Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus walked [from place to place] in Galilee, for He would not walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.

²Now the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) was approaching.

³So His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples [there] may also see the works that You do.

⁴No one does anything in secret when he wants to be known publicly. If You [must] do these things, show Yourself openly to the world and make Yourself known!"

⁵For not even His brothers believed in Him.

⁶So Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come; but any time is right for you.

⁷The world cannot hate you [since you are part of it], but it does hate Me because I denounce it and testify that its deeds are evil.

⁸Go up to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come."

⁹Having said these things to them, He stayed behind in Galilee.

¹⁰But [afterward], when His brothers had gone up to the feast, He went up too, not publicly [with a caravan], but quietly [because He did not want to be noticed].

¹¹So the Jews kept looking for Him at the feast and asking, "Where is He?"

¹²There was a lot of whispered discussion and murmuring among the crowds about Him. Some were saying, "He is a good man"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He misleads the people [giving them false ideas]."

¹³Yet no one was speaking out openly and freely about Him for fear of [the leaders of] the Jews.

¹⁴When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple [court] and began to teach.

¹⁵Then the Jews were perplexed. They said, "How did this man become learned [so versed in the Scriptures and theology] without formal training?"

¹⁶Jesus answered them by saying, "My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me.

¹⁷If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know whether the teaching is of God or whether I speak on My own accord and by My own authority.

¹⁸He who speaks on his own accord seeks glory and honor for himself. But He who seeks the glory and the honor of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness or deception in Him.

¹⁹"Did not Moses give you the Law? And yet not one of you keeps the Law. Why do you want to kill Me [for not keeping it]?"

²⁰The crowd answered, "You have a demon [You are out of Your mind]! Who wants to kill You?"

²¹Jesus replied, "I did one work, and you are all astounded.

²²For this reason Moses has given you [God's law regarding] circumcision (not that it originated with Moses, but with the patriarchs) and you circumcise a man [even] on the Sabbath.

²³If, to avoid breaking the Law of Moses, a man undergoes circumcision on the Sabbath, why are you angry with Me for making a man's whole body well on the Sabbath?

²⁴Do not judge by appearance [superficially and arrogantly], but judge fairly and righteously."

²⁵Then some of the people of Jerusalem said, "Is this not the Man they want to kill?

²⁶Look, He is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to Him! Is it possible that the rulers really know that this is the Christ?

²⁷But we know where this Man is from; whenever the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from."

²⁸Then Jesus called out as He taught in the temple, "You know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come on my own initiative [as self-appointed], but He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know.

²⁹I know Him Myself because I am from Him [I came from His very presence] and it was He [personally] who sent Me."

³⁰So they were eager to arrest Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His time had not yet come.

³¹But many from the crowd believed in Him. And they kept saying, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs and exhibit more proofs than this Man?"

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things [under their breath] about Him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent guards to arrest Him.

³³Therefore Jesus said, "For a little while longer I am [still] with you, and then I go to Him who sent Me.

³⁴You will look for Me, and will not [be able to] find Me; and where I am, you cannot come."

³⁵Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does this Man intend to go that we will not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion [of Jews scattered and living] among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

³⁶What does this statement of His mean, 'You will look for Me, and will not [be able to] find Me; and where I am, you cannot come'?"

³⁷Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out [in a loud voice], "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!

³⁸He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, 'From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.'"

³⁹But He was speaking of the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him [as Savior] were to receive afterward. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).

⁴⁰Listening to these words, some of the people said, "This is certainly the Prophet!"

⁴¹Others said, "This is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!" But others said, "Surely the Christ is not going to come out of Galilee, is He?

⁴²Does the Scripture not say that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"

⁴³So the crowd was divided because of Him.

⁴⁴Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵Then the guards went [back] to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring Him [here with you]?"

⁴⁶The guards replied, "Never [at any time] has a man talked the way this Man talks!"

⁴⁷Then the Pharisees said to them, "Have you also been deluded and swept off your feet?

⁴⁸Has any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?

⁴⁹But this [ignorant, contemptible] crowd that does not know the Law is accursed and doomed!"

⁵⁰Nicodemus (the one who came to Jesus before and was one of them) asked,

⁵¹"Does our Law convict someone without first giving him a hearing and finding out what he is [accused of] doing?"

⁵²They responded, "Are you also from Galilee? Search [and read the Scriptures], and see [for yourself] that no prophet comes from Galilee!"

