Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

³And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.

⁵Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;

⁶And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

⁷Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

⁹And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”

¹¹He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

¹²Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

¹³And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”

¹⁴Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

¹⁵Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,

¹⁶John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹⁷His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.

¹⁹But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

²⁰also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

²¹When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

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

²³Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

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

²⁵the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,

²⁷the son of Joannas, 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 Elmodam, the son of Er,

²⁹the son of Jose, 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 Jonan, the son of Eliakim,

³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, 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 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 Eber, 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 Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,

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

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

²“This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.

³You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him;

⁴and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting.

⁵Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned.

⁶And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.

⁷Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.

⁸And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.

⁹Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin.

¹⁰And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

¹¹‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.

¹²He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; 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.

¹³Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.

¹⁴‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days;

¹⁵and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.

¹⁶Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

¹⁷‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.

¹⁸A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.

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

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

²¹It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.

²²Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”

¹Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

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

³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

⁴always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,

⁵for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

⁶being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

⁷just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.

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

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

¹⁰that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,

¹¹being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹²But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,

¹³so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;

¹⁴and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill:

¹⁶The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains;

¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

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

²⁰according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

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

²²But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.

²³For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

²⁴Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

²⁵And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,

²⁶that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

²⁷Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,

²⁸and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

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

³⁰having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!

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

⁴“I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

⁵A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip.

⁶The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand.

⁷“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to 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 not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?

¹²Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.

¹³“With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.

¹⁵If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

¹⁶With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges.

¹⁸He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.

¹⁹He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty.

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

²¹He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.

²²He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.

²³He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.

²⁴He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

²⁵They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

¹Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

²Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.

³Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever:

⁴To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever;

⁵To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever;

⁶To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, For His mercy endures forever;

⁷To Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever—

⁸The sun to rule by day, For His mercy endures forever;

⁹The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever.

¹⁰To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, For His mercy endures forever;

¹¹And brought out Israel from among them, For His mercy endures forever;

¹²With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, For His mercy endures forever;

¹³To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, For His mercy endures forever;

¹⁴And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His mercy endures forever;

¹⁵But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His mercy endures forever;

¹⁶To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever;

¹⁷To Him who struck down great kings, For His mercy endures forever;

¹⁸And slew famous kings, For His mercy endures forever—

¹⁹Sihon king of the Amorites, For His mercy endures forever;

²⁰And Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever—

²¹And gave their land as a heritage, For His mercy endures forever;

²²A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever.

²³Who remembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever;

²⁴And rescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever;

²⁵Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever.

²⁶Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.

¹Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.

³A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

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

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

⁶The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

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

⁸A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

⁹Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.

¹²The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble.

¹⁴A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

¹⁷He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

¹⁹The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

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

²¹No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.

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

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

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

²⁵Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.

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

¹Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying:

²Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons,

³choose the best qualified of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

⁴But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Look, two kings could not stand up to him; how then can we stand?”

⁵And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.”

⁶Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

⁷So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁸Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these?

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

¹¹So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

¹²And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the Shepherds,

¹³Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?” So they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴And he said, “Take them alive!” So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

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

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

¹⁷And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

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

¹⁹Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal.

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

²¹Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other.

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

²³Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.”

²⁴So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other.”

²⁵Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.

²⁶And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them.

²⁷Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day.

²⁸Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

²⁹However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

³⁰And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”

³¹But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

³²In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel

³³from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead—Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh—from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

³⁵So Jehu rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place.

³⁶And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

¹And 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 out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ ”

³Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!

⁴O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.

⁵You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD.

⁶They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.

⁷Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The LORD says,’ but I have not spoken.”

⁸Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD.

⁹“My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

¹⁰“Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar—

¹¹say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down.

¹²Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it.

¹⁴So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

¹⁵“Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it,

¹⁶that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord GOD.

¹⁷“Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them,

¹⁸and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive?

¹⁹And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”

²⁰‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds.

²¹I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

²²“Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

²³Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

¹Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

²And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight,

³we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.

⁵For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law.

⁷But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands,

⁸commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.”

⁹And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.

¹⁰Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,

¹¹because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.

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

¹⁴But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

¹⁵I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

¹⁶This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

¹⁷“Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,

¹⁸in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult.

¹⁹They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me.

²⁰Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council,

²¹unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

²²But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

²³So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

²⁴And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

²⁵Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

²⁶Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

²⁷But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.