Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

²At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them.

³Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center.

⁴“Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.

⁵In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

⁶They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger.

⁷When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”

⁸Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground.

⁹When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center.

¹⁰When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹“No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

¹²Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

¹³So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴“Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.

¹⁵You judge by human standards. I judge no one.

¹⁶And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

¹⁷Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.

¹⁸I am the one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

¹⁹Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?” “You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

²⁰He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹Then he said to them again, “I’m going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come.”

²²So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’ ?”

²³“You are from below,” he told them, “I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

²⁴Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵“Who are you?” they questioned. “Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them.

²⁶“I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the one who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him — these things I tell the world.”

²⁷They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father.

²⁸So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own. But just as the Father taught me, I say these things.

²⁹The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”

³⁰As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

³¹Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples.

³²You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³“We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

³⁵A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever.

³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

³⁷I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you.

³⁸I speak what I have seen in the presence of the Father; so then, you do what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹“Our father is Abraham,” they replied. “If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did.

⁴⁰But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

⁴¹You’re doing what your father does.” “We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father — God.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me.

⁴³Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word.

⁴⁴You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

⁴⁶Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

⁴⁷The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

⁴⁸The Jews responded to him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan and have a demon?”

⁴⁹“I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered. “On the contrary, I honor my Father and you dishonor me.

⁵⁰I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and judges.

⁵¹Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

⁵²Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’

⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”

⁵⁴“If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father — about whom you say, ‘He is our God’ — he is the one who glorifies me.

⁵⁵You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word.

⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple.

¹“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.

²Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods  — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

³Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

⁴Don’t worship the LORD your God this way.

⁵Instead, turn to the place the LORD your God chooses from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there.

⁶You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

⁷You will eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

⁸“You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own sight.

⁹Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.

¹⁰When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security,

¹¹then the LORD your God will choose the place to have his name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your choice offerings you vow to the LORD.

¹²You will rejoice before the LORD your God — you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

¹³Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see.

¹⁴You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.

¹⁵“But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your city gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Those who are clean or unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,

¹⁶but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

¹⁷Within your city gates you may not eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, or fresh oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your vow offerings that you pledge; your freewill offerings; or your personal contributions.

¹⁸You are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God chooses — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your city gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you do,

¹⁹and be careful not to neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

²⁰“When the LORD your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat’ because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.

²¹If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want.

²²Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it.

²³But don’t eat the blood, since the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

²⁴Do not eat blood; pour it on the ground like water.

²⁵Do not eat it, so that you and your children after you will prosper, because you will be doing what is right in the LORD’s sight.

²⁶“But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD chooses.

²⁷Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.

²⁸Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may prosper forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

²⁹“When the LORD your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,

³⁰be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’

³¹You must not do the same to the LORD your God, because they practice every detestable act, which the LORD hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

³²Be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.

¹I speak the truth in Christ  — I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit  —

²that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

³For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

⁴They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises.

⁵The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.

⁶Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

⁷Neither are all of Abraham’s children his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac.

⁸That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.

⁹For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.

¹⁰And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac.

¹¹For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand —

¹²not from works but from the one who calls — she was told, The older will serve the younger.

¹³As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.

¹⁴What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

¹⁵For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

¹⁶So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.

¹⁷For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.

¹⁸So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

¹⁹You will say to me, therefore, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

²⁰But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”

²¹Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor?

²²And what if God, wanting to display his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction?

²³And what if he did this to make known the riches of his glory on objects of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory  —

²⁴on us, the ones he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

²⁵As it also says in Hosea, I will call Not My People, My People, and she who is Unloved, Beloved.

²⁶And it will be in the place where they were told, you are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God.

²⁷But Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved;

²⁸since the Lord will execute his sentence completely and decisively on the earth.

²⁹And just as Isaiah predicted: If the Lord of Hosts had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.

³⁰What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness — namely the righteousness that comes from faith.

³¹But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law.

³²Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.

³³As it is written, Look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and the one who believes on him will not be put to shame.

¹Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder,

²so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.

³Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires,

⁴saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”

⁵They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water.

⁶Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded.

⁷By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

⁹The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.

¹¹Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness

¹²as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.

¹³But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.

¹⁵Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.

¹⁶He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.

¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

¹Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie his tongue down with a rope?

²Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

³Will he beg you for mercy or speak softly to you?

⁴Will he make a covenant with you so that you can take him as a slave forever?

⁵Can you play with him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?

⁶Will traders bargain for him or divide him among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?

⁸Lay a hand on him. You will remember the battle and never repeat it!

⁹Any hope of capturing him proves false. Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

¹⁰No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan; who then can stand against me?

¹¹Who confronted me, that I should repay him? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹²I cannot be silent about his limbs, his power, and his graceful proportions.

¹³Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?

¹⁴Who can open his jaws, surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

¹⁵His pride is in his rows of scales, closely sealed together.

¹⁶One scale is so close to another that no air can pass between them.

¹⁷They are joined to one another, so closely connected they cannot be separated.

¹⁸His snorting flashes with light, while his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

¹⁹Flaming torches shoot from his mouth; fiery sparks fly out!

