Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.

²Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

³Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.

⁴As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.

⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

⁸Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

⁹Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

¹⁰The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

¹²Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

¹³This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

¹⁴In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

¹⁵For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

¹⁸“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

¹⁹When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

²⁰The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

²¹But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

²²The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

²³But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

²⁴Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

³¹He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.

³²Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

³³He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.

³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,

³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

⁴²They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

⁴⁶When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.

⁴⁸When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

⁴⁹This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous

⁵⁰and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. “Yes,” they replied.

⁵²He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.

⁵⁴Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.

⁵⁵“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?

⁵⁶Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

⁵⁷And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

⁵⁸And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

¹Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”

²Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

³In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

⁴And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

⁵but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.

¹¹Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

¹²When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear.

¹⁴Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

¹⁵But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

¹⁶So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

¹⁷Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.

¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

¹⁹Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock.

²¹His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes.

²²Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

²³Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.

²⁴If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

²⁵Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

²⁶Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.

¹Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

²You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.

³You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

⁴Such confidence we have through Christ before God.

⁵Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

⁶He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was,

⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

⁹If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

¹⁰For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.

¹¹And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

¹²Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

¹³We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.

¹⁴But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.

¹⁵Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.

¹⁶But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

¹⁸And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

¹After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.

²With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.

³For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

⁵for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

⁶Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

⁷Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’

⁸Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

⁹“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.

¹⁰Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

¹¹“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—

¹²cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;

¹³cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.

¹⁴“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’

¹⁵The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn

¹⁶and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

¹⁷In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.

¹⁸When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’

¹⁹They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’

²⁰“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”

²¹Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

²²The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.

²³The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.

²⁴In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

¹“Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

²Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

³I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

⁴His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

⁵The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

⁶For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.

⁷Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸“But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.

⁹He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

¹⁰He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.

¹¹The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.

¹³He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.

¹⁴Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.

¹⁵He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.

¹⁶So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷“Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.

¹⁹From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you.

²⁰In famine he will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

²¹You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.

²²You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the wild animals.

²³For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.

²⁵You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

²⁶You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season.

²⁷“We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

¹For the director of music. A psalm of David. Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.

²The LORD protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.

³The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.

⁴I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

⁵My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die and his name perish?”

⁶When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around.

⁷All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,

⁸“A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”

⁹Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.

¹⁰But may you have mercy on me, LORD; raise me up, that I may repay them.

¹¹I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

¹³Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight,

²that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.

⁸Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,

⁹lest you lose your honor to others and your dignity to one who is cruel,

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich the house of another.

¹¹At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.

¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!

¹³I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.

¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.

¹⁸May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife? Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast.

²³For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly.

¹When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.

²But this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God:

³“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

⁴‘This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’ ” So they obeyed the words of the LORD and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.

⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah:

⁶Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

⁷Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam,

⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

¹¹He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine.

¹²He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him.

¹⁴The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD

¹⁵when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made.

¹⁶Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

¹⁷They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

¹⁸Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.

¹⁹She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham.

²⁰Then he married Maakah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith.

²¹Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²²Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king.

²³He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them.

¹“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.

²Israel cries out to me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’

³But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.

⁴They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.

⁵Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?

⁶They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.

⁷“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.

⁸Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.

¹⁰Although they have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.

¹¹“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.

¹²I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something foreign.

¹³Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.

¹⁴Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”

¹Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”

²At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”

⁴Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

⁶Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”

⁷When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

⁹There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

¹²The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³More than forty men were involved in this plot.

¹⁴They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

¹⁶But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”

¹⁸So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.

²¹Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

²²The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

²³Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.

²⁴Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

²⁵He wrote a letter as follows:

²⁶Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.

²⁸I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.

²⁹I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.

³⁰When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

³¹So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.

³²The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.

³³When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

³⁴The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.