Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

³For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’ ”

⁴Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan;

⁶and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance;

⁹and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.

¹⁰And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹²His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹³Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him.

¹⁴But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?”

¹⁵But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him.

¹⁶After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him,

¹⁷and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

¹‘Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it.

²He shall then bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests; and he shall take from it his handful of its fine flour and of its oil, with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as its memorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

³The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a most holy part of the offerings to the LORD by fire.

⁴‘Now when you bring an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil.

⁵And if your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil;

⁶you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.

⁷Now if your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

⁸When you bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to the LORD, it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar.

⁹The priest then shall take up from the grain offering its memorial portion, and shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁰The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a most holy part of the offerings to the LORD by fire.

¹¹‘No grain offering, which you bring to the LORD, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an offering by fire to the LORD.

¹²As an offering of first fruits you shall bring them to the LORD, but they shall not ascend as a soothing aroma on the altar.

¹³Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God will not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴‘Also if you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the LORD, you shall bring fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, crushed grain of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened produce.

¹⁵You shall then put oil on it and place incense on it; it is a grain offering.

¹⁶Then the priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion, part of its crushed grain and its oil with all its incense as an offering by fire to the LORD.

¹Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not to have quarrels over opinions.

²One person has faith that he may eat all things, but the one who is weak eats only vegetables.

³The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.

⁴Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.

⁶The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, does so with regard to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God.

⁷For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

⁸for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you regard your brother or sister with contempt? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of God.

¹¹For it is written: “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE WILL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.”

¹²So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let’s not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this: not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way.

¹⁴I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to the one who thinks something is unclean, to that person it is unclean.

¹⁵For if because of food your brother or sister is hurt, you are no longer walking in accordance with love. Do not destroy with your choice of food that person for whom Christ died.

¹⁶Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;

¹⁷for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸For the one who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by other people.

¹⁹So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

²⁰Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the person who eats and causes offense.

²¹It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles.

²²The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

²³But the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

¹Come now, you rich people, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

²Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

³Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

⁴Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of armies.

⁵You have lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

⁶You have condemned and put to death the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

⁷Therefore be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.

⁸You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

⁹Do not complain, brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.

¹⁰As an example, brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

¹¹We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹²But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

¹⁵and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.

¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

¹⁸Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back,

²⁰let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

¹“But now those who are younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.

²Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

³From poverty and famine they are gaunt, They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

⁴Who pluck saltweed by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

⁵They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,

⁶So that they live on the slopes of ravines, In holes in the ground and among the rocks.

⁷Among the bushes they cry out; Under the weeds they are gathered together.

⁸Worthless fellows, even those without a name, They were cast out from the land.

⁹“And now I have become their taunt, And I have become a byword to them.

¹⁰They loathe me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting in my face.

¹¹Because He has undone my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.

¹²On the right hand their mob arises; They push aside my feet and pile up their ways of destruction against me.

¹³They break up my path, They promote my destruction; No one restrains them.

¹⁴As through a wide gap they come, Amid the storm they roll on.

¹⁵Sudden terrors are turned upon me; They chase away my dignity like the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

¹⁶“And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of misery have seized me.

¹⁷At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains do not rest.

¹⁸By a great force my garment is distorted; It ties me up like the collar of my coat.

¹⁹He has thrown me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

²⁰I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

²¹You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You persecute me.

²²You lift me up to the wind and make me ride it; And You dissolve me in a storm.

²³For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house of meeting for all living.

²⁴“Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand, Or in his disaster does he not cry out for help?

²⁵Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was my soul not grieved for the needy?

²⁶When I expected good, evil came; When I waited for light, darkness came.

²⁷I am seething within and cannot rest; Days of misery confront me.

²⁸I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

²⁹I have become a brother to jackals, And a companion of ostriches.

³⁰My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.

³¹Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

¹It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, Most High;

²To declare Your goodness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,

³With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music on the lyre.

⁴For You, LORD, have made me joyful by what You have done, I will sing for joy over the works of Your hands.

⁵How great are Your works, LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.

⁶A stupid person has no knowledge, Nor does a foolish person understand this:

⁷When the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did injustice flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.

⁸But You, LORD, are on high forever.

