Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

²He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.

³“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.

⁴So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.

⁵So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

⁶“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

⁷“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

⁸“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.

⁹When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.

¹⁰When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage.

¹¹When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,

¹²‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

¹³“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?

¹⁴Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.

¹⁵Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

¹⁶“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.

¹⁸“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.

¹⁹Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

²⁰Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor.

²¹“What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

²²But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

²³Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

²⁴When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.

²⁵But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

²⁶But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.

²⁸For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹As Jesus and the disciples left the town of Jericho, a large crowd followed behind.

³⁰Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹“Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³“Lord,” they said, “we want to see!”

³⁴Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him.

¹The LORD also said to Moses,

²“Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

³“Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the LORD your God.

⁴“Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

⁵“When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God.

⁶The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up.

⁷If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it.

⁸Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the LORD and will be cut off from the community.

⁹“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop.

¹⁰It is the same with your grape crop — do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.

¹¹“Do not steal. “Do not deceive or cheat one another.

¹²“Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the LORD.

¹³“Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

¹⁴“Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the LORD.

¹⁵“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

¹⁶“Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD.

¹⁷“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

¹⁸“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

¹⁹“You must obey all my decrees. “Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread.

²⁰“If a man has sex with a slave girl whose freedom has never been purchased but who is committed to become another man’s wife, he must pay full compensation to her master. But since she is not a free woman, neither the man nor the woman will be put to death.

²¹The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

²²The priest will then purify him before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering, and the man’s sin will be forgiven.

²³“When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden. Do not eat it.

²⁴In the fourth year the entire crop must be consecrated to the LORD as a celebration of praise.

²⁵Finally, in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you follow this pattern, your harvest will increase. I am the LORD your God.

²⁶“Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood. “Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.

²⁷“Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.

²⁸“Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD.

²⁹“Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with prostitution and wickedness.

³⁰“Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

³¹“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God.

³²“Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the LORD.

³³“Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land.

³⁴Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

³⁵“Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume.

³⁶Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

³⁷“You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the LORD.”

¹Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.

²It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you — unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

³I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

⁴He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

⁵He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.

⁶After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

⁷Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

⁸Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

⁹For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

¹⁰But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me — and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

¹¹So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

¹²But tell me this — since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?

¹³For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.

¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

¹⁵And we apostles would all be lying about God — for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.

¹⁶And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.

¹⁸In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

¹⁹And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

²⁰But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

²¹So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.

²²Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

²³But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

²⁴After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.

²⁵For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

²⁶And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

²⁷For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)

²⁸Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

²⁹If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

³⁰And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?

³¹For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.

³²And what value was there in fighting wild beasts — those people of Ephesus — if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

³⁴Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

³⁵But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”

³⁶What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.

³⁷And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.

³⁸Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.

³⁹Similarly there are different kinds of flesh — one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.

⁴¹The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

⁴²It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.

⁴³Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

⁴⁴They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

⁴⁵The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.

⁴⁷Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

⁴⁸Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.

⁴⁹Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.

⁵⁰What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

⁵¹But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!

⁵²It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

⁵³For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

⁵⁴Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.

⁵⁵O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ”

⁵⁶For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

⁵⁷But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

¹This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John,

²who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

³God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.

⁴This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;

⁵and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

⁶He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

⁷Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him — even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega — the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come — the Almighty One.”

⁹I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.

¹⁰It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.

¹¹It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹²When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands.

¹³And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.

¹⁴His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.

¹⁵His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.

¹⁶He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.

¹⁸I am the living one. I died, but look — I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

¹⁹“Write down what you have seen — both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.

²⁰This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

¹As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.

²Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

³Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.

⁴When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.

⁵It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

⁶Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.

⁷Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.

⁸Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

⁹Even the king milks the land for his own profit!

¹⁰Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

¹¹The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth — except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

¹²People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.

¹³There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.

¹⁴Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.

¹⁵We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.

¹⁶And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing — like working for the wind.

¹⁷Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud — frustrated, discouraged, and angry.

¹⁸Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.

¹⁹And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life — this is indeed a gift from God.

²⁰God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.

¹O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof

²while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me.

³They surround me with hateful words and fight against me for no reason.

⁴I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!

⁵They repay evil for good, and hatred for my love.

⁶They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.

⁷When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins.

⁸Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.

⁹May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.

¹⁰May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.

¹¹May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned.

¹²Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children.

¹³May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.

¹⁴May the LORD never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.

¹⁵May the LORD always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.

¹⁶For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.

¹⁷He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don’t you bless him.

¹⁸Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.

¹⁹Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt.”

²⁰May those curses become the LORD’s punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.

²¹But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.

²²For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.

²³I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones.

²⁵I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

²⁶Help me, O LORD my God! Save me because of your unfailing love.

²⁷Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, LORD.

²⁸Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me! When they attack me, they will be disgraced! But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.

³⁰But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD, praising him to everyone.

³¹For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them.

¹We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer.

²People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.

³Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.

⁴The LORD has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster.

⁵The LORD detests the proud; they will surely be punished.

⁶Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin. By fearing the LORD, people avoid evil.

⁷When people’s lives please the LORD, even their enemies are at peace with them.

