Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and *saw the stone already removed from the tomb.

²So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.”

³So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb.

⁴The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first;

⁵and he stooped to look in, and *saw the linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go in.

⁶So Simon Peter also *came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he *looked at the linen wrappings lying there,

⁷and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself.

⁸So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed.

⁹For they did not yet understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.

¹⁰So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

¹¹But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb;

¹²and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

¹³And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him.”

¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene *came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

¹⁹Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “Peace be to you.”

²⁰And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

²²And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

²³If you forgive the sins of any, their sinshave been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

²⁵So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be to you.”

²⁷Then He *said to Thomas, “Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief, but be a believer.”

²⁸Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

³⁰So then, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

³¹but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.

¹Then he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide, square, and three cubits high.

²And he made its horns on its four corners, its horns being of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.

³He also made all the utensils of the altar, the pails, the shovels, the basins, the meat-forks, and the firepans; he made all its utensils of bronze.

⁴And he made for the altar a grating of bronze netting beneath, under its ledge, reaching halfway up.

⁵He also cast four rings on the four ends of the bronze grating as holders for the poles.

⁶He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

⁷Then he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made it hollow with planks.

⁸Moreover, he made the basin of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁹Then he made the courtyard: for the south side the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, a hundred cubits;

¹⁰their twenty pillars, and their twenty bases, were made of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.

¹¹For the north side there were a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.

¹²For the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.

¹³For the east side, fifty cubits.

¹⁴The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases,

¹⁵and so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the courtyard were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases.

¹⁶All the hangings of the courtyard all around were of fine twisted linen.

¹⁷And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands, of silver; and the overlaying of their tops, of silver, and all the pillars of the courtyard were furnished with silver bands.

¹⁸Now the curtain of the gate of the courtyard was the work of the weaver, of violet, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. And the length was twenty cubits and the height was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the courtyard.

¹⁹Their four pillars and their four bases were of bronze; their hooks were of silver, and the overlaying of their tops and their bands were of silver.

²⁰All the pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were of bronze.

²¹This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were counted according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²²Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the LORD had commanded Moses.

²³With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skilled embroiderer, and a weaver in violet, in purple, and in scarlet material, and fine linen.

²⁴All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, which was the gold of the wave offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

²⁵And the silver of those of the congregation who were counted was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary;

²⁶a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), assessed to each one who passed over to those who were counted, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.

²⁷The hundred talents of silver were used for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent for a base.

²⁸And of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their tops and made bands for them.

²⁹And the bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels.

³⁰With it he made the bases to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar,

³¹and the bases of the courtyard all around and the bases of the gate of the courtyard, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs of the courtyard all around.

¹Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

²For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

³For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

⁴For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them.

⁶But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),

⁷or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

⁸But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

⁹that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

¹⁰for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

¹³for “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

¹⁴How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

¹⁵But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

¹⁶However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”

¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary: “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”

¹⁹But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS WITH those who are not a nation, WITH A FOOLISH NATION I WILL ANGER YOU.”

²⁰And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I REVEALED MYSELF TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.”

²¹But as for Israel, He says, “I HAVE SPREAD OUT MY HANDS ALL DAY LONG TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”

¹James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

²Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials,

³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

⁴And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

⁶But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

⁷For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

⁸being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

¹⁰but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

¹¹For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out.

¹²Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

¹³No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters.

¹⁷Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

¹⁸In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

¹⁹You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;

²⁰for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.

²¹Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

²²But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.

²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

²⁴for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

²⁵But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

²⁷Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

¹Then Job responded,

²“What a help you are to the weak! You have saved the arm without strength!

³What advice you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!

⁴To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you?

⁵“The departed spirits are made to tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.

⁶Sheol is naked before Him, And Abaddon has no covering.

⁷He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing.

⁸He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them.

⁹He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it.

¹⁰He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.

¹¹The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.

¹²With His power He quieted the sea, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

¹³By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

¹⁴Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

¹LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.

²Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry!

³For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has approached Sheol.

⁴I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man without strength,

⁵Abandoned among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You no longer remember, And they are cut off from Your hand.

⁶You have put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the depths.

⁷Your wrath has rested upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah

⁸You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out.

⁹My eye grows dim from misery; I have called upon You every day, LORD; I have spread out my hands to You.

¹⁰Will You perform wonders for the dead? Or will the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah

¹¹Will Your graciousness be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon?

¹²Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³But I, LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

¹⁴LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

¹⁵I was miserable and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I grow weary.

¹⁶Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.

¹⁷They have surrounded me like water all day long; They have encircled me altogether.

¹⁸You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in a hiding place.

¹Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his foolishness, Or you will also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool as his foolishness deserves, So that he will not be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷Like useless legs to one who cannot walk, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

⁸Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is one who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that sticks in the hand of a heavy drinker, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to its vomit, So is a fool who repeats his foolishness.

¹²Do you see a person wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³A lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road! A lion is in the public square!”

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, So does a lazy one on his bed.

¹⁵A lazy one buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.

¹⁶A lazy one is wiser in his own eyes Than seven people who can give a discreet answer.

¹⁷Like one who takes a dog by the ears, So is one who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.

¹⁸Like a maniac who shoots Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,

¹⁹So is a person who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no gossiper, quarreling quiets down.

²¹Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious person to kindle strife.

²²The words of a gossiper are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

²³Like an earthenware vessel overlaid with silver impurities Are burning lips and a wicked heart.

²⁴One who hates disguises it with his lips, But he harbors deceit in his heart.

²⁵When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, Because there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred covers itself with deception, His wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷One who digs a pit will fall into it, And one who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹Now it happened afterward that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

²And He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³Then David defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the Euphrates River.

⁴And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans.

⁶Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.

⁷David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

⁹Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,

¹⁰Toi sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze.

¹¹King David also consecrated these gifts to the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued:

¹²from Aram, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Arameans in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD helped David wherever he went.

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.

¹⁶Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary.

¹⁷Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was scribe.

¹⁸Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.

¹This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word,

²and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.

³This is what the LORD says: “Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. And do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴For if you will indeed perform this instruction, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people.

⁵But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the LORD, “that this house will become a place of ruins.” ’ ”

⁶For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, Like the summit of Lebanon; Yet most assuredly I will make you a wilderness, Cities that are not inhabited.

⁷For I will set apart destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your choicest cedars And throw them on the fire.

⁸“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this great city?’

⁹Then they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’ ”

¹⁰Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him, But weep deeply for the one who goes away; For he will never return Or see his native land.

¹¹For this is what the LORD says regarding Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there;

¹²but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will die and he will not see this land again.

¹³“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, And his upstairs rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages,

¹⁴Who says, ‘I will build myself a large house With spacious upstairs rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’

¹⁵Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did your father not eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well for him.

¹⁶He pled the cause of the afflicted and the poor, Then it was well. Is that not what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD.

¹⁷“But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood, And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

¹⁸Therefore this is what the LORD says regarding Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Oh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’

¹⁹He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And raise your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed.

²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your way from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice.

²²The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness.

²³You who live in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when sharp pains come on you, Pain like a woman in childbirth!

²⁴“As I live,” declares the LORD, “even if Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off;

²⁵and I will hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans.

²⁶I will hurl you and your mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die.

²⁷But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.

²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known?

²⁹O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD!

³⁰This is what the LORD says: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man among his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”

¹As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

²being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,

⁹if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.

¹²And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another,

¹⁶saying, “What are we to do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person in this name.”

¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment;

²⁰for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;

²²for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

²³When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM,

²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY WERE THE NATIONS INSOLENT, AND THE PEOPLES PLOTTING IN VAIN?

²⁶THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’

²⁷For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur.

²⁹And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

³³And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷owned a tract of land. So he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.