Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

²He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.

³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

⁴But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,

⁶saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;

⁹and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

¹²Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.

¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,

¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles —

¹⁶the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

¹⁸As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen.

¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

²¹As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.

²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

²⁴So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them.

²⁵And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

¹If the offering is a sacrifice of well-being, if you offer an animal of the herd, whether male or female, you shall offer one without blemish before the LORD.

²You shall lay your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall dash the blood against all sides of the altar.

³You shall offer from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails;

⁴the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

⁵Then Aaron’s sons shall turn these into smoke on the altar, with the burnt offering that is on the wood on the fire, as an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.

⁶If your offering for a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD is from the flock, male or female, you shall offer one without blemish.

⁷If you present a sheep as your offering, you shall bring it before the LORD

⁸and lay your hand on the head of the offering. It shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.

⁹You shall present its fat from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the LORD: the whole broad tail, which shall be removed close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails;

¹⁰the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys.

¹¹Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire to the LORD.

¹²If your offering is a goat, you shall bring it before the LORD

¹³and lay your hand on its head; it shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.

¹⁴You shall present as your offering from it, as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails;

¹⁵the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys.

¹⁶Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the LORD’s.

¹⁷It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood.

¹We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

²Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.

³For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

⁴For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

⁵May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus,

⁶so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

⁹and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”;

¹⁰and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;

¹¹and again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”;

¹²and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

¹⁵Nevertheless on some points I have written to you rather boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God

¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God.

¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed,

¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ.

²⁰Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation,

²¹but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”

²²This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

²³But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you

²⁴when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while.

²⁵At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints;

²⁶for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

²⁷They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things.

²⁸So, when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain;

²⁹and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf,

³¹that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

³²so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

³³The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

²who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁴and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

⁵who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,

⁷so that the genuineness of your faith — being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

⁸Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

⁹for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry,

¹¹inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory.

¹²It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look!

¹³Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.

¹⁴Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance.

¹⁵Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;

¹⁶for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.

¹⁸You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,

¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.

²⁰He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.

²¹Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

²²Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.

²³You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

²⁴For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

²⁵but the word of the Lord endures forever.” That word is the good news that was announced to you.

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin?

²What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high?

³Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity?

⁴Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps?

⁵“If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit —

⁶let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity! —

⁷if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, and if any spot has clung to my hands;

⁸then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door;

¹⁰then let my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel over her.

¹¹For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense;

¹²for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest.

¹³“If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me;

¹⁴what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

¹⁵Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

¹⁷or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it —

¹⁸for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow —

¹⁹if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering,

²⁰whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

²¹if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate;

²²then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.

²³For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.

²⁴“If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence;

²⁵if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much;

²⁶if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor,

²⁷and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand;

²⁸this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.

²⁹“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them —

³⁰I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse —

³¹if those of my tent ever said, ‘O that we might be sated with his flesh!’ —

³²the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler —

³³if I have concealed my transgressions as others do, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

³⁴because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors —

³⁵O that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) O that I had the indictment written by my adversary!

³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me like a crown;

³⁷I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.

³⁸“If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together;

³⁹if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners;

⁴⁰let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

¹The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;

²your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.

³The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.

⁴More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!

⁵Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.

¹The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

²No, my son! No, son of my womb! No, son of my vows!

³Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink;

⁵or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed, and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;

⁷let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more.

⁸Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.

⁹Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

¹⁰A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

¹³She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away.

¹⁵She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant-girls.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

²⁰She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson.

²²She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her:

²⁹“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

¹Some time passed. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar; and David’s son Amnon fell in love with her.

²Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.

³But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah; and Jonadab was a very crafty man.

⁴He said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

⁵Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed, and pretend to be ill; and when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, so that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’”

⁶So Amnon lay down, and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand.”

⁷Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”

⁸So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

⁹Then she took the pan and set them out before him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him.

¹⁰Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, so that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

¹¹But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

¹²She answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me; for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do anything so vile!

¹³As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the scoundrels in Israel. Now therefore, I beg you, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.”

¹⁴But he would not listen to her; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.

¹⁵Then Amnon was seized with a very great loathing for her; indeed, his loathing was even greater than the lust he had felt for her. Amnon said to her, “Get out!”

¹⁶But she said to him, “No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.

¹⁷He called the young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence, and bolt the door after her.”

¹⁸(Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in earlier times.) So his servant put her out, and bolted the door after her.

¹⁹But Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore the long robe that she was wearing; she put her hand on her head, and went away, crying aloud as she went.

²⁰Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother; do not take this to heart.” So Tamar remained, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house.

²¹When King David heard of all these things, he became very angry, but he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn.

²²But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped his sister Tamar.

²³After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

²⁴Absalom came to the king, and said, “Your servant has sheepshearers; will the king and his servants please go with your servant?”

²⁵But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, or else we will be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing.

²⁶Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”

²⁷But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. Absalom made a feast like a king’s feast.

²⁸Then Absalom commanded his servants, “Watch when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not be afraid; have I not myself commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.”

²⁹So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons rose, and each mounted his mule and fled.

³⁰While they were on the way, the report came to David that Absalom had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left.

³¹The king rose, tore his garments, and lay on the ground; and all his servants who were standing by tore their garments.

³²But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king’s sons; Amnon alone is dead. This has been determined by Absalom from the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

³³Now therefore, do not let my lord the king take it to heart, as if all the king’s sons were dead; for Amnon alone is dead.”

³⁴But Absalom fled. When the young man who kept watch looked up, he saw many people coming from the Horonaim road by the side of the mountain.

³⁵Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.”

³⁶As soon as he had finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived, and raised their voices and wept; and the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.

³⁷But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son day after day.

³⁸Absalom, having fled to Geshur, stayed there three years.

³⁹And the heart of the king went out, yearning for Absalom; for he was now consoled over the death of Amnon.

¹In the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.

²Thus the LORD said to me: Make yourself a yoke of straps and bars, and put them on your neck.

³Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah.

⁴Give them this charge for their masters: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters:

⁵It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the people and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever I please.

⁶Now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him even the wild animals of the field to serve him.

⁷All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

⁸But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the LORD, until I have completed its destruction by his hand.

⁹You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.”

¹⁰For they are prophesying a lie to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land; I will drive you out, and you will perish.

¹¹But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, says the LORD, to till it and live there.

¹²I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

¹³Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you not to serve the king of Babylon, for they are prophesying a lie to you.

¹⁵I have not sent them, says the LORD, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.

¹⁶Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, “The vessels of the LORD’s house will soon be brought back from Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.

¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation?

¹⁸If indeed they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.

¹⁹For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,

²⁰which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem —

²¹thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:

²²They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall stay, until the day when I give attention to them, says the LORD. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.

¹Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

⁶But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,

¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;

¹⁶I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

¹⁷So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,

¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul Preaches in Damascus For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,

²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

²¹All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

²²Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

²³After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,

²⁴but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him;

²⁵but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

²⁶When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him.

³⁰When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

³²Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed.

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up.

³⁵And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.

³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”

³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.

⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.