⁸Better to have little, with godliness, than to be rich and dishonest.

⁹We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

¹⁰The king speaks with divine wisdom; he must never judge unfairly.

¹¹The LORD demands accurate scales and balances; he sets the standards for fairness.

¹²A king detests wrongdoing, for his rule is built on justice.

¹³The king is pleased with words from righteous lips; he loves those who speak honestly.

¹⁴The anger of the king is a deadly threat; the wise will try to appease it.

¹⁵When the king smiles, there is life; his favor refreshes like a spring rain.

¹⁶How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!

¹⁷The path of the virtuous leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

¹⁹Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.

²⁰Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the LORD will be joyful.

²¹The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.

²²Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it, but discipline is wasted on fools.

²³From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive.

²⁴Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

²⁵There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

²⁶It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on.

²⁷Scoundrels create trouble; their words are a destructive blaze.

²⁸A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.

²⁹Violent people mislead their companions, leading them down a harmful path.

³⁰With narrowed eyes, people plot evil; with a smirk, they plan their mischief.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.

³²Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.

³³We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.

¹King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him.

²Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram:

³“You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the LORD gave him victory over all his enemies.

⁴But now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well.

⁵So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the LORD told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’

⁶“Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!”

⁷When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he was very pleased and said, “Praise the LORD today for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel.”

⁸Then he sent this reply to Solomon: “I have received your message, and I will supply all the cedar and cypress timber you need.

⁹My servants will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and make them into rafts and float them along the coast to whatever place you choose. Then we will break the rafts apart so you can carry the logs away. You can pay me by supplying me with food for my household.”

¹⁰So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired.

¹¹In return, Solomon sent him an annual payment of 100,000 bushels of wheat for his household and 110,000 gallons of pure olive oil.

¹²So the LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace.

¹³Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.

¹⁴He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force.

¹⁵Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country,

¹⁶and 3,600 foremen to supervise the work.

¹⁷At the king’s command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple.

¹⁸Men from the city of Gebal helped Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders prepare the timber and stone for the Temple.

¹When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the LORD their God to all the people,

²Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt!

³Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.”

⁴So Johanan and the other military leaders and all the people refused to obey the LORD’s command to stay in Judah.

⁵Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.

⁶In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included.

⁷The people refused to obey the voice of the LORD and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.

⁸Then at Tahpanhes, the LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,

⁹“While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.

¹⁰Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.

¹¹And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.

¹²He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.

¹³He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sun in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

¹Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take over his new responsibilities, he left for Jerusalem,

²where the leading priests and other Jewish leaders met with him and made their accusations against Paul.

³They asked Festus as a favor to transfer Paul to Jerusalem (planning to ambush and kill him on the way).

⁴But Festus replied that Paul was at Caesarea and he himself would be returning there soon.

⁵So he said, “Those of you in authority can return with me. If Paul has done anything wrong, you can make your accusations.”

⁶About eight or ten days later Festus returned to Caesarea, and on the following day he took his seat in court and ordered that Paul be brought in.

⁷When Paul arrived, the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem gathered around and made many serious accusations they couldn’t prove.

⁸Paul denied the charges. “I am not guilty of any crime against the Jewish laws or the Temple or the Roman government,” he said.

⁹Then Festus, wanting to please the Jews, asked him, “Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there?”

¹⁰But Paul replied, “No! This is the official Roman court, so I ought to be tried right here. You know very well I am not guilty of harming the Jews.

¹¹If I have done something worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die. But if I am innocent, no one has a right to turn me over to these men to kill me. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²Festus conferred with his advisers and then replied, “Very well! You have appealed to Caesar, and to Caesar you will go!”

¹³A few days later King Agrippa arrived with his sister, Bernice, to pay their respects to Festus.

¹⁴During their stay of several days, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. “There is a prisoner here,” he told him, “whose case was left for me by Felix.

¹⁵When I was in Jerusalem, the leading priests and Jewish elders pressed charges against him and asked me to condemn him.

¹⁶I pointed out to them that Roman law does not convict people without a trial. They must be given an opportunity to confront their accusers and defend themselves.

¹⁷“When his accusers came here for the trial, I didn’t delay. I called the case the very next day and ordered Paul brought in.

¹⁸But the accusations made against him weren’t any of the crimes I expected.

¹⁹Instead, it was something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive.

²⁰I was at a loss to know how to investigate these things, so I asked him whether he would be willing to stand trial on these charges in Jerusalem.

²¹But Paul appealed to have his case decided by the emperor. So I ordered that he be held in custody until I could arrange to send him to Caesar.”

²²“I’d like to hear the man myself,” Agrippa said. And Festus replied, “You will — tomorrow!”

²³So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.

²⁴Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are here, this is the man whose death is demanded by all the Jews, both here and in Jerusalem.

²⁵But in my opinion he has done nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his case to the emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.

²⁶“But what shall I write the emperor? For there is no clear charge against him. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially you, King Agrippa, so that after we examine him, I might have something to write.

²⁷For it makes no sense to send a prisoner to the emperor without specifying the charges against him!”