Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²He existed in the beginning with God.

³God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

⁴The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

⁶God sent a man, John the Baptist,

⁷to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

⁸John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.

⁹The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.

¹¹He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

¹²But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

¹³They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

¹⁵John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

¹⁶From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

¹⁹This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?”

²⁰He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

²¹“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he replied. “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?” “No.”

²²“Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

²³John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”

²⁴Then the Pharisees who had been sent

²⁵asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

²⁶John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize.

²⁷Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

²⁸This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

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

³⁰He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’

³¹I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³²Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him.

³³I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

³⁴I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God. ”

³⁵The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples.

³⁶As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”

³⁷When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

³⁸Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹“Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.

⁴¹Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ” ).

⁴²Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John — but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter” ).

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.”

⁴⁴Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

⁴⁵Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

⁴⁷As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel — a man of complete integrity.”

⁴⁸“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

⁴⁹Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God — the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

⁵¹Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. ”

¹Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai.

²After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.

³Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel:

⁴‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

⁵Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

⁶And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

⁷So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the LORD had commanded him.

⁸And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the LORD.

⁹Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

¹⁰Then the LORD told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing.

¹¹Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.

¹²Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.

¹³No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain. ”

¹⁴So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”

¹⁶On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.

¹⁷Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

¹⁹As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.

²⁰The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

²¹Then the LORD told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the LORD, or they will die.

²²Even the priests who regularly come near to the LORD must purify themselves so that the LORD does not break out and destroy them.”

²³“But LORD,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’”

²⁴But the LORD said, “Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the LORD, or he will break out and destroy them.”

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them what the LORD had said.

¹God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.

²For this good news — that God has prepared this rest — has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.

³For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.

⁴We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”

⁵But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”

⁶So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.

⁷So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

⁸Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.

⁹So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.

¹⁰For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.

¹¹So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

¹²For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

¹⁴So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.

¹⁵This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

¹⁶So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

¹“Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand,

²like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid.

³I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.

⁴Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

⁵My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

⁶“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope.

⁷O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.

⁸You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone.

⁹Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.

¹⁰They are gone forever from their home — never to be seen again.

¹¹“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain.

¹²Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard?

¹³I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’

¹⁴but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions.

¹⁵I would rather be strangled — rather die than suffer like this.

¹⁶I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

¹⁷“What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?

¹⁸For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.

¹⁹Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow!

²⁰If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you?

²¹Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.”

¹Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck.

²Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me.

³I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.

⁴Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, demanding that I give back what I didn’t steal.

⁵O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you.

⁶Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me, O Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel.

⁷For I endure insults for your sake; humiliation is written all over my face.

⁸Even my own brothers pretend they don’t know me; they treat me like a stranger.

⁹Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I weep and fast, they scoff at me.

¹¹When I dress in burlap to show sorrow, they make fun of me.

¹²I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me.

¹³But I keep praying to you, LORD, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation.

¹⁴Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters.

¹⁵Don’t let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me.

¹⁶Answer my prayers, O LORD, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful.

¹⁷Don’t hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!

¹⁸Come and redeem me; free me from my enemies.

¹⁹You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace. You see all that my enemies are doing.

²⁰Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.

²¹But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

²²Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare and their prosperity become a trap.

²³Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and make their bodies shake continually.

²⁴Pour out your fury on them; consume them with your burning anger.

²⁵Let their homes become desolate and their tents be deserted.

²⁶To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; they add to the pain of those you have hurt.

²⁷Pile their sins up high, and don’t let them go free.

²⁸Erase their names from the Book of Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

²⁹I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.

³⁰Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving.

³¹For this will please the LORD more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.

³²The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.

³³For the LORD hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.

³⁴Praise him, O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them.

³⁵For God will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and settle in their own land.

³⁶The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there in safety.

¹Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

²Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.

³Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

⁵Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain,

⁷I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.

⁸He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.

⁹It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

¹⁰The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart.

¹¹She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.

¹²She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.

¹³She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said,

¹⁴“I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are!

¹⁶My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.

¹⁷I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,

¹⁹for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip.

²⁰He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month. ”

²¹So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery.

²²He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,

²³awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words.

²⁵Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.

²⁶For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims.

²⁷Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.

¹David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”

²“That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “You’re not going to die. He always tells me everything he’s going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so!”

³Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan — why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the LORD and by your own soul!”

⁴“Tell me what I can do to help you,” Jonathan exclaimed.

⁵David replied, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I’ve always eaten with the king on this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day.

⁶If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family sacrifice.

⁷If he says, ‘Fine!’ you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, you will know he is determined to kill me.

⁸Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend — for we made a solemn pact before the LORD — or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don’t betray me to him!”

⁹“Never!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once.”

¹⁰Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”

¹¹“Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together.

¹²Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the LORD, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know.

¹³But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the LORD strike me and even kill me if I don’t warn you so you can escape and live. May the LORD be with you as he used to be with my father.

¹⁴And may you treat me with the faithful love of the LORD as long as I live. But if I die,

¹⁵treat my family with this faithful love, even when the LORD destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, saying, “May the LORD destroy all your enemies!”

¹⁷And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty.

¹⁹The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile.

²⁰I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target.

²¹Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the LORD lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble.

²²But if I tell him, ‘Go farther — the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away.

²³And may the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”

²⁴So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat.

²⁵He sat at his usual place against the wall, with Jonathan sitting opposite him and Abner beside him. But David’s place was empty.

²⁶Saul didn’t say anything about it that day, for he said to himself, “Something must have made David ceremonially unclean.”

²⁷But when David’s place was empty again the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse been here for the meal either yesterday or today?”

²⁸Jonathan replied, “David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem.

²⁹He said, ‘Please let me go, for we are having a family sacrifice. My brother demanded that I be there. So please let me get away to see my brothers.’ That’s why he isn’t here at the king’s table.”

³⁰Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!” he swore at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother?

³¹As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”

³²“But why should he be put to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?”

³³Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David.

³⁴Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat on that second day of the festival, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David.

³⁵The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows.

³⁶“Start running,” he told the boy, “so you can find the arrows as I shoot them.” So the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.

³⁷When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, “The arrow is still ahead of you.

³⁸Hurry, hurry, don’t wait.” So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master.

³⁹He, of course, suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David understood the signal.

⁴⁰Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to town.

⁴¹As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David.

⁴²At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the LORD’s name. The LORD is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.” Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town.

¹“If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the LORD.

²“Look at the shrines on every hilltop. Is there any place you have not been defiled by your adultery with other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and your wickedness.

³That’s why even the spring rains have failed. For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.

⁴Yet you say to me, ‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth.

⁵Surely you won’t be angry forever! Surely you can forget about it!’ So you talk, but you keep on doing all the evil you can.”

⁶During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree.

⁷I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.

⁸She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution.

⁹Israel treated it all so lightly — she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.

¹⁰But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹¹Then the LORD said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah!

¹²Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the LORD says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.

¹³Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the LORD, have spoken!

¹⁴“Return home, you wayward children,” says the LORD, “for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel — one from this town and two from that family — from wherever you are scattered.

¹⁵And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶“And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.

¹⁷In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the LORD.’ All nations will come there to honor the LORD. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.

¹⁸In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever.

¹⁹“I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land — the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me.

²⁰But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

²¹Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the LORD their God.

²²“My wayward children,” says the LORD, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the LORD our God.

²³Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the LORD our God will Israel ever find salvation.

²⁴From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for — their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters — was squandered on a delusion.

²⁵Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.”

¹Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man” ), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas ), and Saul.

²One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”

³So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

⁴So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus.

⁵There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

⁶Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

⁷He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.

⁹Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye.

¹⁰Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?

¹¹Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

¹²When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

¹³Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services.

¹⁵After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

¹⁶So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

¹⁷“The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery.

¹⁸He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

¹⁹Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.

²⁰All this took about 450 years. “After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

²²But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

²³“And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!

²⁴Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.

²⁵As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon — and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶“Brothers — you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles — this message of salvation has been sent to us!

²⁷The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath.

²⁸They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

²⁹“When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead!

³¹And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

³²“And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,

³³and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. ’

³⁴For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’

³⁵Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’

³⁶This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.

³⁷No, it was a reference to someone else — someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

³⁸“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

³⁹Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight — something the law of Moses could never do.

⁴⁰Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

⁴¹‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’ ”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week.

⁴³Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God.

⁴⁴The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.

⁴⁹So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

⁵⁰Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.

⁵¹So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium.

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