Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²He was in the beginning with God.

³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

⁷This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

⁹That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

¹⁶And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

¹⁹Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

²²Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

²⁵And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.

²⁷It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

³¹I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

³²And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

³³I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

³⁴And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.

³⁶And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

³⁷The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

³⁸Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

⁴¹He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).

⁴²And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

⁴³The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”

⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

⁴⁸Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

⁵¹And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

¹In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

²For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.

³And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

⁴‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

⁵Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

⁶And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

⁷So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

⁸Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

⁹And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

¹⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.

¹¹And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

¹²You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

¹³Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”

¹⁶Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

¹⁷And Moses brought th e people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

¹⁹And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

²⁰Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish.

²²Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.”

²³But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”

²⁴Then the LORD said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.”

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

¹Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

²For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

³For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

⁴For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

⁵and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

⁶Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,

⁷again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

⁹There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

¹⁰For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

¹¹Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

¹²For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

¹³And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

¹“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

²Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

³So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

⁵My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

⁶“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.

⁷Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good.

⁸The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

⁹As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

¹⁰He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore.

¹¹“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹²Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?

¹³When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’

¹⁴Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions,

¹⁵So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body.

¹⁶I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.

¹⁷“What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him,

¹⁸That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?

¹⁹How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

²⁰Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.”

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Psalm of David. [1] Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.

²I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me.

³I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

⁴Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.

⁵O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You.

⁶Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.

⁷Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.

⁸I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children;

⁹Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach.

¹¹I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.

¹²Those who sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.

¹⁴Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters.

¹⁵Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.

¹⁶Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.

¹⁷And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily.

¹⁸Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.

¹⁹You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; My adversaries are all before You.

²⁰Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

²²Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap.

²³Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually.

²⁴Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.

²⁵Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents.

²⁶For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.

²⁷Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your righteousness.

²⁸Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.

²⁹But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.

³⁰I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

³¹This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves.

³²The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.

³³For the LORD hears the poor, And does not despise His prisoners.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it.

³⁶Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, And those who love His name shall dwell in it.

¹My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you.

²Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin,

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice,

⁷And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,

⁸Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

⁹In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night.

¹⁰And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.

¹¹She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴“I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey;

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him, And will come home on the appointed day.”

²¹With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

²³Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life.

²⁴Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth:

²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths;

²⁶For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men.

²⁷Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.

¹Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

²So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

³Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

⁴So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.”

⁵And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening.

⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

⁷If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him.

⁸Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

⁹But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?”

¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?”

¹¹And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field.

¹²Then Jonathan said to David: “The LORD God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you,

¹³may the LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the LORD be with you as He has been with my father.

¹⁴And you shall not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, that I may not die;

¹⁵but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the LORD require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

¹⁹And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel.

²⁰Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target;

²¹and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, as the LORD lives, there is safety for you and no harm.

²²But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the LORD has sent you away.

²³And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the LORD be between you and me forever.”

²⁴Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast.

²⁵Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.

²⁶Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean.”

²⁷And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?”

²⁸So Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem.

²⁹And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”

³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?”

³³Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

³⁴So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

³⁵And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him.

³⁶Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

³⁷When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”

³⁸And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay!” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master.

³⁹But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter.

⁴⁰Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”

⁴¹As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so.

⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

¹“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the LORD.

²“Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: Where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in the wilderness; And you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness.

³Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot’s forehead; You refuse to be ashamed.

⁴Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth?

⁵Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, As you were able.”

⁶The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

⁷And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

⁸Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

⁹So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

¹⁰And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD.

¹¹Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

¹²Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever.

¹³Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD.

¹⁴“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

¹⁵And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

¹⁷“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

¹⁸“In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

¹⁹“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’

²⁰Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

²¹A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the LORD their God.

²²“Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God.

²³Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel.

²⁴For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters.

²⁵We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

¹Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

⁴So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

¹⁰and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹¹And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

¹⁵And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”

¹⁶Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.

¹⁸Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.

¹⁹And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.

²⁰“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

²¹And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

²³From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—

²⁴after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’

²⁶“Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

²⁷For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

²⁸And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.

²⁹Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead.

³¹He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.

³²And we declare to you glad tidings— that promise which was made to the fathers.

³³God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’

³⁴And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’

³⁵Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

³⁶“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;

³⁷but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

³⁹and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

⁴¹‘Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”

⁴²So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.

⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.