Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

²So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

³But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁵“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

⁶But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

⁸Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.

⁹“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

¹⁰Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us today our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

¹⁴“For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.

¹⁵But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

¹⁶“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

¹⁸so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.

²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

²³But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

²⁶Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

²⁷Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?

²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread.

²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

³⁰If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you — you of little faith?

³¹So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’

³²For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

³⁴Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

¹“When someone sins in any of these ways: If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he will bear his iniquity.

²Or if someone touches anything unclean  — a carcass of an unclean wild animal, or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature  — without being aware of it, he is unclean and incurs guilt.

³Or if he touches human uncleanness  — any uncleanness by which one can become defiled  — without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.

⁴Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil — concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath — without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

⁵If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess he has committed that sin.

⁶He must bring his penalty for guilt for the sin he has committed to the LORD: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

⁷“But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the LORD two turtledoves or two young pigeons as penalty for guilt for his sin — one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

⁸He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it.

⁹Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.

¹⁰He will prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹¹“But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

¹²He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion and burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the LORD; it is a sin offering.

¹³In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”

¹⁴Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

¹⁵“If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his penalty for guilt to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel ) as a guilt offering.

¹⁶He is to make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁷“If someone sins and without knowing it violates any of the LORD’s commands concerning anything prohibited, he is guilty, and he will bear his iniquity.

¹⁸He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a guilt offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁹It is a guilt offering; he is indeed guilty before the LORD.”

¹Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:

²To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord — both their Lord and ours.

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus,

⁵that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge.

⁶In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,

⁷so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

¹¹For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you.

¹²What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?

¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵so that no one can say you were baptized in my name.

¹⁶I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else.

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

¹⁸For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.

¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent.

²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?

²¹For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.

²²For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom,

²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.

²⁴Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,

²⁵because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

²⁷Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

²⁸God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world  — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

²⁹so that no one may boast in his presence.

³⁰It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us — our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,

³¹in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

¹In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live

²when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

³Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry,

⁴but rather what is inside the heart  — the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

⁵For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands,

⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.

⁷Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,

⁹not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,

¹¹and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it,

¹²because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.

¹³Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be intimidated,

¹⁵but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

¹⁶Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

¹⁹in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison

²⁰who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few — that is, eight people  — were saved through water.

²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

¹But now, Job, pay attention to my speech, and listen to all my words.

²I am going to open my mouth; my tongue will form words on my palate.

³My words come from my upright heart, and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Refute me if you can. Prepare your case against me; take your stand.

⁶I am just like you before God; I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.

⁷Fear of me should not terrify you; no pressure from me should weigh you down.

⁸Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:

⁹“I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.

¹⁰But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”

¹²But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter, since God is greater than man.

¹³Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks?

¹⁴For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it.

¹⁵In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds,

¹⁶he uncovers their ears and terrifies them with warnings,

¹⁷in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress the pride of a person.

¹⁸God spares his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death.

¹⁹A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,

²⁰so that he detests bread, and his soul despises his favorite food.

²¹His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out.

²²He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners.

²³If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him

²⁴and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,”

²⁵then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.

²⁶He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. That person will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore his righteousness to him.

²⁷He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.

²⁸He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”

²⁹God certainly does all these things two or three times to a person

³⁰in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak.

³²But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, for I would like to justify you.

³³If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.

¹Come, let us shout joyfully to the LORD, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!

²Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to him in song.

³For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.

⁴The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his.

⁵The sea is his; he made it. His hands formed the dry land.

⁶Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

⁷For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care. Today, if you hear his voice:

⁸Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness

⁹where your fathers tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

¹⁰For forty years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know my ways.”

¹¹So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.”

¹My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,

²listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;

³furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,

⁵then you will understand the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity

⁸so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of his faithful followers.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity — every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight you.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you.

¹²It will rescue you from the way of evil — from anyone who says perverse things,

¹³from those who abandon the right paths to walk in ways of darkness,

¹⁴from those who enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion,

¹⁵whose paths are crooked, and whose ways are devious.

¹⁶It will rescue you from a forbidden woman, from a wayward woman with her flattering talk,

¹⁷who abandons the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.

¹⁹None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life.

²⁰So follow the way of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will inhabit the land, and those of integrity will remain in it;

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous ripped out of it.

