Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,

²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,

³it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,

⁴that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division,

⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

¹⁷He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.

²⁰But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple.

²²But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

²³So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house.

²⁴Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

²⁹But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

³³And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

³⁶Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

³⁷For with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,

⁴⁰and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴²Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

⁴³But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

⁴⁸For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

⁵⁰And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

⁵¹He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵²He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

⁵⁵As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

⁵⁷Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.

⁵⁸When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.

⁶⁰His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

⁶¹But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”

⁶²So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled.

⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.

⁶⁵Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.

⁶⁶And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,

⁶⁹And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,

⁷⁰As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,

⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,

⁷³The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

⁷⁴To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,

⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

⁷⁹To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²“Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod.

³And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house.

⁴Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you.

⁵And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

⁷And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.

⁸Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.

⁹Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.”

¹¹Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

¹²So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish!

¹³Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?”

¹Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

²And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

³But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

⁴neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

⁵For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

⁶Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not be partakers with them.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

⁹(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

¹⁰finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

¹¹And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

¹²For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

¹⁴Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

¹⁵See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

²⁰giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

²¹submitting to one another in the fear of God.

²²Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

²³For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

²⁴Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

²⁶that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

²⁷that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

²⁹For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

³⁰For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

³¹“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

³²This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

¹“My soul loathes my life; I will give free course to my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me.

³Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked?

⁴Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as man sees?

⁵Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a mighty man,

⁶That You should seek for my iniquity And search out my sin,

⁷Although You know that I am not wicked, And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

⁸‘Your hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity; Yet You would destroy me.

⁹Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews?

¹²You have granted me life and favor, And Your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You:

¹⁴If I sin, then You mark me, And will not acquit me of my iniquity.

¹⁵If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery!

¹⁶If my head is exalted, You hunt me like a fierce lion, And again You show Yourself awesome against me.

¹⁷You renew Your witnesses against me, And increase Your indignation toward me; Changes and war are ever with me.

¹⁸‘Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰Are not my days few? Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,

²¹Before I go to the place from which I shall not return, To the land of darkness and the shadow of death,

²²A land as dark as darkness itself, As the shadow of death, without any order, Where even the light is like darkness.’ ”

¹A Song of Ascents. [1] Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!

²Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD.

³The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked.

⁴He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.

⁹He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.

¹⁰He who winks with the eye causes trouble, But a prating fool will fall.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.

¹⁴Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

¹⁵The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life, The wages of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.

¹⁸Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom.

²²The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

²³To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.

²⁴The fear of the wicked will come upon him, And the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

¹Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.”

²So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.

⁴Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.”

⁵Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”

⁶And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”

⁷Then Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”

⁸And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”

⁹So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”

¹⁰And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the LORD has shown me that he will really die.”

¹¹Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept.

¹²And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”

¹³So Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?” And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”

¹⁴Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me you would surely recover.”

¹⁵But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.

¹⁶Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as king of Judah.

¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

¹⁹Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for the sake of His servant David, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

²⁰In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves.

²¹So Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents.

²²Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. And Libnah revolted at that time.

²³Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁴So Joram rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

²⁵In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.

²⁶Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.

²⁷And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸Now he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

²⁹Then King Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

¹Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the LORD’s house, which faces eastward; and there at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

²And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,

³who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.’

⁴Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵Then the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the LORD: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

⁶You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.”

⁷Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it.

⁸You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD.

⁹“And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and execute judgments on you.

¹⁰You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

¹¹This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel.

¹²And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ”

¹³Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”

¹⁴Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁵“Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

¹⁶Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’

¹⁷Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’

¹⁸And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.

¹⁹Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,

²⁰that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

²¹But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.

²²So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.

²³And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.

²⁴Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me.

²⁵So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me.

¹“Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”

²And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:

³“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

⁵as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.

⁷And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

⁸So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹“And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.

¹⁰So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’

¹¹And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹²“Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,

¹³came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him.

¹⁴Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.

¹⁵For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance

¹⁸and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’

¹⁹So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.

²⁰And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

²¹Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

²²And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”

²³Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

²⁵And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”

²⁷Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.”

²⁸The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

²⁹Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.