Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.

²For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?

⁴How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?

⁵Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁶“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

⁷“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

⁸For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹“You parents — if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?

¹⁰Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!

¹¹So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

¹²“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

¹³“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.

¹⁴But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

¹⁶You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

¹⁷A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

¹⁸A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

¹⁹So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

²⁰Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

²¹“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

²²On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

²³But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

²⁴“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.

²⁵Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

²⁶But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.

²⁷When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

²⁹for he taught with real authority — quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the LORD. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud,

³or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin.

⁴If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found,

⁵or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering.

⁶As a guilt offering to the LORD, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value.

⁷Through this process, the priest will purify you before the LORD, making you right with him, and you will be forgiven for any of these sins you have committed.”

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses,

⁹“Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the burnt offering. The burnt offering must be left on top of the altar until the next morning, and the fire on the altar must be kept burning all night.

¹⁰In the morning, after the priest on duty has put on his official linen clothing and linen undergarments, he must clean out the ashes of the burnt offering and put them beside the altar.

¹¹Then he must take off these garments, change back into his regular clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.

¹²Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it. He will then burn the fat of the peace offerings on it.

¹³Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.

¹⁴“These are the instructions regarding the grain offering. Aaron’s sons must present this offering to the LORD in front of the altar.

¹⁵The priest on duty will take from the grain offering a handful of the choice flour moistened with olive oil, together with all the frankincense. He will burn this representative portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁶Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of the flour, but it must be baked without yeast and eaten in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle.

¹⁷Remember, it must never be prepared with yeast. I have given it to the priests as their share of the special gifts presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy.

¹⁸Any of Aaron’s male descendants may eat from the special gifts presented to the LORD. This is their permanent right from generation to generation. Anyone or anything that touches these offerings will become holy.”

¹⁹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²⁰“On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed, they must present to the LORD the standard grain offering of two quarts of choice flour, half to be offered in the morning and half to be offered in the evening.

²¹It must be carefully mixed with olive oil and cooked on a griddle. Then slice this grain offering and present it as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

²²In each generation, the high priest who succeeds Aaron must prepare this same offering. It belongs to the LORD and must be burned up completely. This is a permanent law.

²³All such grain offerings of a priest must be burned up entirely. None of it may be eaten.”

²⁴Then the LORD said to Moses,

²⁵“Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the sin offering. The animal given as an offering for sin is a most holy offering, and it must be slaughtered in the LORD’s presence at the place where the burnt offerings are slaughtered.

²⁶The priest who offers the sacrifice as a sin offering must eat his portion in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle.

²⁷Anyone or anything that touches the sacrificial meat will become holy. If any of the sacrificial blood spatters on a person’s clothing, the soiled garment must be washed in a sacred place.

²⁸If a clay pot is used to boil the sacrificial meat, it must then be broken. If a bronze pot is used, it must be scoured and thoroughly rinsed with water.

²⁹Any male from a priest’s family may eat from this offering; it is most holy.

³⁰But the offering for sin may not be eaten if its blood was brought into the Tabernacle as an offering for purification in the Holy Place. It must be completely burned with fire.

¹When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.

²For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

³I came to you in weakness — timid and trembling.

⁴And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.

⁵I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

⁶Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten.

⁷No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God — his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.

⁸But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.

⁹That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

¹⁰But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.

¹¹No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.

¹²And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

¹³When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

¹⁴But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

¹⁵Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.

¹⁶For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

¹So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.

²You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.

³You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy — their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.

⁴Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.

⁵But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead.

⁶That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead — so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.

⁷The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

⁸Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

⁹Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

¹⁰God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

¹¹Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

¹²Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

¹³Instead, be very glad — for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

¹⁴If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.

¹⁵If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.

¹⁶But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!

¹⁷For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?

¹⁸And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”

¹⁹So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

¹Then Elihu said:

²“Listen to me, you wise men. Pay attention, you who have knowledge.

³Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’

⁴So let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.

⁵For Job also said, ‘I am innocent, but God has taken away my rights.

⁶I am innocent, but they call me a liar. My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

⁷“Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job, with his thirst for irreverent talk?

⁸He chooses evil people as companions. He spends his time with wicked men.

⁹He has even said, ‘Why waste time trying to please God?’

¹⁰“Listen to me, you who have understanding. Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin! The Almighty can do no wrong.

¹¹He repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve.

¹²Truly, God will not do wrong. The Almighty will not twist justice.

¹³Did someone else put the world in his care? Who set the whole world in place?

¹⁴If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath,

¹⁵all life would cease, and humanity would turn again to dust.

¹⁶“Now listen to me if you are wise. Pay attention to what I say.

¹⁷Could God govern if he hated justice? Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?

¹⁸For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’ and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’

¹⁹He doesn’t care how great a person may be, and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor. He made them all.

