Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

²This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

³Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

⁸The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

¹¹Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.

¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

¹³No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

¹⁵that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

²¹But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

²²After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.

²³Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.

²⁴For John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification.

²⁶And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

²⁷John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

²⁸You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’

²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.

³¹He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

³²And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.

³³He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.

³⁴For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

³⁵The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

³⁶He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

¹“Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them:

²If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing.

³If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.

⁴If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

⁵But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’

⁶then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

⁷“And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.

⁸If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.

⁹And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.

¹⁰If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights.

¹¹And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

¹²“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.

¹³However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

¹⁴“But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

¹⁵“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁶“He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷“And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸“If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,

¹⁹if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.

²⁰“And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.

²¹Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.

²²“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

²³But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,

²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.

²⁷And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

²⁸“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted.

²⁹But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

³⁰If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him.

³¹Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.

³²If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,

³⁴the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.

³⁵“If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide.

³⁶Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.

¹Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

²of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

³And this we will do if God permits.

⁴For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,

⁵and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

⁶if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

⁷For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;

⁸but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

⁹But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.

¹⁰For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

¹¹And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,

¹²that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,

¹⁴saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

¹⁶For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.

¹⁷Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,

¹⁸that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,

²⁰where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?

³If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

⁴God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?

⁵He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger;

⁶He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble;

⁷He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars;

⁸He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;

⁹He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;

¹⁰He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number.

¹¹If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;

¹²If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

¹³God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

¹⁴“How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him?

¹⁵For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge.

¹⁶If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

¹⁷For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness.

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?

²⁰Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

²¹“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life.

²²It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’

²³If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, who else could it be?

²⁵“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

²⁶They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.

²⁷If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’

²⁸I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent.

²⁹If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain?

³⁰If I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with soap,

³¹Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me.

³²“For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together.

³³Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.

³⁴Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me.

³⁵Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.

¹In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame.

²Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me.

³Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.

⁴Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

⁵For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.

⁶By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You.

⁷I have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge.

⁸Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day.

⁹Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

¹⁰For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,

¹¹Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

¹²O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!

¹³Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt.

¹⁴But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more.

¹⁵My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits.

¹⁶I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

¹⁸Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.

¹⁹Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?

²⁰You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

²¹You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side.

²²Also with the lute I will praise You— And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

²³My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed.

²⁴My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt.

¹Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;

²She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table.

³She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city,

⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

⁵“Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed.

⁶Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding.

⁷“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

⁸Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

¹⁰“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”

¹³A foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing.

¹⁴For she sits at the door of her house, On a seat by the highest places of the city,

¹⁵To call to those who pass by, Who go straight on their way:

¹⁶“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

¹⁸But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell.

¹David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.

²And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

³Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.”

⁴So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

⁵Now the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him—

⁷then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?

⁸All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”

⁹Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

¹⁰And he inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king.

¹²And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

¹³Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”

¹⁴So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house?

¹⁵Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

¹⁶And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!”

¹⁷Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the LORD.

¹⁸And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.

¹⁹Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

²⁰Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

²¹And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the LORD’s priests.

²²So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house.

²³Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”

¹“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.

²Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”

³O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return.

⁴Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.

⁵I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.” But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds.

⁶Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased.

⁷“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

⁸They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.

⁹Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

¹⁰“Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the LORD’s.

¹¹For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD.

¹²They have lied about the LORD, And said, “It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.

¹³And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.”

¹⁴Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them.

¹⁵Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.

¹⁶Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men.

¹⁷And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword.

¹⁸“Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you.

¹⁹And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’

²⁰“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

²¹‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:

²²Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

²³But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed.

²⁴They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”

²⁵Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you.

²⁶‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men.

²⁷As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.

²⁸They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend.

²⁹Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

³⁰“An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land:

³¹The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?

¹And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.

⁴And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

⁹and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

¹²Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

¹³And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:

¹⁴Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;

¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.’

¹⁸“Known to God from eternity are all His works.

¹⁹Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

²³They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—

²⁵it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

³⁰So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

³²Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.

³³And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.

³⁴However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.