⁵³[And everyone went to his own house.

¹"Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His precepts, and His commandments [it is your obligation to Him].

²Know this day that I am not speaking to your children who have not known [by personal experience] and who have not seen [firsthand] the instruction and discipline of the LORD your God—His greatness, His mighty hand and His outstretched arm;

³and His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land;

⁴and what He did to the army of Egypt, to its horses and its chariots, when He made the water of the Red Sea engulf them as they pursued you, and how the LORD completely destroyed them;

⁵and what He did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place;

⁶and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel.

⁷For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD which He did.

⁸"Therefore, you shall keep all the commandments which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess;

⁹so that you may live long on the land which the LORD swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land [of great abundance,] flowing with milk and honey.

¹⁰For the land which you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot like a garden of vegetables.

¹¹But the land into which you are about to cross to possess, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven,

¹²a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

¹³"It shall come about, if you listen obediently and pay attention to My commandments which I command you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being]—

¹⁴that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early [fall] rain and the late [spring] rain, so that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your [olive] oil.

¹⁵And He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.

¹⁶Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away [from the LORD] and serve other gods and worship them,

¹⁷or [else] the Lord's anger will be kindled and burn against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the land will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.

¹⁸"Therefore, you shall impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul, and tie them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead.

¹⁹You shall teach them [diligently] to your children [impressing God's precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths], speaking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.

²⁰You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

²¹so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.

²²For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk [that is, to live each and every day] in all His ways and to hold tightly to Him—

²³then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.

²⁴Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall become yours; your territory shall be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea (the Mediterranean).

²⁵No man will be able to stand before you; the LORD your God will lay the fear and the dread of you on all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.

²⁶"Behold, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse—

²⁷the blessing, if you listen to and obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today;

²⁸and the curse, if you do not listen to and obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following (acknowledging, worshiping) other gods which you have not known.

²⁹"It shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land which you are entering to possess, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

³⁰Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road, toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?

³¹For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it,

³²and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you today.

¹Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].

²For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

³For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man's nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son],

⁴so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power].

⁵For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose].

⁶Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];

⁷the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God's law, since it cannot,

⁸and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

⁹However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].

¹⁰If Christ lives in you, though your [natural] body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness [which He provides].

¹¹And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but not to our flesh [our human nature, our worldliness, our sinful capacity], to live according to the [impulses of the] flesh [our nature without the Holy Spirit]—

¹³for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.

¹⁴For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

¹⁵For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God's judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, " Abba! Father!"

¹⁶The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God.

¹⁷And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.

¹⁸For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!

¹⁹For [even the whole] creation [all nature] waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed.

²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration and futility, not willingly [because of some intentional fault on its part], but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope

²¹that the creation itself will also be freed from its bondage to decay [and gain entrance] into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²For we know that the whole creation has been moaning together as in the pains of childbirth until now.

²³And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body [at the resurrection].

²⁴For in this hope we were saved [by faith]. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he already sees?

²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.

²⁶In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.

²⁷And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God's people in accordance with God's will.

²⁸And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.

²⁹For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.

³⁰And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].

³¹What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?

³²He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?

³³Who will bring any charge against God's elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself].

³⁴Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us.

³⁵Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

³⁶Just as it is written and forever remains written, "For Your sake we are put to death all day long; We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter."

³⁷Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].

³⁸For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers,

³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

²Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned.

³And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].

⁴For if God did not [even] spare angels that sinned, but threw them into hell and sent them to pits of gloom to be kept [there] for judgment;

⁵and if He did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought [the judgment of] a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

⁶and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;

⁷and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was tormented by the immoral conduct of unprincipled and ungodly men

⁸(for that just man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by what he saw and heard of their lawless acts),

⁹then [in light of the fact that all this is true, be sure that] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and how to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

¹⁰and especially those who indulge in the corrupt passions of the sin nature, and despise authority. Presumptuous and reckless, self-willed and arrogant [creatures, despising the majesty of the Lord], they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

¹¹whereas even angels who are superior in might and power do not bring a reviling (defaming) accusation against them before the Lord.

¹²But these [false teachers], like unreasoning animals, [mere] creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed, reviling things they do not understand, will also perish in their own corruption [in their destroying they will be destroyed],

¹³suffering wrong [destined for punishment] as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime [living luxuriously]. They are stains and blemishes [on mankind], reveling in their deceptions even as they feast with you.

¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse.

