Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

²And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’

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

⁶So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

⁹And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:

¹²For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

¹³Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

¹⁵And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

¹⁶Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’

¹⁹‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²²But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

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

²⁷Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, 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 lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

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

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God.

³According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.

⁴You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God.

⁵You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

⁶‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the LORD.

⁷The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness.

⁸The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness.

⁹The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover.

¹⁰The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness.

¹¹The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness.

¹²You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father.

¹³You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother.

¹⁴You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.

¹⁵You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness.

¹⁶You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.

¹⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness.

¹⁸Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

¹⁹‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity.

²⁰Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her.

²¹And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

²²You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

²³Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

²⁴‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.

²⁵For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.

²⁶You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you

²⁷(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled),

²⁸lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

²⁹For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

³⁰‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God.’ ”

¹Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

²For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

³But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

⁵I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

⁶But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching?

⁷Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?

⁸For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?

⁹So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

¹⁰There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance.

¹¹Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me.

¹²Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.

¹³Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

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

¹⁵What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

¹⁶Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?

¹⁷For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

¹⁸I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;

¹⁹yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

²¹In the law it is written: “With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,” says the Lord.

²²Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

²³Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.

²⁵And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

²⁶How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.

²⁸But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.

³⁰But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.

³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

³²And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

³³For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

³⁴Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.

³⁵And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

³⁶Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?

³⁷If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

³⁸But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

³⁹Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

⁴⁰Let all things be done decently and in order.

¹Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

²Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

³Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

⁴For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

⁶And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

⁷as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

⁹Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

¹⁰But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

¹²These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;

¹³raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

¹⁴Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,

¹⁵to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

¹⁶These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

¹⁷But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:

¹⁸how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.

¹⁹These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

²²And on some have compassion, making a distinction;

²³but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

²⁵To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

¹Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter.

²Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive.

³Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

⁵The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh.

⁶Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

⁸There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.

⁹Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.

¹¹Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

¹³Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.

¹⁴For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place.

¹⁶There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹A Song. A Psalm of David. [1] O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

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

³I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

⁴For Your mercy is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the clouds.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth;

⁶That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me.

⁷God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth.

⁸Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver.

⁹Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Over Philistia I will triumph.”

¹⁰Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom?

¹¹Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?

¹²Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless.

¹³Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

¹A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father’s instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool does not do so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness.

¹⁰Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.

¹¹Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.

¹²A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.

¹³A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred.

¹⁸A wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

¹⁹The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly.

²²Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

²³A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

²⁴The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below.

²⁵The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.

²⁷He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.

³¹The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise.

³²He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

¹So King Solomon was king over all Israel.

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

³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;

⁴Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests;

⁵Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king’s friend;

⁶Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.

⁷And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year.

⁸These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim;

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

¹⁰Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher;

¹¹Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife;

¹²Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam;

¹³Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars;

¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

¹⁵Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife;

¹⁶Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth;

¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

¹⁸Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin;

¹⁹Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.

²¹So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²²Now Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal,

²³ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him.

²⁵And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

²⁶Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

²⁷And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply.

²⁸They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

²⁹And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.

³⁰Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹For he was wiser than all men— than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

³²He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.

³³Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.

³⁴And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

¹Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near

²and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see),

³that the LORD your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.”

⁴Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your words, and it shall be, that whatever the LORD answers you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you.”

⁵So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the LORD your God sends us by you.

⁶Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.”

⁷And it happened after ten days that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

⁸Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

⁹and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him:

¹⁰‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.

¹¹Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the LORD, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.

¹²And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’

¹³“But if you say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God,

¹⁴saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’—

¹⁵Then hear now the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there,

¹⁶then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.

¹⁷So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And none of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’

¹⁸“For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As My anger and My fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’

¹⁹“The LORD has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

²⁰For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and according to all that the LORD your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’

²¹And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, or anything which He has sent you by me.

²²Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.”

¹Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

²And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight,

³we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.

⁵For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law.

⁷But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands,

⁸commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.”

⁹And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.

¹⁰Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,

¹¹because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.

¹³Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

¹⁵I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

¹⁶This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

¹⁷“Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,

¹⁸in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult.

¹⁹They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me.

²⁰Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council,

²¹unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

²²But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

²³So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

²⁴And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

²⁵Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

²⁶Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

²⁷But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.