Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.

²Then he began to teach them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. j

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

¹¹“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.

¹²Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

¹⁷“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.

¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.

²²But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.

²³So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,

²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.

²⁸But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.

³²But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,  You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.

³⁴But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne;

³⁵or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

³⁶Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.

³⁷But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

³⁹But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

⁴⁰As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

⁴¹And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

²“Tell the Israelites: When someone sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commands and does anything prohibited by them —

³“If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he is to present to the LORD a young, unblemished bull as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

⁴He is to bring the bull to the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD.

⁵The anointed priest will then take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the tent of meeting.

⁶The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.

⁷The priest is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He must pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁸He is to remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

⁹and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins. He will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys,

¹⁰just as the fat is removed from the ox of the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn them on the altar of burnt offering.

¹¹But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, with its head and legs, and its entrails and waste —

¹²all the rest of the bull — he must bring to a ceremonially clean place outside the camp to the ash heap, and must burn it on a wood fire. It is to be burned at the ash heap.

¹³“Now if the whole community of Israel errs, and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, so that they violate any of the LORD’s commands and incur guilt by doing what is prohibited,

¹⁴then the assembly must present a young bull as a sin offering. They are to bring it before the tent of meeting when the sin they have committed in regard to the command becomes known.

¹⁵The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD and it is to be slaughtered before the LORD.

¹⁶The anointed priest will bring some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting.

¹⁷The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the curtain.

¹⁸He is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

¹⁹He is to remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar.

²⁰He is to offer this bull just as he did with the bull in the sin offering; he will offer it the same way. So the priest will make atonement on their behalf, and they will be forgiven.

²¹Then he will bring the bull outside the camp and burn it just as he burned the first bull. It is the sin offering for the assembly.

²²“When a leader sins and unintentionally violates any of the commands of the LORD his God by doing what is prohibited, and incurs guilt,

²³or someone informs him about the sin he has committed, he is to bring an unblemished male goat as his offering.

²⁴He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.

²⁵Then the priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. The rest of its blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

²⁶He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the fellowship sacrifice. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for that person’s sin, and he will be forgiven.

²⁷“Now if any of the common people sins unintentionally by violating one of the LORD’s commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt,

²⁸or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed.

²⁹He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.

³⁰Then the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He is to pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

³¹He is to remove all its fat just as the fat is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf, and he will be forgiven.

³²“Or if the offering that he brings as a sin offering is a lamb, he is to bring an unblemished female.

³³He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.

³⁴Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He is to pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

³⁵He is to remove all its fat just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest will burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae.

²So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many — and of me also.

³Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus,

⁴who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches.

⁵Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those who belong to the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother — and mine.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

¹⁷Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them,

¹⁸because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.

¹⁹The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you.

²²I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.

²⁴

²⁵Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages

²⁶but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles —

²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ — to him be the glory forever! Amen.

¹Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

²Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation,

³if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, a living stone — rejected by people but chosen and honored by God —

⁵you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.

⁷So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected — this one has become the cornerstone,

⁸and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

¹²Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

¹³Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority

¹⁴or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.

¹⁵For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

¹⁶Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

¹⁷Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

¹⁸Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.

¹⁹For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

²¹For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²²He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth;

²³when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

¹So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

²Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God.

³He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.

⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he.

⁵But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

⁶So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied: I am young in years, while you are old; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.

⁷I thought that age should speak and maturity should teach wisdom.

⁸But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding.

⁹It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge.

¹⁰Therefore I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.”

¹¹Look, I waited for your conclusions; I listened to your insights as you sought for words.

¹²I paid close attention to you. Yet no one proved Job wrong; not one of you refuted his arguments.

¹³So do not claim, “We have found wisdom; let God deal with him, not man.”

¹⁴But Job has not directed his argument to me, and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

¹⁵Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer; words have left them.

¹⁶Should I continue to wait now that they are silent, now that they stand there and no longer answer?

¹⁷I too will answer; yes, I will tell what I know.

¹⁸For I am full of words, and my spirit compels me to speak.

¹⁹My heart is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like new wineskins.

²⁰I must speak so that I can find relief; I must open my lips and respond.

²¹I will be partial to no one, and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.

²²For I do not know how to give such titles; otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.

¹LORD, God of vengeance — God of vengeance, shine!

²Rise up, Judge of the earth; repay the proud what they deserve.

³LORD, how long will the wicked — how long will the wicked celebrate?

⁴They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.

⁵LORD, they crush your people; they oppress your heritage.

⁶They kill the widow and the resident alien and murder the fatherless.

⁷They say, “The LORD doesn’t see it. The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”

⁸Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise?

⁹Can the one who shaped the ear not hear, the one who formed the eye not see?

¹⁰The one who instructs nations, the one who teaches mankind knowledge — does he not discipline?

¹¹The LORD knows the thoughts of mankind; they are futile.

¹²LORD, how happy is anyone you discipline and teach from your law

¹³to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴The LORD will not leave his people or abandon his heritage,

¹⁵for the administration of justice will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?

¹⁷If the LORD had not been my helper, I would soon rest in the silence of death.

¹⁸If I say, “My foot is slipping,” your faithful love will support me, LORD.

¹⁹When I am filled with cares, your comfort brings me joy.

²⁰Can a corrupt throne be your ally, a throne that makes evil laws?

²¹They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

²²But the LORD is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection.

²³He will pay them back for their sins and destroy them for their evil. The LORD our God will destroy them.

¹The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

²For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings;

³for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity;

⁴for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced, knowledge and discretion to a young man —

⁵let a wise person listen and increase learning, and let a discerning person obtain guidance —

⁶for understanding a proverb or a parable, the words of the wise, and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,

⁹for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded.

