Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber.

²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

³The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

⁴When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice.

⁵They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.”

⁶Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

⁸All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.

⁹I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.

¹⁰A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

¹²The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them.

¹³This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me,

¹⁵just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.

¹⁶But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.

¹⁷This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.

¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

¹⁹Again the Jews were divided because of these words.

²⁰Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and he’s crazy. Why do you listen to him?”

²¹Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone who is demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²²Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

²³Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade.

²⁴The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵“I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me.

²⁶But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.

²⁷My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

³⁰I and the Father are one.”

³¹Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.

³²Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?”

³³“We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you — being a man — make yourself God.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, I said, you are gods?

³⁵If he called those whom the word of God came to ‘gods’ — and the Scripture cannot be broken — 

³⁶do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?

³⁷If I am not doing my Father’s works, don’t believe me.

³⁸But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.”

³⁹Then they were trying again to seize him, but he eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰So he departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.

⁴¹Many came to him and said, “John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.”

⁴²And many believed in him there.

¹“You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head on behalf of the dead,

²for you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

³“You must not eat any detestable thing.

⁴These are the animals you may eat: oxen, sheep, goats,

⁵deer, gazelles, roe deer, wild goats, ibexes, antelopes, and mountain sheep.

⁶You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud.

⁷But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these: camels, hares, and hyraxes, though they chew the cud, they do not have hooves — they are unclean for you;

⁸and pigs, though they have hooves, they do not chew the cud — they are unclean for you. Do not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.

⁹“You may eat everything from the water that has fins and scales,

¹⁰but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales — it is unclean for you.

¹¹“You may eat every clean bird,

¹²but these are the ones you may not eat: eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,

¹³the kites, any kind of falcon,

¹⁴every kind of raven,

¹⁵ostriches, short-eared owls, gulls, any kind of hawk,

¹⁶little owls, long-eared owls, barn owls,

¹⁷eagle owls, ospreys, cormorants,

¹⁸storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes, and bats.

¹⁹All winged insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten.

²⁰But you may eat every clean flying creature.

²¹“You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a resident alien within your city gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²²“Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields.

²³You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place where he chooses to have his name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God.

²⁴But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you and since the LORD your God has blessed you,

²⁵then exchange it for silver, take the silver in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God chooses.

²⁶You may spend the silver on anything you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your family.

²⁷Do not neglect the Levite within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

²⁸“At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your city gates.

²⁹Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

¹I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

²God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah — how he pleads with God against Israel?

³Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life!

⁴But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal.

⁵In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

⁶Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

⁷What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,

⁸as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, to this day.

⁹And David says, Let their table become a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution to them.

¹⁰Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and their backs be bent continually.

¹¹I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

¹²Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

¹⁴if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them.

¹⁵For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

¹⁶Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,

¹⁸do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast — you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you.

¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware,

²¹because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

²²Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you — if you remain in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

²³And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again.

²⁴For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these — the natural branches — be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

²⁷And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

²⁸Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs,

²⁹since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable.

³⁰As you once disobeyed God but now have received mercy through their disobedience,

³¹so they too have now disobeyed, resulting in mercy to you, so that they also may now receive mercy.

³²For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!

³⁴For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?

³⁵And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

¹My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous one.

²He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.

³This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands.

⁴The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

⁵But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him:

⁶The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

⁷Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word you have heard.

⁸Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

⁹The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now.

¹⁰The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

¹¹But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹²I am writing to you, little children, since your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.

¹⁴I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father, but is from the world.

¹⁷And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

¹⁸Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.

²⁰But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

²¹I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth.

²²Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.

²³No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.

²⁴What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.

²⁵And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.

²⁶I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

²⁷As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in him.

²⁸So now, little children, remain in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

¹The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

³What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

⁴A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

⁵The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises.

⁶Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles.

⁷All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

⁸All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Can one say about anything, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.

¹²I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.

¹A prayer of David. [1] LORD, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry; listen to my prayer — from lips free of deceit.

²Let my vindication come from you, for you see what is right.

³You have tested my heart; you have examined me at night. You have tried me and found nothing evil; I have determined that my mouth will not sin.

⁴Concerning what people do: by the words from your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵My steps are on your paths; my feet have not slipped.

⁶I call on you, God, because you will answer me; listen closely to me; hear what I say.

⁷Display the wonders of your faithful love, Savior of all who seek refuge from those who rebel against your right hand.

⁸Protect me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁹from the wicked who treat me violently, my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They are uncaring; their mouths speak arrogantly.

¹¹They advance against me; now they surround me. They are determined to throw me to the ground.

¹²They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³Rise up, LORD! Confront him; bring him down. With your sword, save me from the wicked.

¹⁴With your hand, LORD, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.

¹⁵But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.

²One who is good obtains favor from the LORD, but he condemns a person who schemes.

³No one can be made secure by wickedness, but the root of the righteous is immovable.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a wife who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are just, but guidance from the wicked is deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man is praised for his insight, but a twisted mind is despised.

⁹Better to be disregarded, yet have a servant, than to act important but have no food.

¹⁰The righteous cares about his animal’s health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.

¹²The wicked desire what evil people have caught, but the root of the righteous is productive.

¹³By rebellious speech an evil person is trapped, but a righteous person escapes from trouble.

¹⁴A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the work of a person’s hands will reward him.

¹⁵A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.

¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword; but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue, only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

²¹No disaster overcomes the righteous, but the wicked are full of misery.

