Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

²in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

³And he came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!

⁵EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE LOWERED; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH;

⁶AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD!’ ”

⁷So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.

⁹But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what are we to do?”

¹¹And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.”

¹²Now even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?”

¹³And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”

¹⁴And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor harass anyone, and be content with your wages.”

¹⁵Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, whether he himself perhaps was the Christ,

¹⁶John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹⁷His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.

¹⁹But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which Herod had done,

²⁰Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”

²³When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai,

²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

²⁷the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,

³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²“This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never been mounted.

³And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence.

⁴And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.

⁵Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned.

⁶And the priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material, and throw it into the midst of the burning heifer.

⁷The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be unclean until evening.

⁸The one who burns the heifer shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and will be unclean until evening.

⁹Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep them for water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin.

¹⁰And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening; and it shall be a permanent statute for the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them.

¹¹‘The one who touches the dead body of any person will also be unclean for seven days.

¹²That one shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.

¹³Anyone who touches a dead body, the body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Since the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴‘This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁵And every open container, which has no cover tied down on it, will be unclean.

¹⁶Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been killed with a sword or one who has died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁷Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the burnt purification from sin and running water shall be added to them in a container.

¹⁸And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one who was killed or the one who died naturally, or the grave.

¹⁹Then the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and will be clean by evening.

²⁰‘But the person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.

²¹So it shall be a permanent statute for them. And the one who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

²²Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean; and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’ ”

¹Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

⁴always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

⁵in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

⁶For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

⁸For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;

¹¹having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,

¹³so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else,

¹⁴and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

¹⁵Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill;

¹⁶the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

¹⁷the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.

¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But not only that, I also will rejoice,

¹⁹for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

²²But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

²³But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;

²⁴yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.

²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁶so that your pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

²⁸and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God.

²⁹For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,

³⁰experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

¹Then Job responded,

²“Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!

³But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these?

⁴I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke.

⁵He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.

⁶The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power.

⁷“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.

⁸Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell you.

⁹Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,

¹⁰In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

¹¹Does the ear not put words to the test, As the palate tastes its food?

¹²Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding.

¹³“Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him.

¹⁴Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release.

¹⁵Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.

¹⁶Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.

¹⁷He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.

¹⁸He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist.

¹⁹He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones.

²⁰He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong.

²²He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light.

²³He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

²⁴He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.

²⁵They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

²Give thanks to the God of gods, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

³Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

⁴To Him who alone does great wonders, For His faithfulness is everlasting;

⁵To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His faithfulness is everlasting;

⁶To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His faithfulness is everlasting;

⁷To Him who made the great lights, For His faithfulness is everlasting:

⁸The sun to rule by day, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

⁹The moon and stars to rule by night, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹⁰To Him who struck the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

¹¹And brought Israel out from their midst, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

¹²With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹³To Him who divided the Red Sea in parts, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

¹⁴And allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it, For His faithfulness is everlasting;

¹⁵But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹⁶To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His faithfulness is everlasting;

¹⁷To Him who struck great kings, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

¹⁸And brought death to mighty kings, For His faithfulness is everlasting:

¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

²⁰And Og, king of Bashan, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

²¹And gave their land as an inheritance, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

²²An inheritance to His servant Israel, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

²³Who remembered us in our lowliness, For His faithfulness is everlasting,

²⁴And has rescued us from our enemies, For His faithfulness is everlasting;

²⁵Who gives food to all flesh, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹One who loves discipline loves knowledge, But one who hates rebuke is stupid.

²A good person will obtain favor from the LORD, But He will condemn a person who devises evil.

³A person will not be established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous will not be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked wait in ambush for blood, But the mouth of the upright will rescue them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A person will be praised according to his insight, But one of perverse mind will be despised.

⁹Better is one who is lightly esteemed and has a servant, Than one who honors himself and lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous person has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹One who works his land will have plenty of bread, But one who pursues worthless things lacks sense.

¹²The wicked person desires the plunder of evil people, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³An evil person is ensnared by the offense of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble.

¹⁴A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a person’s hands will return to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a person who listens to advice is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent person conceals dishonor.

¹⁷One who declares truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips will endure forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.

