Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.

²And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

³Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.

⁴He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.

⁵And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.

⁶So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

⁸So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

⁹They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”

¹⁰He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters

¹¹and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’

¹²And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.”

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

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

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

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

¹⁷And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.

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

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

²⁰And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

²¹ But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.

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

²³And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

²⁴A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

²⁵And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.

²⁶ But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

²⁷For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸“You are those who have stayed with me in my trials,

²⁹and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,

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

³¹“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

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

³³Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”

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

³⁵And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”

³⁶He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.

³⁷For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”

³⁸And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

³⁹And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

⁴⁰And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,

⁴²saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

⁴³And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

⁴⁴And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,

⁴⁶and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him,

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

⁴⁹And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”

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

⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

⁵³When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

⁵⁴Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance.

⁵⁵And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.

⁵⁶Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”

⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”

⁵⁸And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”

⁵⁹And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

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

⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

⁶³Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.

⁶⁴They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

⁶⁵And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

⁶⁶When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said,

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

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

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

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

⁷¹Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

¹They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

²And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

³and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

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

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

⁷and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”

⁸And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him — what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

¹⁰And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses,

¹²“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”

¹³In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.

¹⁴And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.

¹⁵When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.

¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’”

¹⁷And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.

¹⁸But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

¹⁹And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.”

²⁰But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.

²¹Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,

²³he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”

²⁴So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.

²⁵Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.

²⁶Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.

²⁸And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

²⁹See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”

³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

³²Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

³³And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.”

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

³⁵The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

³⁶(An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)

¹Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

³He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

⁶And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.”

⁷Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

⁸But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

⁹You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

¹⁰And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

¹¹they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,

¹²like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

¹³And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking?

³Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.

⁴Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees.

⁵But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.

⁶Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

⁸As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it.

¹³Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice:

¹⁷‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

¹⁸Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;

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

²⁰Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

²¹Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

¹Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

²sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

³Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

⁴All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

⁵Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

⁶He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,

⁷who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations — let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

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

⁹who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.

¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

¹¹You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

¹²you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

¹³I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,

¹⁴that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

¹⁵I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

¹⁶Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

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

¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

¹Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

²for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.

³When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

⁴he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.

⁵Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁶Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.

⁷The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.

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

⁹She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.

¹¹I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

¹²When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

¹⁴Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.

¹⁵Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

¹⁹The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

²⁰My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

²³Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

²⁴Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.

²⁵Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.

²⁶Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.

²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

¹Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

²And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.

³And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

⁴And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

⁵He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.

⁶And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.

⁷The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.

⁸He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

⁹If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”

¹⁰And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”

¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

¹²Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.

¹³The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

¹⁴David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,

¹⁵but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

¹⁶For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

¹⁷And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.

¹⁸Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

¹⁹Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.

²¹And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.

²²And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.

²³As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

²⁴All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.

²⁵And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.”

²⁶And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

²⁸Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

²⁹And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”

³⁰And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

³¹When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.

³²And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

³³And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,

³⁵I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

³⁶Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

³⁷And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

³⁸Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,

³⁹and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.

⁴²And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

⁴³And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand.”

⁴⁸When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

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

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.

⁵¹Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

⁵²And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.

⁵³And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.”

⁵⁷And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

⁵⁸And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

¹Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?

²All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

³“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations;

⁴I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.”

⁵Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame.

⁶“The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the LORD, rendering recompense to his enemies!

⁷“Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son.

⁸Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children.

⁹Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?” says the LORD; “shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?” says your God.

¹⁰“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her;

¹¹that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.”

¹²For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.

¹³As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

¹⁴You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

¹⁵“For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.

¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.

¹⁸“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory,

¹⁹and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

²⁰And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

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

²²“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain.

²³From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.

²⁴“And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

¹At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,

²a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

³About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

⁵And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

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

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,

⁸and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

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

¹¹and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

¹²In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

¹³And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

¹⁷Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate

¹⁸and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

¹⁹And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

²⁰Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

²¹And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”

²²And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

²³So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

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

²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.

²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

³⁰And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’

³³So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

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

³⁶As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

³⁷you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

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

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

⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.

⁴⁵And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.