¹⁵Abandoning the straight road [that is, the right way to live], they have gone astray; they have followed the way of [the false teacher] Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness;

¹⁶but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a mute donkey spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These [false teachers] are springs without water and mists driven by a tempest, for whom is reserved the gloom of black darkness.

¹⁸For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.

¹⁹They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity—for by whatever anyone is defeated and overcome, to that [person, thing, philosophy, or concept] he is continually enslaved.

²⁰For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world by [personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition has become worse for them than the first.

²¹For it would have been better for them not to have [personally] known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to have turned back from the holy commandment [verbally] handed on to them.

²²The thing spoken of in the true proverb has happened to them, "The dog returns to his own vomit," and, "A sow is washed only to wallow [again] in the mire."

¹Then the LORD said to Job,

²"Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who disputes with God answer it."

³Then Job replied to the LORD and said,

⁴"Behold, I am of little importance and contemptible; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth.

⁵"I have spoken once, but I will not reply again— Indeed, twice [I have answered], and I will add nothing further."

⁶Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying,

⁷"Now gird up your loins (prepare yourself) like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me.

⁸"Will you really annul My judgment and set it aside as void? Will you condemn Me [your God] that you may [appear to] be righteous and justified?

⁹"Have you an arm like God, And can you thunder with a voice like His?

¹⁰"Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity [since you question the Almighty], And array yourself with honor and majesty.

¹¹"Pour out the overflowings of your wrath, And look at everyone who is proud and make him low.

¹²Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him, And [if you are so able] tread down the wicked where they stand.

¹³"[Crush and] hide them in the dust together; Shut them up in the hidden place [the house of death].

¹⁴"[If you can do all this, Job, proving your divine power] then I [God] will also praise you and acknowledge That your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵"Behold now, Behemoth, which I created as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶"See now, his strength is in his loins And his power is in the muscles and sinews of his belly.

¹⁷"He sways his tail like a cedar; The tendons of his thighs are twisted and knit together [like a rope].

¹⁸"His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron.

¹⁹"He is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God; [Only] He who made him can bring near His sword [to master him].

²⁰"Surely the mountains bring him food, And all the wild animals play there.

²¹"He lies down under the lotus plants, In the hidden shelter of the reeds in the marsh.

²²"The lotus plants cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook surround him.

²³"If a river rages and overflows, he does not tremble; He is confident, though the Jordan [River] swells and rushes against his mouth.

²⁴"Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, Or pierce his nose with barbs [to trap him]?

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds; There is no one who does good.

²The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the children of men To see if there are any who understand (act wisely), Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].

³They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon the LORD?

⁵There they tremble with great fear, For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

⁶You [evildoers] shamefully plan against the poor, But the LORD is his safe refuge.

⁷Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, Then Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

¹Wisdom has built her [spacious and sufficient] house; She has hewn out and set up her seven pillars.

²She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table.

³She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the highest places of the city:

⁴"Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks understanding, she says,

⁵"Come, eat my food And drink the wine I have mixed [and accept my gifts].

⁶"Leave [behind] your foolishness [and the foolish] and live, And walk in the way of insight and understanding."

⁷He who corrects and instructs a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man gets insults for himself.

⁸Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you; Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you.

⁹Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser; Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

¹⁰The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight.

¹¹For by me (wisdom from God) your days will be multiplied, And years of life shall be increased.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself [for your own benefit]; If you scoff [thoughtlessly ridicule and disdain], you alone will pay the penalty.

¹³The foolish woman is restless and noisy; She is naive and easily misled and thoughtless, and knows nothing at all [of eternal value].

¹⁴She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high and conspicuous places of the city,

¹⁵Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight:

¹⁶"Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!" And to him who lacks understanding (common sense), she says,

¹⁷"Stolen waters (pleasures) are sweet [because they are forbidden]; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant."

¹⁸But he does not know that the spirits of the dead are there, And that her guests are [already] in the depths of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

¹David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader.

²David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if it is from the LORD our God, let us send word everywhere to our fellow countrymen who remain in all the land of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, so that they may meet with us;

³and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it during the days of Saul."

⁴Then all the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

⁵So David gathered all Israel together, from the Shihor [watercourse] of Egypt, to the entrance of Hamath [in the north], to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

⁶David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD who sits enthroned above the cherubim, the ark which is called by His name.

⁷They carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio [his brother] drove the cart.