⁹For, behold, Your enemies, LORD, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do injustice will be scattered.

¹⁰But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.

¹¹And my eye has looked at my enemies, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.

¹²The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courtyards of our God.

¹⁴They will still yield fruit in advanced age; They will be full of sap and very green,

¹⁵To declare that the LORD is just; He is my rock, and there is no malice in Him.

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

²I am certainly more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man;

³Nor have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know!

⁵Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

⁷Two things I have asked of You; Do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,

⁹So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” And that I will not become impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

¹¹There is a kind of person who curses his father And does not bless his mother.

¹²There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

¹³There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴There is a kind of person whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the poor from the earth And the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters: “Give” and “Give.” There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”:

¹⁶Sheol, the infertile womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of the eagle in the sky, The way of a snake on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot endure:

²²Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,

²³Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.

²⁴Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The rock hyraxes are not a mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;

²⁸The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march, Even four which are stately when they walk:

³⁰The lion, which is mighty among animals And does not retreat from anything,

³¹The strutting rooster or the male goat, And a king when his army is with him.

³²If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

³³For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose produces blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.

¹Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in a city, the one wealthy and the other poor.

²The wealthy man had a great many flocks and herds.

³But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nurtured; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie in his lap, And was like a daughter to him.

⁴Now a visitor came to the wealthy man, And he could not bring himself to take any animal from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the traveler who had come to him; So he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

⁵Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this certainly deserves to die!

⁶So he must make restitution for the lamb four times over, since he did this thing and had no compassion.”

⁷Nathan then said to David, “You yourself are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul.

⁸I also gave you your master’s house and put your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!

⁹Why have you despised the word of the LORD, by doing evil in His sight? You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

¹⁰Now then, the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

¹¹This is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.

¹²Indeed, you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in open daylight.’ ”

¹³Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die.

¹⁴However, since by this deed you have shown utter disrespect for the LORD, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die.”

¹⁵Then Nathan went to his house. L ater the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.

¹⁶David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.

¹⁷The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.

¹⁸Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?”

¹⁹But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”

²⁰So David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.

²¹Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.”

²²And he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’

²³But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not return to me.”

²⁴Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and slept with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved him,

²⁵and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the LORD’S sake.

²⁶Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captured the royal city.

²⁷Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters.

²⁸Now then, gather the rest of the people and camp opposite the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.”

²⁹So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it.

³⁰Then he took the crown of their king from his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and it had a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in great amounts.

³¹He also brought out the people who were in it, and put some to work at saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made others serve at the brick works. And he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying,

²“This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the LORD’S house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word!

³Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.’

⁴And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “If you do not listen to Me, to walk in My Law which I have set before you,

⁵to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened;

⁶then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”

⁷The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.

⁸Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!

⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the LORD.

¹⁰When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and sat at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD’S house.

¹¹Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.

¹³Now then, reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you.

¹⁴But as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight.

¹⁵Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words so that you hear them.”

¹⁶Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “No death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.”

¹⁷Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸“Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies has said: “Zion will be plowed like a field, And Jerusalem will become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the house like the high places of a forest.” ’

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and plead for the favor of the LORD, and the LORD relented of the disaster which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against our own lives!”

²⁰Indeed, there was also a man who used to prophesy in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah.

²¹When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he fled and went to Egypt.

²²Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him, to Egypt.

²³And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who killed him with a sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people to put him to death.

¹Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.

²Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him.

³But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.

⁴Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places preaching the word.

⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them.

⁶The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.

⁷For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed.

⁸So there was much rejoicing in that city.

⁹Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;

¹⁰and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.”

¹¹And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic arts.

¹²But when they believed Philip as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.

¹³Now even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was repeatedly amazed.

¹⁴Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,

¹⁵who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶(For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

¹⁷Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,

¹⁹saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money!

²¹You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

²²Therefore, repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart will be forgiven you.

²³For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of unrighteousness.”

²⁴But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)

²⁷So he got ready and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

²⁸and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”

³⁰Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED LIKE A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND LIKE A LAMB THAT IS SILENT BEFORE ITS SHEARER, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

³³IN HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL DESCRIBE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EARTH.”

³⁴The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

³⁶As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

³⁷

³⁸And he ordered that the chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.