Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

²When he had agreed with the laborers for adenarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³And he went out about thethird hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

⁴and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right, I will give you.’ And so they went.

⁵Again he went out about thesixth and the ninth hour, and didthe same thing.

⁶And about theeleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’

⁷They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸“Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’

⁹When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received adenarius.

¹⁰And so when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more;but each of them also received a denarius.

¹¹When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,

¹²saying, ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.’

¹³But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?

¹⁴Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you.

¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eyeenvious because I amgenerous?’

¹⁶So the last shall be first, and the first, last.”

¹⁷As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the road He said to them,

¹⁸“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will behanded over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,

¹⁹and they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

²⁰Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.

²¹And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She *said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.”

²²But Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.”

²³He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

²⁴And after hearing this, the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers.

²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, andthose in high position exercise authority over them.

²⁶Itis not this way among you, but whoever wants to becomeprominent among you shall be your servant,

²⁷and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave;

²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give Hislife as a ransom for many.”

²⁹As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

³⁰And two people who were blind, sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

³¹But the crowd sternly warned them to be quiet; yet they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³³They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.”

³⁴Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

³Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.

⁴Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves cast metal gods; I am the LORD your God.

⁵‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

⁶It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, and on the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire.

⁷So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is unclean; it will not be accepted.

⁸And everyone who eats it will bear the consequences for his guilt, because he has profaned the holy thing of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

⁹‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

¹⁰And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

¹¹‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

¹²And you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.

¹³‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning.

¹⁴You shall not curse a person who is deaf, nor put a stumbling block before a person who is blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.

¹⁵‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁶You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people; and you are not to jeopardize the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.

¹⁷‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him.

¹⁸You shall not take vengeance, nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

¹⁹‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not cross-breed two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment of two kinds of material mixed together.

²⁰‘Now if a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free.

²¹He shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram as a guilt offering.

²²The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him.

²³‘Now when you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten.

²⁴And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.

²⁵But in the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, so that its yield may increase for you; I am the LORD your God.

²⁶‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood. You shall not practice divination nor soothsaying.

²⁷You shall not round off the hairline of your heads, nor trim the edges of your beard.

²⁸You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.

²⁹‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not fall into prostitution, and the land does not become full of outrageous sin.

³⁰You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the LORD.

³¹‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

³²‘You shall stand up in the presence of the grayheaded and honor elders, and you shall fear your God; I am the LORD.

³³‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.

³⁴The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.

³⁵‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or volume.

³⁶You shall have accurate balances, accurate weights, an accurate ephah, and an accurate hin; I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.

³⁷So you shall keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them; I am the LORD.’ ”

¹Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand,

²by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

⁷then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

⁸and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹²Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.

¹⁵Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁷and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

¹⁸Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

²¹For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

²⁴then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

²⁵For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

²⁷For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.

²⁸When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹For otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?

³⁰Why are we also in danger every hour?

³¹I affirm, brothers and sisters, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily.

³²If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me? If the dead are not raised, LET’S EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.

³³Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

³⁴Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

³⁶You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

³⁷and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So also it is written: “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING PERSON.” The last Adam was a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

⁵¹Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

⁵³For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP in victory.

⁵⁵WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR VICTORY? WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR STING?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law;

⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

²who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw.

³Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

⁴John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne,

⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

⁶and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and whois to come, the Almighty.”

⁹I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,

¹¹saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands;

¹³and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash.

¹⁴His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.

¹⁵His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.

¹⁶In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

¹⁸and the living One; and Iwas dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

¹⁹Therefore write the things which you have seen,and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.

²⁰As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

¹Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and approach to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil.

²Do not be quick with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

³For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!

⁵It is better that you not vow, than vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your speech cause you to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For in many dreams and in many words there is futility. Rather, fear God.

⁸If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.

⁹After all, a king who cultivates the field is beneficial to the land.

¹⁰One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility.

¹¹When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look at them?

¹²The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich person does not allow him to sleep.

¹³There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth being hoarded by its owner to his detriment.

¹⁴When that wealth was lost through bad business and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.

¹⁵As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.

¹⁶This also is a sickening evil: exactly as a person is born, so will he die. What then is the advantage for him who labors for the wind?

¹⁷All his life he also eats in darkness with great irritation, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.

¹⁹Furthermore, as for every person to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

²⁰For he will not often call to mind the years of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

¹God of my praise, Do not be silent!

²For they have opened a wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And have fought against me without cause.

⁴In return for my love they act as my accusers; But I am in prayer.

⁵So they have repaid me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

⁶Appoint a wicked person over him, And may an accuser stand at his right hand.

⁷When he is judged, may he come out guilty, And may his prayer become sin.

⁸May his days be few; May another take his office.