²²Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but faithful people are his delight.

²³A shrewd person conceals knowledge, but a foolish heart publicizes stupidity.

²⁴The diligent hand will rule, but laziness will lead to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up.

²⁶A righteous person is careful in dealing with his neighbor, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

²⁷A lazy hunter doesn’t roast his game, but to a diligent person, his wealth is precious.

²⁸There is life in the path of righteousness, and in its path there is no death.

¹They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence.

²When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.

³Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

⁴David appointed some of the Levites to be ministers before the ark of the LORD, to celebrate the LORD God of Israel, and to give thanks and praise to him.

⁵Asaph was the chief and Zechariah was second to him. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel played the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals

⁶and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the LORD by Asaph and his relatives:

⁸Give thanks to the LORD; call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples.

⁹Sing to him; sing praise to him; tell about all his wondrous works!

¹⁰Honor his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

¹¹Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

¹²Remember the wondrous works he has done, his wonders, and the judgments he has pronounced,

¹³you offspring of Israel his servant, Jacob’s descendants — his chosen ones.

¹⁴He is the LORD our God; his judgments govern the whole earth.

¹⁵Remember his covenant forever — the promise he ordained for a thousand generations,

¹⁶the covenant he made with Abraham, swore to Isaac,

¹⁷and confirmed to Jacob as a decree, and to Israel as a permanent covenant:

¹⁸“I will give the land of Canaan to you as your inherited portion.”

¹⁹When they were few in number, very few indeed, and resident aliens in Canaan

²⁰wandering from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another,

²¹he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their behalf:

²²“Do not touch my anointed ones or harm my prophets.”

²³Let the whole earth sing to the LORD. Proclaim his salvation from day to day.

²⁴Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples.

²⁵For the LORD is great and highly praised; he is feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

²⁷Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.

²⁸Ascribe to the LORD, families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

²⁹Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;

³⁰let the whole earth tremble before him. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.

³¹Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”

³²Let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields and everything in them exult.

³³Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth.

³⁴Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.

³⁵And say: “Save us, God of our salvation; gather us and rescue us from the nations so that we may give thanks to your holy name and rejoice in your praise.

³⁶Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.”

³⁷So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the LORD’s covenant to minister regularly before the ark according to the daily requirements.

³⁸He assigned Obed-edom and his sixty-eight relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were to be gatekeepers.

³⁹David left the priest Zadok and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon

⁴⁰to offer burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, to the LORD on the altar of burnt offerings and to do everything that was written in the law of the LORD, which he had commanded Israel to keep.

⁴¹With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD  — for his faithful love endures forever.

⁴²Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals to play and musical instruments of God. Jeduthun’s sons were at the city gate.

⁴³Then all the people went home, and David returned home to bless his household.

¹The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary’s outer gate that faced east, and it was closed.

²The LORD said to me: “This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore it will remain closed.

³The prince himself will sit in the gate to eat a meal before the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gate and go out the same way.”

⁴Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the LORD filled his temple. And I fell facedown.

⁵The LORD said to me: “Son of man, pay attention; look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the LORD’s temple. Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.

⁶“Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel.

⁷When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, to occupy my sanctuary, you defiled my temple while you offered my food — the fat and the blood. You broke my covenant by all your detestable practices.

⁸You have not kept charge of my holy things but have appointed others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you.’

⁹“This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter my sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites.

¹⁰Surely the Levites who wandered away from me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.

¹¹Yet they will occupy my sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.

¹²Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath against them”  — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD  — “that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity.

¹³They must not approach me to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed.

¹⁴Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple  — for all its work and everything done in it.

¹⁵“But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, will approach me to serve me. They will stand before me to offer me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

¹⁶“They are the ones who may enter my sanctuary and approach my table to serve me. They will keep my mandate.

¹⁷When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it.

¹⁸They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat.

¹⁹Before they go out to the outer court, to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.

²⁰“They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but are to carefully trim their hair.

²¹No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.

²²He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but may marry only a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

²³They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.

²⁴“In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to my ordinances. They are to observe my laws and statutes regarding all my appointed festivals, and keep my Sabbaths holy.

²⁵A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister.

²⁶After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself.

²⁷On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he is to present his sin offering.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

²⁸“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

²⁹They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the LORD will belong to them.

³⁰The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.

³¹The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.

¹When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.

²When we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.

³The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care.

⁴When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

⁵After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.

⁶There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

⁷Sailing slowly for many days, with difficulty we arrived off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone.

⁸With still more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.

⁹By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul gave his advice

¹⁰and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.”

¹¹But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said.

¹²Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete facing the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.

¹³When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

¹⁴But before long, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island.

¹⁵Since the ship was caught and unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.

¹⁶After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the skiff.

¹⁷After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along.

¹⁸Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day.

¹⁹On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

²⁰For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved.

²¹Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss.

²²Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship.

²³For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me

²⁴and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’

²⁵So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.

²⁶But we have to run aground on some island.”

²⁷When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land.

²⁸They took soundings and found it to be a hundred and twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep.

²⁹Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.

³⁰Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow.

³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

³²Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.

³³When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing.

³⁴So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.”

³⁵After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat.

³⁶They all were encouraged and took food themselves.

³⁷In all there were 276 of us on the ship.

³⁸When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

³⁹When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could.

⁴⁰After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach.

⁴¹But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape.

⁴³But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.

⁴⁴The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.