²¹No harm happens to the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

²³A prudent person conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy hand will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous person is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷A lazy person does not roast his prey, But the precious possession of a person is diligence.

²⁸In the way of righteousness there is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,

²“And now, when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, as well as the chariots and horses, and a fortified city and the weapons,

³select the best and most capable of your master’s sons and seat him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”

⁴But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, the two kings did not stand firm before him; how then can we stand?”

⁵And the one who was in charge of the household, and the one who was in charge of the city, and the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and everything that you tell us we will do. We will not appoint any man king; do what is good in your sight.”

⁶Then he wrote them a letter a second time, saying, “If you are on my side, and will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel about this time tomorrow.” Now the king’s sons, seventy men, were with the great people of the city, who were raising them.

⁷When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁸When the messenger came and informed him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent; behold, I conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

¹⁰Know then that nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, shall fall to the earth, for the LORD has done what He spoke through His servant Elijah.”

¹¹So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

¹²Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds,

¹³Jehu encountered the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴Then he said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive, and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

¹⁵Now when he had gone from there, he encountered Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, just as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot.

¹⁶Then he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” So he had him ride in his chariot.

¹⁷When he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had eliminated them, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

¹⁸Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

¹⁹Now, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one go missing, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in deception, in order to eliminate the worshipers of Baal.

²⁰And Jehu said, “Proclaim a holy assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it.

²¹Then Jehu sent word throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a person left who did not come. And when they entered the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.

²²And he said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the garments for them.

²³Then Jehu entered the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search carefully and see to it that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal.”

²⁴Then they entered to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, “The one who allows any of the men whom I bring into your hands to escape shall give up his life in exchange.”

²⁵Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the royal officers, “Go in, kill them; let none come out.” So they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the sanctuary of the house of Baal.

²⁶They brought out the memorial stones of the house of Baal and burned them.

²⁷They also tore down the memorial stone of Baal and tore down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine as it is to this day.

²⁸So Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel.

²⁹However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel, from these Jehu did not desist, including the golden calves that were at Bethel and at Dan.

³⁰Yet the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in performing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab in accordance with everything that was in My heart, your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”

³¹But Jehu was not careful to walk in the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam, into which he misled Israel.

³²In those days the LORD began to cut off pieces from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel:

³³from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites; from Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehu and everything that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³⁵And Jehu lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And his son Jehoahaz became king in his place.

³⁶So the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the LORD!

³This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing!

⁴Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins.

⁵You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD.

⁶They see deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The LORD declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word!

⁷Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The LORD declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?” ’ ”

⁸Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord GOD.

⁹“So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, so that you may know that I am the Lord GOD.

¹⁰It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;

¹¹so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out.

¹²Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’ ”

¹³Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath.

¹⁴So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you will know that I am the LORD.

¹⁵So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and those who plastered it are gone,

¹⁶along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁷“Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are talking like prophets from their own imagination. Prophesy against them

¹⁸and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves?

¹⁹For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.” ’ ”

²⁰Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, those souls whom you capture as birds.

²¹I will also tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the LORD.

²²Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way to keep him alive,

²³therefore you women will no longer see deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will save My people from your hands. So you will know that I am the LORD.”

¹Now after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges against Paul to the governor.

²After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began accusing him, saying to the governor, “Since we have attained great peace through you, and since reforms are being carried out for this nation by your foresight,

³we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴But, that I may not weary you further, I beg you to grant us a brief hearing, by your kindness.

⁵For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶And he even tried to desecrate the temple, so indeed we arrested him.

⁷

⁸By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we are accusing him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And neither in the temple did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself.

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

¹⁴But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;

¹⁵having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶In view of this I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always.

¹⁷Now after several years I came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings,

¹⁸in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—

¹⁹who ought to have been present before you and to have been bringing charges, if they should have anything against me.

²⁰Or else have these men themselves declare what violation they discovered when I stood before the Council,

²¹other than in regard to this one declaration which I shouted while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today!’ ”

²²But Felix, having quite accurate knowledge about the Way, adjourned them, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³He gave orders to the centurion for Paul to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.”

²⁶At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him.

²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul imprisoned.