Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

²Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

³Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

⁴So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

⁵And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.

⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,

⁷and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

⁸Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

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

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

¹¹But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.

¹²And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

¹³Then 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 have laid Him.”

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

¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

¹⁹Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

²⁰When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

²¹So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! 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, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

²⁴Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

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

²⁶And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

²⁷Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

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

²⁹Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

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

¹He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width—it was square—and its height was three cubits.

²He made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of one piece with it. And he overlaid it with bronze.

³He made all the utensils for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its utensils he made of bronze.

⁴And he made a grate of bronze network for the altar, under its rim, midway from the bottom.

⁵He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles.

⁶And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze.

⁷Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it. He made the altar hollow with boards.

⁸He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

⁹Then he made the court on the south side; the hangings of the court were of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long.

¹⁰There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver.

¹¹On the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver.

¹²And on the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pillars and their ten sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver.

¹³For the east side the hangings were fifty cubits.

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

¹⁵and the same for the other side of the court gate; on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

¹⁶All the hangings of the court all around were of fine woven linen.

¹⁷The sockets for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlay of their capitals was silver; and all the pillars of the court had bands of silver.

¹⁸The screen for the gate of the court was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. The length was twenty cubits, and the height along its width was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court.

¹⁹And there were four pillars with their four sockets of bronze; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their bands was silver.

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

²¹This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

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

²³And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.

²⁴All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

²⁵And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary:

²⁶a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men.

²⁷And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket.

²⁸Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them.

²⁹The offering of bronze was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.

³⁰And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils for the altar,

³¹the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around.

¹Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.

²For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

³For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

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

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

⁶But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)

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 preach):

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

¹⁰For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

¹³For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

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

¹⁵And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”

¹⁷So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

¹⁸But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”

²⁰But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

²¹But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.”

¹James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

²My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

³knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

⁴But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

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

⁶But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

⁷For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

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

⁹Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

¹⁰but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

¹¹For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

¹²Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

¹⁵Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

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

¹⁸Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

¹⁹So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

²⁰for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

²¹Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

²²But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

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

²⁴for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

¹But Job answered and said:

²“How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength?

³How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have you declared sound advice to many?

⁴To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you?

⁵“The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.

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

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

⁸He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it.

⁹He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it.

¹⁰He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness.

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

¹²He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.

¹³By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

¹⁴Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?”

¹A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite. [1] O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.

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

³For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave.

⁴I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,

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

⁶You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths.

⁷Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah

⁸You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

⁹My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You.

¹⁰Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah

¹¹Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

¹²Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

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

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

¹⁵I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.

¹⁶Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.

¹⁷They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether.

¹⁸Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

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

²Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.

³A whip for the horse, A bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the fool’s back.

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.

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

⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang limp Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

⁸Like one who binds a stone in a sling Is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard Is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰The great God who formed everything Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.

¹¹As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.

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

¹³The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”

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

¹⁵The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can answer sensibly.

¹⁷He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,

¹⁹Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.

²¹As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.

²²The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.

²³Fervent lips with a wicked heart Are like earthenware covered with silver dross.

²⁴He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself;

²⁵When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart;

²⁶Though his hatred is covered by deceit, His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.

²Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.

³David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates.

⁴David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

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

⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

⁷And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

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

⁹When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,

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

¹¹King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued—

¹²from Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt.

¹⁴He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went.

¹⁵So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁶Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

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

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

¹Thus says the LORD: “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, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates!

³Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David.

⁵But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the LORD, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”

⁶For thus says the LORD to the house of the king of Judah: “You are Gilead to Me, The head of Lebanon; Yet I surely will make you a wilderness, Cities which are not inhabited.

⁷I will prepare destroyers against you, Everyone with his weapons; They shall cut down your choice cedars And cast them into the fire.

⁸And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the LORD done so to this great city?’

⁹Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”

¹⁰Weep not for the dead, nor bemoan him; Weep bitterly for him who goes away, For he shall return no more, Nor see his native country.

¹¹For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore,

¹²but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

¹³“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages And gives him nothing for his work,

¹⁴Who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house with spacious chambers, And cut out windows for it, Paneling it with cedar And painting it with vermilion.’

¹⁵“Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.

¹⁶He judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the LORD.

¹⁷“Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.”

¹⁸Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’ They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’

¹⁹He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰“Go up to Lebanon, and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry from Abarim, For all your lovers are destroyed.

²¹I spoke to you in your prosperity, But you said, ‘I will not hear.’ This has been your manner from your youth, That you did not obey My voice.

²²The wind shall eat up all your rulers, And your lovers shall go into captivity; Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated For all your wickedness.

²³O inhabitant of Lebanon, Making your nest in the cedars, How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you, Like the pain of a woman in labor?

²⁴“As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off;

²⁵and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans.

²⁶So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die.

²⁷But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.

²⁸“Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol— A vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, And cast into a land which they do not know?

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

³⁰Thus says the LORD: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ”

¹Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,

²being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

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

⁴However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,

⁶as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

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

⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,

¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

¹¹This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’

¹²Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

¹⁸So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach 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 more than to God, you judge.

²⁰For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

²¹So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.

²²For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

²³And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

²⁵who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?

²⁶The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.’

²⁷“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

²⁹Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,

³⁰by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

³²Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

³³And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

³⁴Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,

³⁵and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

³⁶And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,

³⁷having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.