Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

²Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

³and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

⁶“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

⁷Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

⁸“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.

⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

¹⁰“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

¹¹For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

¹²“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

¹³And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

¹⁴Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

¹⁶But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’

¹⁷And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

¹⁸“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

¹⁹“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

²⁴And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

²⁵But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.

²⁶The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

²⁷Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

²⁹So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

³⁰And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.

³¹So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.

³²Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

³³Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’

³⁴And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

³⁵“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying:

³“Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp,

⁴and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people,

⁵to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD.

⁶And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD.

⁷They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

⁸“Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,

⁹and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people.

¹⁰‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

¹²Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

¹³“Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust;

¹⁴for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

¹⁵“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean.

¹⁶But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

¹Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

⁴Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

⁶does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

¹⁰But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

¹¹When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

¹²For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

¹³And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

¹The Elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:

²Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

³For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

⁵Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers,

⁶who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well,

⁷because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.

⁸We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

⁹I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

¹⁰Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

¹²Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink;

¹⁴but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

¹To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;

³A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

⁴A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

⁵A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

⁷A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

⁸A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.

⁹What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

¹⁰I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹²I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

¹⁵That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.

¹⁶Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.”

¹⁹For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.

²⁰All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

²¹Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?

²²So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

¹Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

³And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.

⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷And He led them forth by the right way, That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

⁸Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

¹⁰Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons—

¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High,

¹²Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help.

¹³Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.

¹⁵Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

¹⁶For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.

¹⁷Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

¹⁸Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.

²⁰He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

²¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

²²Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing.

²³Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters,

²⁴They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep.

²⁵For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.

²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses.

²⁹He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.

³⁰Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.

³¹Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

³²Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground;

³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

³⁵He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings.

³⁶There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,

³⁷And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹When they are diminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,

⁴⁰He pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;

⁴¹Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock.

⁴²The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth.

⁴³Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

¹The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

²He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

³In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

⁵A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

⁷Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is favor.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be overthrown, But the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of mirth may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.

¹⁵The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.

¹⁶A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident.

¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil will bow before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, But the rich has many friends.

²¹He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

²³In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is folly.

²⁵A true witness delivers souls, But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s honor, But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

²⁹He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.

³⁰A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.

³¹He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

³²The wicked is banished in his wickedness, But the righteous has a refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

¹Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall all around Jerusalem.

²Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days.

³And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

⁴Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

⁵At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

⁶And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

⁷Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

⁸And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.

⁹Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

¹⁰The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

¹¹Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice,

¹²behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.

¹³And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.

¹⁴So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

¹⁵Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.

¹⁷And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.

¹⁸Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.

¹⁹And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.

²⁰So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”

²²Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.

²³And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ”

²⁴Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

²⁵And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”

²⁶Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”

²⁷So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁸And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

¹Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah.

²Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

³Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it,

⁵that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

⁶Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!”

⁷So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him.

⁸But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren.

⁹Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was the same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

¹⁰Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

¹¹But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

¹²they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon.

¹³So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad.

¹⁴Then all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

¹⁵But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.

¹⁷And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to Egypt,

¹⁸because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.

¹Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

²And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

⁴And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

⁵Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

⁷And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.

⁸For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

⁹Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

¹⁰Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

¹²And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

¹³Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.

¹⁴They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.”

¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”

¹⁹Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

²⁰And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him.

²¹But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”

²²So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

²³And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night;

²⁴and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

²⁵He wrote a letter in the following manner:

²⁶Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.

²⁸And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council.

²⁹I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains.

³⁰And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell.

³¹Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

³²The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks.

³³When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

³⁴And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.