Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

²And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.

⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

⁵Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.

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

⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

⁸But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

⁹He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

¹⁰And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

¹²For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

¹⁴And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;

¹⁵For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;

¹⁷for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

¹⁸“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

²⁰But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

²²Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

²³But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

²⁴Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

²⁵but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

²⁶But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

²⁷So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

²⁹But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

³¹Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,

³²which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

³³Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,

³⁵that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

³⁸The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

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

⁴⁰Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

⁴²and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

⁴⁴“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,

⁴⁶who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,

⁴⁸which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.

⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,

⁵⁰and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

⁵¹Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

⁵²Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

⁵³Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.

⁵⁴When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

⁵⁵Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”

⁵⁷So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”

⁵⁸Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

¹Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”

²Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

³And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.

⁴Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,

⁵but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

⁶So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

⁷If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

⁸Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

⁹Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

¹¹So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

¹²When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

¹³And Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!

¹⁴Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

¹⁵And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

¹⁶Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

¹⁷And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Ē´noch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Ē´noch.

¹⁸To Ē´noch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

¹⁹Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.

²⁰And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

²¹His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute.

²²And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

²³Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me.

²⁴If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

²⁵And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

²⁶And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Ē´nosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.

¹Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you?

²You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

³clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

⁴And we have such trust through Christ toward God.

⁵Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

⁶who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,

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

⁹For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

¹⁰For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels.

¹¹For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

¹²Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—

¹³unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.

¹⁴But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.

¹⁵But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

¹⁶Nevertheless when one 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 liberty.

¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

¹After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

²And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

³For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”

⁴And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

⁵For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

⁶Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.

⁷In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’

⁸Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

⁹“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,

¹⁰standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:

¹²merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;

¹³and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.

¹⁴The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.

¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

¹⁶and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!

¹⁷For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance

¹⁸and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

¹⁹“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’

²⁰“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”

²¹Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.

²²The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.

²³The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

²⁴And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

¹“Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.

³I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

⁴His sons are far from safety, They are crushed in the gate, And there is no deliverer.

⁵Because the hungry eat up his harvest, Taking it even from the thorns, And a snare snatches their substance.

⁶For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

⁷Yet man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause—

⁹Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number.

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields.

¹¹He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.

¹³He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope at noontime as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves the needy from the sword, From the mouth of the mighty, And from their hand.

¹⁶So the poor have hope, And injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.

¹⁹He shall deliver you in six troubles, Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

²⁰In famine He shall redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.

²¹You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

²²You shall laugh at destruction and famine, And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

²³For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

²⁴You shall know that your tent is in peace; You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.

²⁵You shall also know that your descendants shall be many, And your offspring like the grass of the earth.

²⁶You shall come to the grave at a full age, As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

²⁷Behold, this we have searched out; It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [1] Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

²The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.

⁴I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt.

⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

⁹Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.

¹³Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding,

²That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.

³For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell.

⁶Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them.

⁷Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

⁹Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction!

¹³I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

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

¹⁶Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?

¹⁷Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth.

¹⁹As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths.

²²His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

²³He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

¹Now when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

²But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

³“Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

⁴‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the words of the LORD, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.

⁵So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.

⁶And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

⁷Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam,

⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities.

¹¹And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.

¹²Also in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

¹³And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him.

¹⁴For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD.

¹⁵Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made.

¹⁶And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers.

¹⁷So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

¹⁸Then Rehoboam took for himself as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliah the son of Jesse.

¹⁹And she bore him children: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham.

²⁰After her he took Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

²¹Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²²And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maachah as chief, to be leader among his brothers; for he intended to make him king.

²³He dealt wisely, and dispersed some of his sons throughout all the territories of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them.

¹“Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law.

²Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’

³Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.

⁴“They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves— That they might be cut off.

⁵Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them— How long until they attain to innocence?

⁶For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

⁷“They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal. If it should produce, Aliens would swallow it up.

⁸Israel is swallowed up; Now they are among the Gentiles Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey alone by itself; Ephraim has hired lovers.

¹⁰Yes, though they have hired among the nations, Now I will gather them; And they shall sorrow a little, Because of the burden of the king of princes.

¹¹“Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin, They have become for him altars for sinning.

¹²I have written for him the great things of My law, But they were considered a strange thing.

¹³For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, But the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt.

¹⁴“For Israel has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces.”

¹Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

²And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

⁴And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

⁵Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

⁷And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.

⁸For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

⁹Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

¹⁰Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

¹²And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

¹³Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.

¹⁴They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

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

¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”

¹⁹Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

²⁰And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him.

²¹But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”

²²So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

²³And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night;

²⁴and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

²⁵He wrote a letter in the following manner:

²⁶Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.

²⁸And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council.

²⁹I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains.

³⁰And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell.

³¹Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

³²The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks.

³³When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

³⁴And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.