Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.

²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.

⁹I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.

¹²For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

¹³Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

¹⁵When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

¹⁶Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,

¹⁹honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁰“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God.

³You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.

⁴You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God.

⁵Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.

⁶“ ‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

⁷“ ‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

⁸“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.

⁹“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

¹⁰“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.

¹¹“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

¹²“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

¹³“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.

¹⁴“ ‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.

¹⁵“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.

¹⁶“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.

¹⁷“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

¹⁸“ ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

¹⁹“ ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.

²⁰“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.

²¹“ ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

²²“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

²³“ ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.

²⁴“ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.

²⁵Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.

²⁶But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things,

²⁷for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled.

²⁸And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

²⁹“ ‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people.

³⁰Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.’ ”

¹Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

²For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.

³But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

⁴Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

⁵I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

⁶Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?

⁷Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?

⁸Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

⁹So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

¹⁰Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.

¹¹If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.

¹²So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

¹³For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.

¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

¹⁵So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

¹⁶Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying?

¹⁷You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

¹⁸I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

¹⁹But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

²¹In the Law it is written: “With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”

²²Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers.

²³So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

²⁴But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all,

²⁵as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

²⁶What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

²⁸If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

²⁹Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.

³⁰And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.

³¹For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

³²The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.

³³For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

³⁴Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

³⁵If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

³⁶Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?

³⁷If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.

³⁸But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.

³⁹Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

⁴⁰But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

¹Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

²Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

³Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

⁴For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

⁵Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

⁷In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

⁸In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.

⁹But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

¹⁰Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

¹¹Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

¹²These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.

¹³They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones

¹⁵to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

¹⁶These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

¹⁷But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.

¹⁸They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

¹⁹These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

²⁰But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

²¹keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

²²Be merciful to those who doubt;

²³save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

²⁴To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

¹Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.

²And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.

³But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

⁴And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves.

⁶Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!

⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

¹³Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.

¹⁴The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.

¹⁶There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹A song. A psalm of David. My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.

²Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

³I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.

⁴For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.

⁷God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.

⁸Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter.

⁹Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

¹⁰Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

¹¹Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?

¹²Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless.

¹³With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

¹A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

⁴The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

⁶The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright.

⁸The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

⁹The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

¹⁰Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.

¹¹Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD— how much more do human hearts!

¹²Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.

¹³A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

¹⁴The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.

¹⁷Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

¹⁹The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

²²Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

²³A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.

²⁵The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.

²⁶The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight.

²⁷The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

³¹Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.

³²Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.

³³Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the LORD, and humility comes before honor.

¹So King Solomon ruled over all Israel.

²And these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok—the priest;

³Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud—recorder;

⁴Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander in chief; Zadok and Abiathar—priests;

⁵Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors; Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;

⁶Ahishar—palace administrator; Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.

⁷Solomon had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year.

⁸These are their names: Ben-Hur—in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan;

¹⁰Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh and all the land of Hepher were his);

¹¹Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);

¹²Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across to Jokmeam;

¹³Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with bronze gate bars);

¹⁴Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;

¹⁵Ahimaaz—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);

¹⁶Baana son of Hushai—in Asher and in Aloth;

¹⁷Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

¹⁸Shimei son of Ela—in Benjamin;

¹⁹Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

²⁰The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.

²¹And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

²²Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal,

²³ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.

²⁴For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides.

²⁵During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.

²⁶Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.

²⁷The district governors, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.

²⁸They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

²⁹God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.

³⁰Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

³²He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.

³³He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.

³⁴From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

¹Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached

²Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.

³Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”

⁴“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the LORD your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the LORD says and will keep nothing back from you.”

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us.

⁶Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.”

⁷Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

⁸So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.

⁹He said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says:

¹⁰‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.

¹¹Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands.

¹²I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’

¹³“However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the LORD your God,

¹⁴and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’

¹⁵then hear the word of the LORD, you remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there,

¹⁶then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.

¹⁷Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’

¹⁸This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’

¹⁹“Remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today

²⁰that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’

²¹I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you.

²²So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.

²When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.

³Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.

⁴But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect

⁶and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

⁷

⁸By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

¹⁰When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.

¹¹You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.

¹³And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.

¹⁴However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,

¹⁵and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

¹⁷“After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.

¹⁸I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.

¹⁹But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.

²⁰Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin—

²¹unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’ ”

²²Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”

²³He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

²⁴Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

²⁶At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

²⁷When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.