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.

²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

⁴and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.

⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’

⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’

⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.

¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.

¹¹And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner,

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

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

¹⁴Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

¹⁷Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them,

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

¹⁹and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

²¹And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

²²But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

²³So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

²⁴And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.

²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

²⁶Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

²⁷And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—

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

²⁹Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.

³⁰And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

³¹Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

³²So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³³They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

³⁴So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

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

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

⁴‘Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.

⁵‘And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it of your own free will.

⁶It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire.

⁷And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted.

⁸Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

⁹‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

¹⁰And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and 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 by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

¹³‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.

¹⁴You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

¹⁵‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.

¹⁶You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

¹⁷‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

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

¹⁹‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.

²⁰‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

²¹And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering.

²²The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

²³‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten.

²⁴But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD.

²⁵And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God.

²⁶‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.

²⁷You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.

²⁸You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.

²⁹‘Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.

³⁰‘You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

³¹‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

³²‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.

³³‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him.

³⁴The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born 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 injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.

³⁶You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

³⁷‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the LORD.’ ”

¹Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

²by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

⁶After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

⁷After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

⁸Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy 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 was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

¹¹Therefore, whether 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 Christ is not risen.

¹⁴And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

¹⁵Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.

¹⁶For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

¹⁷And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

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

¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

²⁰But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

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

²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

²³But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

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

²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

²⁷For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

²⁸Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?

³⁰And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

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

³²If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

³⁴Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

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

³⁶Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

³⁷And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.

³⁸But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

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

⁴⁰There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

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

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.

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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

⁴⁵And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

⁴⁸As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

⁵⁰Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

⁵¹Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

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

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding 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 His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

²who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

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

⁴John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

⁶and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

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

⁹I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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

¹¹saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

¹³and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

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

¹⁵His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

¹⁶He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

¹⁸I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

¹⁹Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

²⁰The 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 which you saw are the seven churches.

¹Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

²Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.

³For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—

⁵Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.

⁸If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

⁹Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

¹⁰He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.

¹¹When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?

¹²The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

¹³There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

¹⁴But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.

¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand.

¹⁶And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?

¹⁷All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.

¹⁹As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

²⁰For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!

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

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

⁴In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer.

⁵Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

⁶Set a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand.

⁷When he is judged, let him be found guilty, And let his prayer become sin.

⁸Let his days be few, And let another take his office.

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

¹⁰Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places.

¹¹Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor.

¹²Let there be none to extend mercy to him, Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children.

¹³Let his posterity be cut off, And in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

¹⁵Let them be continually before the LORD, That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

¹⁶Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the poor and needy man, That he might even slay the broken in heart.

¹⁷As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.

¹⁸As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, So let it enter his body like water, And like oil into his bones.

¹⁹Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.

²⁰Let this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person.

²¹But You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.

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

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

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.

²⁵I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads.

²⁶Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy,

²⁷That they may know that this is Your hand— That You, LORD, have done it!

²⁸Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice.

²⁹Let my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.

³⁰I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.

³¹For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who condemn him.

¹The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.

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

⁴The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

⁵Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.

⁶In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.

⁷When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without justice.

⁹A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

¹⁰Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment.

¹¹Honest weights and scales are the LORD’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.

¹⁴As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, But a wise man will appease it.

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

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

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

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

¹⁹Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

²⁰He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.

²¹The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips increases learning.

²²Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly.

²³The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

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

²⁶The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives him on.

²⁷An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire.

²⁸A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.

²⁹A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and brings about evil.

³¹The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.

³²He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes 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, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.

²Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

³You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the LORD put his foes under the soles of his feet.

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

⁵And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

⁶Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

⁷So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

⁸Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

⁹My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.

¹⁰Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire.

¹¹And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

¹²So the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

¹³Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men.

¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force.

¹⁵Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains,

¹⁶besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work.

¹⁷And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.

¹⁸So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.

¹Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words,

²that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’

³But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.”

⁴So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah.

⁵But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven—

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

⁷So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they went as far as Tahpanhes.

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

⁹“Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes;

¹⁰and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them.

¹¹When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.

¹²I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace.

¹³He shall also break the sacred pillars of Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.” ’ ”

¹Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

²Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him,

³asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem— while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.

⁴But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.”

⁶And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought.

⁷When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove,

⁸while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

¹⁰So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.

¹¹For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

¹³And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus.

¹⁴When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix,

¹⁵about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him.

¹⁶To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’

¹⁷Therefore when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed,

¹⁹but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁰And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could 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 the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.

²⁴And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer.

²⁵But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him.

²⁶I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”