedicate and purify themselves to enter the groves following their leader, eating meat from pigs, vermin, and rats, will perish together.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

¹⁸“Knowing their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages; they will come and see my glory.

¹⁹I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations — to Tarshish, Put, Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan, and the coasts and islands far away — who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.

²⁰They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

²¹I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says the LORD.

²²“For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will remain before me” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “so your offspring and your name will remain.

²³All mankind will come to worship me from one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another,” says the LORD.

²⁴“As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never go out, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”

¹There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.

³About three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴Staring at him in awe, he said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel told him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

⁶He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had gone, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, who was one of those who attended him.

⁸After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon.

¹⁰He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth.

¹²In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky.

¹³A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴“No, Lord!” Peter said. “For I have never eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.”

¹⁵Again, a second time, the voice said to him, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and suddenly the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, right away the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, stood at the gate.

¹⁸They called out, asking if Simon, who was also named Peter, was lodging there.

¹⁹While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, “Three men are here looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.”

²¹Then Peter went down to the men and said, “Here I am, the one you’re looking for. What is the reason you’re here?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.”

²³Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and set out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.

²⁴The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up and said, “Stand up. I myself am also a man.”

²⁷While talking with him, he went in and found a large gathering of people.

²⁸Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean.

²⁹That’s why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in dazzling clothing stood before me

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered in God’s sight.

³²Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’

³³So I immediately sent for you, and it was good of you to come. So now we are all in the presence of God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism,

³⁵but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁶He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.

³⁷You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree.

⁴⁰God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen,

⁴¹not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message.

⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.