Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Judge not, that you be not judged.

²For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

³And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

⁵Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

⁷“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

⁸For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

⁹Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

¹¹If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹²Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

¹³“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

¹⁴Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

¹⁷Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

²⁰Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

²¹“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

²²Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

²³And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

²⁴“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

²⁵and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

²⁶“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

²⁷and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

²⁸And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,

²⁹for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²“If a person sins and commits a trespass against the LORD by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor,

³or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins:

⁴then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found,

⁵or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering.

⁶And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest.

⁷So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any one of these things that he may have done in which he trespasses.”

⁸Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁹“Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

¹⁰And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

¹¹Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

¹²And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

¹³A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.

¹⁴‘This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the LORD.

¹⁵He shall take from it his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the LORD.

¹⁶And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it.

¹⁷It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering.

¹⁸All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Everyone who touches them must be holy.’ ”

¹⁹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁰“This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the LORD, beginning on the day when he is anointed: one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night.

²¹It shall be made in a pan with oil. When it is mixed, you shall bring it in. The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a sweet aroma to the LORD.

²²The priest from among his sons, who is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the LORD. It shall be wholly burned.

²³For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

²⁴Also the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁵“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the LORD. It is most holy.

²⁶The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting.

²⁷Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place.

²⁸But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water.

²⁹All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy.

³⁰But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten. It shall be burned in the fire.

¹And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.

²For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

³I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

⁴And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

⁵that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

⁶However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

⁷But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

⁸which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁹But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

¹¹For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

¹⁴But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

¹⁵But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

²that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

³For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

⁴In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

⁵They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

⁶For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

⁷But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

⁸And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

⁹Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

¹⁰As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

¹¹If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

¹³but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

¹⁴If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.

¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

¹⁹Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

¹Elihu further answered and said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men; Give ear to me, you who have knowledge.

³For the ear tests words As the palate tastes food.

⁴Let us choose justice for ourselves; Let us know among ourselves what is good.

⁵“For Job has said, ‘I am righteous, But God has taken away my justice;

⁶Should I lie concerning my right? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

⁷What man is like Job, Who drinks scorn like water,

⁸Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, And walks with wicked men?

⁹For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing That he should delight in God.’

¹⁰“Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: Far be it from God to do wickedness, And from the Almighty to commit iniquity.

¹¹For He repays man according to his work, And makes man to find a reward according to his way.

¹²Surely God will never do wickedly, Nor will the Almighty pervert justice.

¹³Who gave Him charge over the earth? Or who appointed Him over the whole world?

¹⁴If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,

¹⁵All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.

¹⁶“If you have understanding, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words:

¹⁷Should one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn Him who is most just?

¹⁸Is it fitting to say to a king, ‘You are worthless,’ And to nobles, ‘You are wicked’?

¹⁹Yet He is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For they are all the work of His hands.

²⁰In a moment they die, in the middle of the night; The people are shaken and pass away; The mighty are taken away without a hand.

²¹“For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps.

²²There is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

²³For He need not further consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment.

²⁴He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place.

²⁵Therefore He knows their works; He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed.

²⁶He strikes them as wicked men In the open sight of others,

²⁷Because they turned back from Him, And would not consider any of His ways,

²⁸So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him; For He hears the cry of the afflicted.

²⁹When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him, Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?—

³⁰That the hypocrite should not reign, Lest the people be ensnared.

³¹“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastening; I will offend no more;

³²Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’?

³³Should He repay it according to your terms, Just because you disavow it? You must choose, and not I; Therefore speak what you know.

³⁴“Men of understanding say to me, Wise men who listen to me:

³⁵‘Job speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom.’

³⁶Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost, Because his answers are like those of wicked men!

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.”

¹Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

²Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

³Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

⁴For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

⁶Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

⁷Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength.

⁸Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

⁹Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

¹²Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.

¹³For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

¹My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;

²For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.

³Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,

⁴And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

⁸It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

¹⁰So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction;

¹²For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;

¹⁴For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.

¹⁹The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens;

²⁰By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

²²So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck.

²³Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

³⁰Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways;

³²For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, But His secret counsel is with the upright.

³³The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just.

³⁴Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools.

¹When David was a little past the top of the mountain, there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth, who met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

²And the king said to Ziba, “What do you mean to do with these?” So Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who are faint in the wilderness to drink.”

³Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ”

⁴So the king said to Ziba, “Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!”

⁵Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came.

⁶And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

⁷Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue!

⁸The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!”

⁹Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!”

¹⁰But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”

¹¹And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him.

¹²It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day.”

¹³And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust.

¹⁴Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there.

¹⁵Meanwhile Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him.

¹⁶And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷So Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”

¹⁸And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain.

¹⁹Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so will I be in your presence.”

²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.”

²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.”

²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

²³Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

²“Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.

³For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”

⁴Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

⁵“For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, Of fear, and not of peace.

⁶Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?

⁷Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.

⁸‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ Says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them.

⁹But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, And no one shall make him afraid.

¹¹For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

¹²“For thus says the LORD: ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe.

¹³There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines.

¹⁴All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased.

¹⁵Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.

¹⁶‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; Those who plunder you shall become plunder, And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.

¹⁷For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” ’

¹⁸“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.

¹⁹Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

²⁰Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the LORD.

²²‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’ ”

²³Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD Goes forth with fury, A continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, And until He has performed the intents of His heart. In the latter days you will consider it.

¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

²Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

⁴So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

⁵Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

⁶And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

⁷Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.

⁸Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”

⁹So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹²So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

¹³And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.

¹⁵But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”

¹⁶Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

¹⁹But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

²⁰Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.

²¹So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.

²²And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

²³Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But the word of God grew and multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.