²⁰Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

²¹His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour out of his mouth.

²²Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances before him.

²³The folds of his flesh are joined together, solid as metal and immovable.

²⁴His heart is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone!

²⁵When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw because of his thrashing.

²⁶The sword that reaches him will have no effect, nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.

²⁷He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.

²⁸No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him.

²⁹A club is regarded as stubble, and he laughs at the sound of a javelin.

³⁰His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.

³¹He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like an ointment jar.

³²He leaves a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had gray hair!

³³He has no equal on earth — a creature devoid of fear!

³⁴He surveys everything that is haughty; he is king over all the proud beasts.

¹A psalm of David. [1] LORD, who can dwell in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain?

²The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness, and acknowledges the truth in his heart  —

³who does not slander with his tongue, who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor,

⁴who despises the one rejected by the LORD but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his word whatever the cost,

⁵who does not lend his silver at interest or take a bribe against the innocent  — the one who does these things will never be shaken.

¹Solomon’s proverbs: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.

²Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.

³The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry, but he denies the wicked what they crave.

⁴Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.

⁵The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸A wise heart accepts commands, but foolish lips will be destroyed.

⁹The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰A sly wink of the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will be destroyed.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of the one who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool hastens destruction.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

¹⁶The reward of the righteous is life; the wages of the wicked is punishment.

¹⁷The one who follows instruction is on the path to life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray.

¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is prudent.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The LORD’s blessing enriches, and he adds no painful effort to it.

²³As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a person of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desire will be given to them.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the honorable, but destruction awaits the malicious.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not remain on the earth.

³¹The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate, but the mouth of the wicked, only what is perverse.

¹King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters to build a palace for him.

²Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

³David took more wives in Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.

⁴These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,

⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

⁷Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

⁸When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of David; when David heard of this, he went out to face them.

⁹Now the Philistines had come and raided in the Valley of Rephaim,

¹⁰so David inquired of God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The LORD replied, “Attack, and I will hand them over to you.”

¹¹So the Israelites went up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.” Therefore, they named that place The Lord Bursts Out.

¹²The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.

¹³Once again the Philistines raided in the valley.

¹⁴So David again inquired of God, and God answered him, “Do not pursue them directly. Circle around them and attack them opposite the balsam trees.

¹⁵When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God will have gone out ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”

¹⁶So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁷Then David’s fame spread throughout the lands, and the LORD caused all the nations to be terrified of him.

¹Then the man led me out by way of the north gate into the outer court. He brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple yard and opposite the building to the north.

²Along the length of the chambers, which was 175 feet, there was an entrance on the north; the width was 87½ feet.

³Opposite the 35 foot space belonging to the inner court and opposite the paved surface belonging to the outer court, the structure rose gallery by gallery in three tiers.

⁴In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside, 17½ feet wide and 175 feet long, and their entrances were on the north.

⁵The upper chambers were narrower because the galleries took away more space from them than from the lower and middle stories of the building.

⁶For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories.

⁷A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 87½ feet long.

⁸For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet long, while those facing the great hall were 175 feet long.

⁹At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

¹⁰In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south, there were chambers facing the temple yard and the western building,

¹¹with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north. Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical.

¹²The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding wall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.

¹³Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the courtyard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will deposit the most holy offerings — the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings — for the place is holy.

¹⁴Once the priests have entered, they are not to go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”

¹⁵When he finished measuring inside the temple complex, he led me out by way of the gate that faced east and measured all around the complex.

¹⁶He measured the east side with a measuring rod; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod.

¹⁷He measured the north side; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod.

¹⁸He measured the south side; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod.

¹⁹Then he turned to the west side and measured 875 feet by the measuring rod.

²⁰He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy from the common.

¹Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

²The chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed,

³asking for a favor against Paul, that Festus summon him to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, preparing an ambush along the road to kill him.

⁴Festus, however, answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those of you who have authority go down with me and accuse him, if he has done anything wrong.”

⁶When he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, seated at the tribunal, he commanded Paul to be brought in.

⁷When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they were not able to prove.

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “Neither against the Jewish law, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in any way.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me there on these charges?”

¹⁰Paul replied: “I am standing at Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as even you yourself know very well.

¹¹If then I did anything wrong and am deserving of death, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²Then after Festus conferred with his council, he replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go.”

¹³Several days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid a courtesy call on Festus.

¹⁴Since they were staying there several days, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There’s a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix.

¹⁵When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented their case and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to give someone up before the accused faces the accusers and has an opportunity for a defense against the charges.

¹⁷So when they had assembled here, I did not delay. The next day I took my seat at the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in.

¹⁸The accusers stood up but brought no charge against him of the evils I was expecting.

¹⁹Instead they had some disagreements with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man Paul claimed to be alive.

²⁰Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be held for trial by the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar.”

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

²³So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium with the military commanders and prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in.

²⁴Then Festus said: “King Agrippa and all men present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has appealed to me concerning him, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer.

²⁵I found that he had not done anything deserving of death, but when he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

²⁶I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”