¹After this, Absalom got himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run before him.

²He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for settlement, Absalom called out to him and asked, “What city are you from?” If he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”

³Absalom said to him, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king does not have anyone to listen to you.”

⁴He added, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land. Then anyone who had a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would make sure he received justice.”

⁵When a person approached to pay homage to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him.

⁶Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for a settlement. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷When four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.

⁸For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying: If the LORD really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.”

⁹“Go in peace,” the king said to him. So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰Then Absalom sent agents throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron!’”

¹¹Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and were going innocently, for they did not know the whole situation.

¹²While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David’s adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.

¹³Then an informer came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

¹⁴David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will overtake us quickly, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵The king’s servants said to the king, “Whatever my lord the king decides, we are your servants.”

¹⁶Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.

¹⁷So the king set out, and all the people followed him. They stopped at the last house

¹⁸while all his servants marched past him. Then all the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the people of Gath— six hundred men who came with him from there  — marched past the king.

¹⁹The king said to Ittai of Gath, “Why are you also going with us? Go back and stay with the new king since you’re both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.

²⁰Besides, you only arrived yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I go wherever I can? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you kindness and faithfulness.”

²¹But in response, Ittai vowed to the king, “As the LORD lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether it means life or death, your servant will be there!”

²²“March on,” David replied to Ittai. So Ittai of Gath marched past with all his men and the dependents who were with him.

²³Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching out of the city. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the wilderness.

²⁴Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had finished marching past.

²⁵Then the king instructed Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor with the LORD, he will bring me back and allow me to see both it and its dwelling place.

²⁶However, if he should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am — he can do with me whatever pleases him.”

²⁷The king also said to the priest Zadok, “Look, return to the city in peace and your two sons with you: your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan.

²⁸Remember, I’ll wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.

³¹Then someone reported to David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” “LORD,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

³²When David came to the summit where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

³³David said to him, “If you go away with me, you’ll be a burden to me,

³⁴but if you return to the city and tell Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, Your Majesty! Previously, I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can counteract Ahithophel’s counsel for me.

³⁵Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Report everything you hear from the palace to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.

³⁶Take note: their two sons are there with them—Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. Send them to tell me everything you hear.”

³⁷So Hushai, David’s personal adviser, entered Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

¹This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem.

³He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter stated:

⁴This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵“Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce.

⁶Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.

⁷Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

⁸For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them,

⁹for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

¹⁰For this is what the LORD says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place.

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you”  — this is the LORD’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

¹²You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

¹³You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

¹⁴I will be found by you” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you” — this is the LORD’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”

¹⁵You have said, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon!”

¹⁶But this is what the LORD says concerning the king sitting on David’s throne and concerning all the people living in this city — that is, concerning your brothers who did not go with you into exile.

¹⁷This is what the LORD of Armies says: “I am about to send sword, famine, and plague against them, and I will make them like rotten figs that are inedible because they are so bad.

¹⁸I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth — a curse and a desolation, an object of scorn and a disgrace among all the nations where I have banished them.

¹⁹I will do this because they have not listened to my words” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “the words that I sent to them with my servants the prophets time and time again. And you too have not listened.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

²⁰Hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, the ones prophesying a lie to you in my name: “I am about to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.

²²Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse that says, ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! ’

²³because they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken in my name a lie, which I did not command them. I am he who knows, and I am a witness.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

²⁴To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to say,

²⁵“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,

²⁶‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, responsible for every madman who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks and an iron collar.

²⁷So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who has been acting like a prophet among you?

²⁸For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, “The exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.”’ ”

²⁹The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah.

³⁰Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

³¹“Send a message to all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie,

³²this is what the LORD says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people, nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people — this is the LORD’s declaration — for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

¹The apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

²When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him,

³saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴Peter began to explain to them step by step:

⁵“I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a trance, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me.

⁶When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.

⁷I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸“‘No, Lord! ’ I said. ‘For nothing impure or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call impure.’

¹⁰“Now this happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were.

¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house.

¹³He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

¹⁴He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning.

¹⁶I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?”

¹⁸When they heard this they became silent. And they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles.”

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

²⁰But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

²¹The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

²²News about them reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,

²⁴for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers of people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul,

²⁶and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

²⁷In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea.

³⁰They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.