²⁰In a moment they die. In the middle of the night they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹“For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.

²²No darkness is thick enough to hide the wicked from his eyes.

²³We don’t set the time when we will come before God in judgment.

²⁴He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone, and he sets up others in their place.

²⁵He knows what they do, and in the night he overturns and destroys them.

²⁶He strikes them down because they are wicked, doing it openly for all to see.

²⁷For they turned away from following him. They have no respect for any of his ways.

²⁸They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention. He hears the cries of the needy.

²⁹But if he chooses to remain quiet, who can criticize him? When he hides his face, no one can find him, whether an individual or a nation.

³⁰He prevents the godless from ruling so they cannot be a snare to the people.

³¹“Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned, but I will sin no more’?

³²Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done — tell me. If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’?

³³“Must God tailor his justice to your demands? But you have rejected him! The choice is yours, not mine. Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.

³⁴After all, bright people will tell me, and wise people will hear me say,

³⁵‘Job speaks out of ignorance; his words lack insight.’

³⁶Job, you deserve the maximum penalty for the wicked way you have talked.

³⁷For you have added rebellion to your sin; you show no respect, and you speak many angry words against God.”

¹Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!

²Sing to the LORD; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

³Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

⁴Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

⁵The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the LORD made the heavens!

⁶Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.

⁷O nations of the world, recognize the LORD; recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.

⁸Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts.

⁹Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.

¹⁰Tell all the nations, “The LORD reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly.

¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!

¹²Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy

¹³before the LORD, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.

¹My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.

²If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.

³Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

⁷Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

¹⁰Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

¹¹My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

¹²For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

¹³Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.

¹⁴For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

¹⁵Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left.

¹⁷She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.

¹⁸Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.

¹⁹By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.

²⁰By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.

²¹My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,

²²for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.

²³They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.

²⁴You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.

²⁵You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,

²⁶for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.

²⁸If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”

²⁹Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you.

³⁰Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.

³¹Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.

³²Such wicked people are detestable to the LORD, but he offers his friendship to the godly.

³³The LORD curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.

³⁴The LORD mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.

³⁵The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!

¹When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.

²“What are these for?” the king asked Ziba. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

³“And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him. “He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”

⁴“In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.” “I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”

⁵As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family.

⁶He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him.

⁷“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David.

⁸“The LORD is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”

⁹“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”

¹⁰“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

¹¹Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it.

¹²And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”

¹³So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.

¹⁴The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.

¹⁵Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel.

¹⁶When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. “Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”

¹⁷“Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”

¹⁸“I’m here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the LORD and by all the men of Israel,” Hushai replied.

¹⁹“And anyway, why shouldn’t I serve you? Just as I was your father’s adviser, now I will be your adviser!”

²⁰Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?”

²¹Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.”

²²So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.

²³Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.

¹The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,

²“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah.

³For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

⁴This is the message the LORD gave concerning Israel and Judah.

⁵This is what the LORD says: “I hear cries of fear; there is terror and no peace.

⁶Now let me ask you a question: Do men give birth to babies? Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced, hands pressed against their sides like a woman in labor?

⁷In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!

⁸For in that day,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters.

⁹For my people will serve the LORD their God and their king descended from David — the king I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,” says the LORD. “For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them.

¹¹For I am with you and will save you,” says the LORD. “I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.”

¹²This is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable — a terrible wound.

¹³There is no one to help you or to bind up your injury. No medicine can heal you.

¹⁴All your lovers — your allies — have left you and do not care about you anymore. I have wounded you cruelly, as though I were your enemy. For your sins are many, and your guilt is great.

¹⁵Why do you protest your punishment — this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great.

¹⁶“But all who devour you will be devoured, and all your enemies will be sent into exile. All who plunder you will be plundered, and all who attack you will be attacked.

¹⁷I will give you back your health and heal your wounds,” says the LORD. “For you are called an outcast — ‘Jerusalem for whom no one cares.’”

¹⁸This is what the LORD says: “When I bring Israel home again from captivity and restore their fortunes, Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins, and the palace reconstructed as before.

¹⁹There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people, not diminish them; I will honor them, not despise them.

²⁰Their children will prosper as they did long ago. I will establish them as a nation before me, and I will punish anyone who hurts them.

²¹They will have their own ruler again, and he will come from their own people. I will invite him to approach me,” says the LORD, “for who would dare to come unless invited?

²²You will be my people, and I will be your God.”

²³Look! The LORD’s anger bursts out like a storm, a driving wind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the LORD will not diminish until it has finished all he has planned. In the days to come you will understand all this.

¹About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.

²He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.

³When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. )

⁴Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

⁶The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

⁷Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

⁹So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.

¹⁰They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

¹²When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

¹³He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

¹⁵“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

¹⁸At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.

¹⁹Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

²⁰Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant,

²¹and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them.

²²The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

²³Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

²⁴Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.