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Professor Horner’s Reading Plan
Matthew 17; Genesis 8; 2 Corinthians 7; Revelation 22; Job 9; Psalms 45; Proverbs 9; 2 Chronicles 15; Hosea 12; Acts 27
Matthew 17
1Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
2And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.
3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.
4Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good and delightful and auspicious that we are here; if You wish, I will put up three [sacred] tents here—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, " This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!"
6When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
7But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid."
8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
9And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
10The disciples asked Him, "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
11He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things;
12but I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not recognize him, but did to him as they wished. The Son of Man is also going to suffer at their hands."
13Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
14When they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, kneeling before Him and saying,
15"Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic (moonstruck) and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him."
17And Jesus answered, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me."
18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed at once.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, "Why could we not drive it out?"
20He answered, "Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and [if it is God's will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21[But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting.]"
22When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies];
23and they will kill Him, and He will be raised [from death to life] on the third day." And they were deeply grieved and distressed.
24When they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel [temple tax] went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the half-shekel?"
25Peter answered, "Yes." And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"
26When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt [from taxation].
27However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them [to pay the temple tax] for you and Me."
Genesis 8
1And God remembered and thought kindly of Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters receded.
2Also the fountains of the deep [subterranean waters] and the windows of the heavens were closed, the [pouring] rain from the sky was restrained,
3and the waters receded steadily from the earth. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had diminished.
4On the seventeenth day of the seventh month [five months after the rain began], the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat [in Turkey].
5The waters continued to decrease until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen.
6At the end of [another] forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made;
7and he sent out a raven, which flew here and there until the waters were dried up from the earth.
8Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the water level had fallen below the surface of the land.
9But the dove found no place on which to rest the sole of her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were [still] on the face of the entire earth. So he reached out his hand and took the dove, and brought her into the ark.
10He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark.
11The dove came back to him in the evening, and there, in her beak, was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water level had subsided from the earth.
12Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.
13Now in the six hundred and first year [of Noah's life], on the first day of the first month, the waters were drying up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and the surface of the ground was drying.
14On the twenty-seventh day of the second month the land was [entirely] dry.
15And God spoke to Noah, saying,
16"Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives with you.
17Bring out with you every living thing from all flesh—birds and animals and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth—that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth."
18So Noah went out, and his wife and his sons and their wives with him [after being in the ark one year and ten days].
19Every animal, every crawling thing, every bird—and whatever moves on the land—went out by families (types, groupings) from the ark.
20And Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every [ceremonially] clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man's heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
22"While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."
2 Corinthians 7
1Therefore, since we have these [great and wonderful] promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness [living a consecrated life—a life set apart for God's purpose] in the fear of God.
2Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.
3I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are [nested] in our hearts [and you will remain there] to die together and to live together [with us].
4Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride and boasting on your behalf. I am filled [to the brim] with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in spite of all our trouble.
5For even when we arrived in Macedonia our bodies had no rest, but we were oppressed at every turn—conflicts and disputes without, fears and dread within.
6But God, who comforts and encourages the depressed and the disquieted, comforted us by the arrival of Titus.
7And not only by his arrival, but also by [his account of] the encouragement which he received in regard to you. He told us about your longing [for us], your mourning [over sin], and how eagerly you took my part and supported me, so that I rejoiced even more.
8For even though I did grieve you with my letter, I do not regret it [now]; though I did regret it —for I see that the letter hurt you, though only for a little while—
9yet I am glad now, not because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance [and you turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that you might not suffer loss in anything on our account.
10For [godly] sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow [the hopeless sorrow of those who do not believe] produces death.
11For [you can look back and] see what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin], what indignation [at sin], what fear [of offending God], what longing [for righteousness and justice], what passion [to do what is right], what readiness to punish [those who sin and those who tolerate sin]! At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
12So even though I wrote to you [as I did], it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but in order to make evident to you before God how earnestly you do care for us [and your willingness to accept our authority].
13It is for this reason that we are comforted and encouraged. And in addition to our comfort, we were especially delighted at the joy of Titus, because you have refreshed his spirit.
14For if I have boasted to him at all concerning you, I was not disappointed. But just as everything we ever said to you was true, so our boasting [about you] to Titus has proved true also.
15His affection is greater than ever as he remembers the obedience [to his guidance] that all of you exhibited, and how you received him with the greatest respect.
16I rejoice that in everything I have [perfect] confidence in you.
