Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

²being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

³And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”

⁵Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

⁶And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

⁷Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

⁹Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

¹⁰For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’

¹¹and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ”

¹³Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

¹⁴Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

¹⁵And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

¹⁶So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

¹⁷And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

¹⁹To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

²⁰Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

²¹And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

²²So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ”

²⁴Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

²⁵But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;

²⁶but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

²⁷And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

²⁹and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.

³⁰Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

³¹Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.

³²And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

³³Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice,

³⁴saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are— the Holy One of God!”

³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

³⁶Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

³⁷And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

³⁸Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.

³⁹So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

⁴⁰When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

⁴¹And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

⁴²Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;

⁴³but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

⁴⁴And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

¹Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.

²Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.

³And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!

⁴Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?

⁵And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them.

⁷Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”

⁹So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.

¹⁰And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”

¹¹Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

¹²Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

¹³This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.

¹⁴Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

¹⁵how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers.

¹⁶When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border.

¹⁷Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”

¹⁸Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

²⁰Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand.

²¹Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

²²Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

²³And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying:

²⁴“Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah.

²⁵Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;

²⁶and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.”

²⁷So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

²⁸Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

²⁹Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

¹Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

²fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

³Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

⁴Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

¹³for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without complaining and disputing,

¹⁵that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

¹⁶holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

¹⁷Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

¹⁸For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁹But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.

²⁰For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.

²¹For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.

²²But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

²³Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me.

²⁴But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

²⁵Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need;

²⁶since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.

²⁹Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem;

³⁰because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.

¹“Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it.

²What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God.

⁴But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians.

⁵Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom!

⁶Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips.

⁷Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him?

⁸Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?

⁹Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?

¹⁰He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality.

¹¹Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you?

¹²Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Hold your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may!

¹⁴Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands?

¹⁵Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

¹⁶He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

¹⁷Listen carefully to my speech, And to my declaration with your ears.

¹⁸See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated.

¹⁹Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

²⁰“Only two things do not do to me, Then I will not hide myself from You:

²¹Withdraw Your hand far from me, And let not the dread of You make me afraid.

²²Then call, and I will answer; Or let me speak, then You respond to me.

²³How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin.

²⁴Why do You hide Your face, And regard me as Your enemy?

²⁵Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble?

²⁶For You write bitter things against me, And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks, And watch closely all my paths. You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

²⁸“Man decays like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

¹By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.

²We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.

³For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!

⁶If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

⁷Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!”

⁸O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!

⁹Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!

¹A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

³He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

⁴The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

⁵A righteous man hates lying, But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.

⁶Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

⁷There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

⁸The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.

¹¹Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

¹³He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.

¹⁶Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble, But a faithful ambassador brings health.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

²⁰He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

²¹Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste.

²⁴He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

²⁵The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

¹When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs.

²But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed.

³So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

⁴In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the escorts—and brought them into the house of the LORD to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son.

⁵Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: one-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house,

⁶one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down.

⁷The two contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king.

⁸But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”

⁹So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

¹⁰And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of the LORD.

¹¹Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house.

¹²And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

¹³Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD.

¹⁴When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁵And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the LORD.”

¹⁶So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed.

¹⁷Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also between the king and the people.

¹⁸And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

¹⁹Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings.

²⁰So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house.

²¹Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.

¹Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.

²And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

³“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

⁴“Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols,

⁵that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’

⁶“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

⁷For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself.

⁸I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

⁹“And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the LORD have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

¹⁰And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired,

¹¹that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,“ says the Lord GOD.’ ”

¹²The word of the LORD came again to me, saying:

¹³“Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.

¹⁴Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts,

¹⁶even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.

¹⁷“Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it,

¹⁸even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

¹⁹“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast,

²⁰even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it?

²²Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it.

²³And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²¹But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”

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

²³So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.

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

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

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

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