⁹May his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

¹⁰May his children wander about and beg; And may they seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.

¹¹May the creditor seize everything that he has, And may strangers plunder the product of his labor.

¹²May there be none to extend kindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children.

¹³May his descendants be eliminated; May their name be wiped out in a following generation.

¹⁴May the guilt of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And do not let the sin of his mother be wiped out.

¹⁵May they be before the LORD continually, So that He may eliminate their memory from the earth;

¹⁶Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the afflicted and needy person, And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.

¹⁷He also loved cursing, so it came to him; And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.

¹⁸But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, And it entered his body like water, And like oil into his bones.

¹⁹May it be to him as a garment with which he covers himself, And as a belt which he constantly wears around himself.

²⁰May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, And of those who speak evil against my soul.

²¹But You, GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; Because Your mercy is good, rescue me;

²²For I am afflicted and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.

²³I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like the locust.

²⁴My knees are weak from fasting, And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.

²⁵I also have become a disgrace to them; When they see me, they shake their head.

²⁶Help me, LORD my God; Save me according to Your mercy.

²⁷And may they know that this is Your hand; You, LORD, have done it.

²⁸They will curse, but You bless; When they arise, they will be ashamed, But Your servant will be glad.

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with dishonor, And may they cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

³⁰With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; And I will praise Him in the midst of many.

³¹For He stands at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.

¹The plans of the heart belong to a person, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the LORD examines the motives.

³Commit your works to the LORD, And your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Be assured, he will not go unpunished.

⁶By mercy and truth atonement is made for wrongdoing, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

⁷When a person’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He causes even his enemies to make peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness Than great income with injustice.

⁹The mind of a person plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

¹⁰A divine verdict is on the lips of the king; His mouth should not err in judgment.

¹¹A just balance and scales belong to the LORD; All the weights of the bag are His concern.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, Because a throne is established on righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And one who speaks right is loved.

¹⁴The fury of a king is like messengers of death; But a wise person will appease it.

¹⁵In the light of a king’s face is life, And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil; One who watches his way protects his life.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

¹⁹It is better to be humble in spirit with the needy Than to divide the spoils with the proud.

²⁰One who pays attention to the word will find good, And blessed is one who trusts in the LORD.

²¹The wise in heart will be called understanding, And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

²²Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it, But the discipline of fools is foolishness.

²³The heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

²⁵There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.

²⁶A worker’s appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on.

²⁷A worthless person digs up evil, While his words are like scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse person spreads strife, And a slanderer separates close friends.

²⁹A person of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

³¹A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.

³²One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.

¹Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

²Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying,

³“You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.

⁴But now the LORD my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune.

⁵So behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, just as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’

⁶Now then, issue orders that they cut cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, “Blessed be the LORD today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.”

⁸So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber.

⁹My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea to the place where you direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household.”

¹⁰So Hiram gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber.

¹¹Solomon then gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year.

¹²And the LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

¹³Now King Solomon conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men.

¹⁴Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers.

¹⁵Now Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains,

¹⁶besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the project and ruled over the people who were doing the work.

¹⁷Then the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.

¹⁸So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

¹But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the LORD their God had sent to them, had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God—that is, all these words—

²Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’;

³but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon!”

⁴So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah.

⁵Instead, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been scattered, in order to reside in the land of Judah—

⁶the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah—

⁷and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the LORD) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

⁹“Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the Jews;

¹⁰and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to send men and get My servant Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

¹¹He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.

¹²And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely.

¹³He will also smash to pieces the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.” ’ ”

¹Festus, then, after arriving in the province, went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea three days later.

²And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with Festus,

³requesting a concession against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way).

⁴Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody in Caesarea, and that he himself was about to leave shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he *said, “have the influential men among you go there with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, have them bring charges against him.”

⁶After Festus had spent no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered that Paul be brought.

⁷After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many, and serious, charges against him which they could not prove,

⁸while Paul said in his own defense, “I have not done anything wrong either against the Law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against Caesar.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?”

¹⁰But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know.

¹¹If, therefore, I am in the wrong and have committed something deserving death, I am not trying to avoid execution; but if there is nothing to the accusations which these men are bringing against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.”

¹³Now when several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea, paying their respects to Festus.

¹⁴And while they were spending many days there, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

¹⁵and when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

¹⁶I replied to them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any person before the accused meets his accusers face to face, and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges.

¹⁷So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered that the man be brought.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they did not begin bringing any charges against him of crimes that I suspected,

¹⁹but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.

²⁰And being at a loss how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered that he be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”

²³So, on the next day when Agrippa and Bernice came amid great pomp and entered the auditorium, accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought before them.

²⁴And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵But I found that he had committed nothing deserving death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

²⁶Yet, I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore, I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him as well.”