Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

²Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.

⁶But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

⁷And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

⁹Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,

¹⁰nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

¹¹“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.

¹²And when you go into a household, greet it.

¹³If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

¹⁴And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

¹⁵Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

¹⁶“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

¹⁷But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

¹⁸You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

¹⁹But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

²²And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

²³When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

²⁵It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!

²⁶Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

²⁷“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.

²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.

³⁰But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

³¹Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³²“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

³³But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

³⁵For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;

³⁶and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’

³⁷He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

³⁸And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

³⁹He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

⁴⁰“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

⁴¹He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

¹It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

²And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

³And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering,

⁴also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD will appear to you.’ ”

⁵So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.

⁶Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you.”

⁷And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.”

⁸Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

⁹Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar.

¹⁰But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹¹The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.

¹²And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar.

¹³Then they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar.

¹⁴And he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵Then he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one.

¹⁶And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner.

¹⁷Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

¹⁸He also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar,

¹⁹and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver;

²⁰and they put the fat on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the altar;

²¹but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.

²²Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings.

²³And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people,

²⁴and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

¹It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!

²And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

³For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

⁴In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁵deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

⁶Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

⁷Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

⁸Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

¹⁰Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

¹¹But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner— not even to eat with such a person.

¹²For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

¹³But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

²And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

³By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

⁴For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

⁵and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

⁶and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;

⁷and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked

⁸(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

⁹then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

¹⁰and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,

¹¹whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

¹²But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,

¹³and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you,

¹⁴having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.

¹⁵They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

¹⁶but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

¹⁷These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

¹⁸For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.

¹⁹While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

²¹For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

²²But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

¹“At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place.

²Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

³He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth.

⁴After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.

⁵God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

⁶For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.

⁷He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work.

⁸The beasts go into dens, And remain in their lairs.

⁹From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north.

¹⁰By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen.

¹¹Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds.

¹²And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth.

¹³He causes it to come, Whether for correction, Or for His land, Or for mercy.

¹⁴“Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.

¹⁵Do you know when God dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine?

¹⁶Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

¹⁷Why are your garments hot, When He quiets the earth by the south wind?

¹⁸With Him, have you spread out the skies, Strong as a cast metal mirror?

¹⁹“Teach us what we should say to Him, For we can prepare nothing because of the darkness.

²⁰Should He be told that I wish to speak? If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up.

²¹Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies, When the wind has passed and cleared them.

²²He comes from the north as golden splendor; With God is awesome majesty.

²³As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress.

²⁴Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.”

¹The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!

²The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples.

³Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy.

⁴The King’s strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁵Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool— He is holy.

⁶Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them.

⁷He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.

⁸You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

⁹Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy.

¹My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

²You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.

³So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend.

⁴Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids.

⁵Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

⁷Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,

⁸Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.

⁹How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?

¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—

¹¹So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth;

¹³He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers;

¹⁴Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord.

¹⁵Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

¹⁶These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

¹⁷A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,

¹⁹A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

²⁰My son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother.

²¹Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.

²²When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.

²³For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,

²⁴To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress.

²⁵Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.

²⁶For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.

²⁷Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?

²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

³⁰People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.

³¹Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house.

³²Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul.

³³Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away.

³⁴For jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

³⁵He will accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.

¹And Joab was told, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”

²So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.”

³And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

⁴But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, “Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,

⁶in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you well.

⁷Now therefore, arise, go out and speak comfort to your servants. For I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night. And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.”

⁸Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, “There is the king, sitting in the gate.” So all the people came before the king. For everyone of Israel had fled to his tent.

⁹Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

¹⁰But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?”

¹¹So King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house?

¹²You are my brethren, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’

¹³And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.’ ”

¹⁴So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants!”

¹⁵Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.

¹⁶And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

¹⁷There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan before the king.

¹⁸Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan.

¹⁹Then he said to the king, “Do not let my lord impute iniquity to me, or remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart.

²⁰For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the first to come today of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?”

²²And David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?”

²³Therefore the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore to him.

²⁴Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.

²⁵So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”

²⁶And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your servant is lame.

²⁷And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.

²⁸For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out anymore to the king?”

²⁹So the king said to him, “Why do you speak anymore of your matters? I have said, ‘You and Ziba divide the land.’ ”

³⁰Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Rather, let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house.”

³¹And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan.

³²Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man.

³³And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”

³⁴But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

³⁵I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king?

³⁶Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward?

³⁷Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.”

³⁸And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you.”

³⁹Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.

⁴⁰Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. And all the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel.

⁴¹Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king, his household, and all David’s men with him across the Jordan?”

⁴²So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is a close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”

⁴³And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, “We have ten shares in the king; therefore we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us—were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

¹Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

²“Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name):

³‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

⁴“For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword:

⁵‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.

⁶Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

⁷And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.

⁸I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.

⁹Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’

¹⁰“Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place— of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,

¹¹the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: “Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD.

¹²“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

¹³In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD.

¹⁴‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

¹⁵‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

¹⁷“For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

¹⁸nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”

¹⁹And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰“Thus says the LORD: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,

²¹then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.

²²As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ ”

²³Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁴“Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.

²⁵“Thus says the LORD: ‘If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,

²⁶then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”

¹And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

³So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.

⁴And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.

⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

⁹and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

¹²Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

¹³And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:

¹⁴Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;

¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.’

¹⁸“Known to God from eternity are all His works.

¹⁹Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

²⁰but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²²Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

²³They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—

²⁵it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

³⁰So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.

³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

³²Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.

³³And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.

³⁴However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

³⁷Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.

³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.

³⁹Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.