⁸David and all Israel celebrated [joyfully] before God with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold and steady the ark, for the oxen [that were drawing the cart] nearly overturned it.

¹⁰The anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, and He struck him down because he touched the ark; and there he died before God.

¹¹David became angry because of the Lord's outburst against Uzza; so that place is called Perez-uzza to this day.

¹²David was afraid of God that day, and he said, "How can I bring the ark of God home with me?"

¹³So David did not bring the ark with him to the City of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

¹⁴So the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he had.

¹Then he (the angel) brought me to the nave (outer sanctuary) and measured the side pillars; six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar.

²The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

³Then he went inside [the inner sanctuary] and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits [high], and the width of the doorway, seven cubits.

⁴He measured the length [of the interior of the inner sanctuary], twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, opposite the nave (outer sanctuary); and he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place."

⁵Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits [thick, to accommodate side chambers]; and the width of every side chamber, four cubits, all around the temple on every side.

⁶The side chambers were three stories [high], one above another, and thirty chambers in each story; and the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on their inward side all around, so that they would be attached, but not attached to the wall of the temple itself.

⁷The side chambers became wider at each successive level as they encompassed the temple. Because the structure surrounding the temple went higher by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and thus one went up from the lowest story to the highest one by way of the second story.

⁸I also saw that the temple (house) had a raised platform all around it; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full rod of six long cubits in height.

⁹The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple

¹⁰and the outer chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.

¹¹The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space were one doorway toward the north and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.

¹²The building that was in front of the separate area on the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

¹³Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long.

¹⁴Also the width of the front of the temple and the separate areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits.

¹⁵He (the angel) measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches (porticoes) of the courtyard.

¹⁶The thresholds, the latticed windows, and the galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered),

¹⁷over the entrance, and to the inner room, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement.

¹⁸It was carved with [figures of] cherubim and palm trees; so that a palm decoration was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces,

¹⁹so that the face of a man was toward the palm decoration on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm decoration on the other side. It was carved [this way] on the entire house (temple) all around.

²⁰From the floor to [the space] above the entrance cherubim and palm decorations were carved, and also on the wall of the nave [the Holy Place].

²¹The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other.

²²The altar was of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long; and its corners, its base, and its sides were wood. And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD."

²³The nave (Holy Place) and the sanctuary (Holy of Holies) each had a double door.

²⁴Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging (folding) leaves; two leaves for the one door and two leaves for the other.

²⁵And there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm decorations like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside.

²⁶There were latticed windows and palm decorations on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch. Thus were the side chambers and the thresholds of the house.

¹Five days later, the high priest Ananias came down [from Jerusalem to Caesarea] with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus [acting as spokesman and counsel]. They presented to the governor their [formal] charges against Paul.

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

³in every way and in every place, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.

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

⁵For we have found this man to be a public menace and one who instigates dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the [heretical] sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to desecrate the temple, but we took him into custody[and we intended to judge him by our Law,

⁷but Lysias the commander came, and with great force took him out of our hands,

⁸and ordered his accusers to come before you.] By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters you will be able to determine [the truth about] these things with which we charge him."

⁹The Jews also joined in the attack, declaring and insisting that these things were so.

¹⁰When the governor nodded for him to speak, Paul answered, "Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I make my defense cheerfully and with good courage.

¹¹As you can easily verify, it has been no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor elsewhere in the city did they find me carrying on a discussion or disputing with anybody or causing a crowd to gather.

¹³Nor can they present evidence to you to prove what they now bring against me.

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

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

¹⁶In view of this, I also do my best and strive always to have a clear conscience before God and before men.

¹⁷Now after several years I came [to Jerusalem] to bring to my people charitable contributions and offerings.

¹⁸They found me in the temple presenting these offerings, after I had undergone [the rites of] purification, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor],

¹⁹who ought to have been here before you to present their charges, if they have anything against me.

²⁰Or else let these men tell what crime they found [me guilty of] when I stood before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court),

²¹other than for this one statement which I had shouted out as I stood among them, 'For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.'"

²²But Felix, having a rather accurate understanding about the Way, put them off, saying, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case."

²³Then he ordered the centurion to keep Paul in custody, but to let him have some freedom, and [he told the centurion] not to stop any of his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him talk about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control [honorable behavior, personal integrity], and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for now, and when I find [a convenient] time I will send for you."

²⁶At the same time he was also hoping to get money from Paul [as a bribe]; so he continued to send for him quite often and talked with him.

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