Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

²So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

³But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁵“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

⁶But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

⁸Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.

⁹“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

¹⁰Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us today our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

¹⁴“For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.

¹⁵But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

¹⁶“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

¹⁸so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.

²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

²³But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

²⁶Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

²⁷Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?

²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread.

²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

³⁰If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you — you of little faith?

³¹So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’

³²For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

³⁴Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

¹Then Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel,

²saying, “I am now 120 years old; I can no longer act as your leader. The LORD has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

³The LORD your God is the one who will cross ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the LORD has said.

⁴The LORD will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.

⁵The LORD will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you.

⁶Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”

⁷Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land the LORD swore to give to their fathers. You will enable them to take possession of it.

⁸The LORD is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

⁹Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the LORD’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.

¹⁰Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Shelters,

¹¹when all Israel assembles in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.

¹²Gather the people — men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates — so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law.

¹³Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

¹⁴The LORD said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting,

¹⁵the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.

¹⁶The LORD said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me and break the covenant I have made with them.

¹⁷My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’

¹⁸I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.

¹⁹Therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it, so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites.

²⁰When I bring them into the land I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and breaking my covenant.

²¹And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do, even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.”

²²So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³The LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

²⁴When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this law,

²⁵he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the LORD’s covenant,

²⁶“Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you.

²⁷For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the LORD now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead!

²⁸Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.

²⁹For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the LORD’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”

³⁰Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire assembly of Israel:

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.

²You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols.

³Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵There are different ministries, but the same Lord.

⁶And there are different activities, but the same God produces each gift in each person.

⁷A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:

⁸to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit,

⁹to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

¹⁰to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues.

¹¹One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.

¹²For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body — so also is Christ.

¹³For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴Indeed, the body is not one part but many.

¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.

¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.

¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

¹⁸But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted.

¹⁹And if they were all the same part, where would the body be?

²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable.

²³And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect,

²⁴which our respectable parts do not need. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable,

²⁵so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.

²⁶So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.

²⁸And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, various kinds of tongues.

²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles?

³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in other tongues? Do all interpret?

³¹But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.

¹Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there.

²But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

³I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”

⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

⁵If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.

⁶They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.

⁷When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.

⁸Their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

⁹And some of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb.

¹⁰Those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

¹¹But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.

¹²Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.

¹³At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴The second woe has passed. Take note: The third woe is coming soon!

¹⁵The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.

¹⁶The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God,

¹⁷saying, We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.

¹⁸The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.

¹⁹Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.

¹Where has your love gone, most beautiful of women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.

²My love has gone down to his garden, to beds of spice, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies.

³I am my love’s and my love is mine; he feeds among the lilies.

⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awe-inspiring as an army with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me, for they captivate me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing.

⁷Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and young women without number.

⁹But my dove, my virtuous one, is unique; she is the favorite of her mother, perfect to the one who gave her birth. Women see her and declare her fortunate; queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

¹⁰Who is this who shines like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as an army with banners?

¹¹I came down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding and the pomegranates blooming.

¹²I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt like I was in a chariot with a nobleman.

¹³Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may look at you! How you gaze at the Shulammite, as you look at the dance of the two camps!

¹Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed. [1] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

²I will boast in the LORD; the humble will hear and be glad.

³Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together.

⁴I sought the LORD, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him from all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

⁹You who are his holy ones, fear the LORD, for those who fear him lack nothing.

¹⁰Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.

¹¹Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²Who is someone who desires life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is set against those who do what is evil, to remove all memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.

¹⁹One who is righteous has many adversities, but the LORD rescues him from them all.

²⁰He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

²²The LORD redeems the life of his servants, and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

¹One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands will be shattered instantly — beyond recovery.

²When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, people groan.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but one who consorts with prostitutes destroys his wealth.

⁴By justice a king brings stability to a land, but a person who demands “contributions” demolishes it.

⁵A person who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil person is caught by sin, but the righteous one sings and rejoices.

⁷The righteous person knows the rights of the poor, but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.

⁸Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger.

⁹If a wise person goes to court with a fool, there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.

¹⁰Bloodthirsty men hate an honest person, but the upright care about him.

¹¹A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise person holds it in check.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

¹³The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴A king who judges the poor with fairness — his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a youth left to himself is a disgrace to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, rebellion increases, but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your child, and it will bring you peace of mind and give you delight.

¹⁸Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.

¹⁹A servant cannot be disciplined by words; though he understands, he doesn’t respond.

²⁰Do you see someone who speaks too soon? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹A servant pampered from his youth will become arrogant later on.

²²An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered one increases rebellion.

²³A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.

²⁴To be a thief’s partner is to hate oneself; he hears the curse but will not testify.

²⁵The fear of mankind is a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is protected.

²⁶Many desire a ruler’s favor, but a person receives justice from the LORD.

²⁷An unjust person is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

¹He made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.

²Then he made the cast metal basin, 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference.

³The likeness of oxen was below it, completely encircling it, ten every half yard, completely surrounding the basin. The oxen were cast in two rows when the basin was cast.

⁴It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center.

⁵The basin was three inches thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or a lily blossom. It could hold eleven thousand gallons.

⁶He made ten basins for washing and he put five on the right and five on the left. The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them, but the basin was used by the priests for washing.

⁷He made the ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and put them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.

⁸He made ten tables and placed them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred gold bowls.

⁹He made the courtyard of the priests and the large court, and doors for the court. He overlaid the doors with bronze.

¹⁰He put the basin on the right side, toward the southeast.

¹¹Then Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that he was doing for King Solomon in God’s temple:

¹²two pillars; the bowls and the capitals on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;

¹³the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars ).

¹⁴He also made the water carts and the basins on the water carts.

¹⁵The one basin and the twelve oxen underneath it,

¹⁶the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils — Huram-abi made them for King Solomon for the LORD’s temple. All these were made of polished bronze.

¹⁷The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah.

¹⁸Solomon made all these utensils in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

¹⁹Solomon also made all the equipment in God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the Bread of the Presence;

²⁰the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn in front of the inner sanctuary according to specifications;

²¹the flowers, lamps, and gold tongs — of purest gold;

²²the wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles, and firepans — of purest gold; and the entryway to the temple, its inner doors to the most holy place, and the doors of the temple sanctuary — of gold.

¹The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.

²When the LORD first spoke to Hosea, he said this to him: Go and marry a woman of promiscuity, and have children of promiscuity, for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the LORD.

³So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴Then the LORD said to him: Name him Jezreel, for in a little while I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu and put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

⁵On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.

⁶She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to him: Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel. I will certainly take them away.

⁷But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the LORD their God. I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses and cavalry.

⁸After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son.

⁹Then the LORD said: Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.

¹⁰Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And in the place where they were told: You are not my people, they will be called: Sons of the living God.

¹¹And the Judeans and the Israelites will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves a single ruler and go up from the land. For the day of Jezreel will be great.

¹Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek.

²The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him.

³Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

⁶They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

⁷When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

⁸Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas.

⁹During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!”

¹⁰After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis,

¹²and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days.

¹³On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.

¹⁴A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.

¹⁵After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

¹⁶Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.

¹⁷As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.”

¹⁸She did this for many days. Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.

¹⁹When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

²⁰Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews

²¹and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

²³After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully.

²⁴Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.”

³²And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house.

³³He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized.

³⁴He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.

³⁵When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”

³⁶The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

³⁹So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town.

⁴⁰After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.