¹¹If they say — “Come with us! Let’s set an ambush and kill someone. Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!

¹²Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol, whole, like those who go down to the Pit.

¹³We’ll find all kinds of valuable property and fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us, and we’ll all share the loot”  —

¹⁵my son, don’t travel that road with them or set foot on their path,

¹⁶because their feet run toward evil and they hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷It is useless to spread a net where any bird can see it,

¹⁸but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it.

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares.

²¹She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:

²²“How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge?

²³If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.

²⁴Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention,

²⁵since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction,

²⁶I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and stress overcome you.

²⁸Then they will call me, but I won’t answer; they will search for me, but won’t find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose to fear the LORD,

³⁰were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my correction,

³¹they will eat the fruit of their way and be glutted with their own schemes.

³²For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.”

¹Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king’s mind was on Absalom.

²So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning: dress in mourning clothes and don’t put on any oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.

³Go to the king and speak these words to him.” Then Joab told her exactly what to say.

⁴When the woman from Tekoa came to the king, she fell facedown to the ground, paid homage, and said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁵“What’s the matter?” the king asked her. “Sadly, I am a widow; my husband died,” she said.

⁶“Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

⁷Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant and said, ‘Hand over the one who killed his brother so we may put him to death for the life of the brother he murdered. We will eliminate the heir! ’ They would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on earth.”

⁸The king told the woman, “Go home. I will issue a command on your behalf.”

⁹Then the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and my father’s family, and may the king and his throne be innocent.”

¹⁰“Whoever speaks to you,” the king said, “bring him to me. He will not trouble you again!”

¹¹She replied, “Please, may the king invoke the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not increase the loss, and they will not eliminate my son!” “As the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son will fall to the ground.”

¹²Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.

¹³The woman asked, “Why have you devised something similar against the people of God? When the king spoke as he did about this matter, he has pronounced his own guilt. The king has not brought back his own banished one.

¹⁴We will certainly die and be like water poured out on the ground, which can’t be recovered. But God would not take away a life; he would devise plans so that the one banished from him does not remain banished.

¹⁵“Now therefore, I’ve come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought: I must speak to the king. Perhaps the king will grant his servant’s request.

¹⁶The king will surely listen in order to keep his servant from the grasp of this man who would eliminate both me and my son from God’s inheritance.

¹⁷Your servant thought: May the word of my lord the king bring relief, for my lord the king is able to discern the good and the bad like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.”

¹⁸Then the king answered the woman, “I’m going to ask you something; don’t conceal it from me!” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman replied.

¹⁹The king asked, “Did Joab put you up to all this?” The woman answered. “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or left from all my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave orders to me; he told your servant exactly what to say.

²⁰Joab your servant has done this to address the issue indirectly, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, knowing everything on earth.”

²¹Then the king said to Joab, “I hereby grant this request. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²Joab fell with his face to the ground in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” Joab said, “your servant knows I have found favor with you, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your servant.”

²³So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

²⁴However, the king added, “He may return to his house, but he may not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his house, but he did not see the king.

²⁵No man in all Israel was as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

²⁶When he shaved his head — he shaved it at the end of every year because his hair got so heavy for him that he had to shave it off — he would weigh the hair from his head and it would be five pounds according to the royal standard.

²⁷Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

²⁸Absalom resided in Jerusalem two years but never saw the king.

²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab was unwilling to come to him. So he sent again, a second time, but he still would not come.

³⁰Then Absalom said to his servants, “See, Joab has a field right next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set fire to it!” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

³¹Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

³²“Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I’d be better off if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”

³³Joab went to the king and told him. So David summoned Absalom, who came to the king and paid homage with his face to the ground before him. Then the king kissed Absalom.

¹In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon said to me in the temple of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people,

²“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the LORD’s temple that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon.

⁴And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon’ — this is the LORD’s declaration — ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the LORD.

⁶The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do that. May the LORD make the words you have prophesied come true and may he restore the articles of the LORD’s temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place!

⁷Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.

⁸The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms.

⁹As for the prophet who prophesies peace — only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.”

¹⁰The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.

¹¹In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” The prophet Jeremiah then went on his way.

¹²After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

¹³“Go say to Hananiah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar.

¹⁴For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have even put the wild animals under him.’”

¹⁵The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie.

¹⁶Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to send you off the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

¹⁷And the prophet Hananiah died that year in the seventh month.

¹There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment.

²He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.

³About three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.”

⁴Staring at him in awe, he said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel told him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

⁵Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

⁶He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷When the angel who spoke to him had gone, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, who was one of those who attended him.

⁸After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon.

¹⁰He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance.

¹¹He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth.

¹²In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky.

¹³A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴“No, Lord!” Peter said. “For I have never eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.”

¹⁵Again, a second time, the voice said to him, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.”

¹⁶This happened three times, and suddenly the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, right away the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, stood at the gate.

¹⁸They called out, asking if Simon, who was also named Peter, was lodging there.

¹⁹While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, “Three men are here looking for you.

²⁰Get up, go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.”

²¹Then Peter went down to the men and said, “Here I am, the one you’re looking for. What is the reason you’re here?”

²²They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.”

²³Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and set out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.

²⁴The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up and said, “Stand up. I myself am also a man.”

²⁷While talking with him, he went in and found a large gathering of people.

²⁸Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean.

²⁹That’s why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in dazzling clothing stood before me

³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered in God’s sight.

³²Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’

³³So I immediately sent for you, and it was good of you to come. So now we are all in the presence of God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.”

³⁴Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism,

³⁵but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁶He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all.

³⁷You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached:

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree.

⁴⁰God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen,

⁴¹not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

⁴³All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message.

⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in other tongues and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded,

⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

⁴⁸He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.