Revelation 22
1Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),
2in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion];
4they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
5And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.
6Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.
7"And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll)."
8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God."
10And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time [of their fulfillment] is near.
11Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy (vile, impure), still be filthy; and the one who is righteous (just, upright), still be righteous; and the one who is holy, still be holy."
12"Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness).
13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One]."
14Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
15Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).
16"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star."
17The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.
18I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book;
19and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.
20He who testifies and affirms these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.
Job 9
1Then Job answered and said,
2"Yes, I know it is true. But how can a mortal man be right before God?
3"If one should want to contend or dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4"God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?
5"It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it, When He overturns them in His anger;
6Who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble;
7Who commands the sun, and it does not shine; Who seals up the stars [from view];
8Who alone stretches out the heavens And tramples down the waves of the sea;
9Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
10Who does great things, [beyond understanding,] unfathomable, Yes, marvelous and wondrous things without number.
11"Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him; He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.
12"Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back? Who will say to Him, 'What are You doing?'
13"God will not turn back His anger; The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.
14"How can I answer Him [and plead my case], Choosing my words [to reason] with Him?
15For though I were righteous, I could not answer. I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.
16"If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17"For He bruises me with a tempest And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18"He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills and saturates me with bitterness.
19"If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty! And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him?
20"Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty; Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.
21"[Though] I am blameless, I do not care about myself; I despise my life.
22"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.'
23"When [His] scourge kills suddenly, He mocks at the despair of the innocent.
24"The earth is given into the hands of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice]. If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?
25"Now my days are swifter than a runner; They vanish, they see no good.
26"They pass by like the [swift] boats made of reeds, Like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
27"If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,'
28I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come]; I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.
29"I am accounted wicked and held guilty; Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?
30"If I were to wash myself with snow And cleanse my hands with lye,
31You would still plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].
32"For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him, That we may go to court and judgment together.
33"There is no arbitrator between us, Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].
34"Let Him take His rod away from me, And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.
35"Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.
Psalms 45
1To the Chief Musician; set to the [tune of] "Lilies." A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. A Song of Love. My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my psalm to the King. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
2You are fairer than the sons of men; Graciousness is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.
3Strap Your sword on Your thigh, O mighty One, In Your splendor and Your majesty!
4And in Your majesty ride on triumphantly For the cause of truth and humility and righteousness; Let Your right hand guide You to awesome things.
5Your arrows are sharp; The peoples (nations) fall under You; Your arrows pierce the hearts of the King's enemies.
6Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7You have loved righteousness (virtue, morality, justice) and hated wickedness; Therefore God, your God, has anointed You Above Your companions with the oil of jubilation.
8All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia; From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.
9Kings' daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear [to my instruction]: Forget your people and your father's house;
11Then the King will desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, bow down and honor Him.
12The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The rich among the people will seek your favor.
13Glorious is the King's daughter within [the palace]; Her robe is interwoven with gold.
14She will be brought to the King in embroidered garments; The virgins, her companions who follow her, Will be brought to You.
15With gladness and rejoicing will they be led; They will enter into the King's palace.
16In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make princes in all the land.
17I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will praise and give You thanks forever and ever.
Proverbs 9
1Wisdom has built her [spacious and sufficient] house; She has hewn out and set up her seven pillars.
2She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table.
3She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the highest places of the city:
4"Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks understanding, she says,
5"Come, eat my food And drink the wine I have mixed [and accept my gifts].
6"Leave [behind] your foolishness [and the foolish] and live, And walk in the way of insight and understanding."
7He who corrects and instructs a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man gets insults for himself.
8Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you; Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you.
9Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser; Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.
10The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight.
11For by me (wisdom from God) your days will be multiplied, And years of life shall be increased.
12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself [for your own benefit]; If you scoff [thoughtlessly ridicule and disdain], you alone will pay the penalty.
13The foolish woman is restless and noisy; She is naive and easily misled and thoughtless, and knows nothing at all [of eternal value].
14She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high and conspicuous places of the city,
15Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight:
16"Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!" And to him who lacks understanding (common sense), she says,
17"Stolen waters (pleasures) are sweet [because they are forbidden]; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
18But he does not know that the spirits of the dead are there, And that her guests are [already] in the depths of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
2 Chronicles 15
1Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,
2and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, as your soul's first necessity], He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will abandon (turn away from) you.
3Now for a long time Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest, and without [God's] law.
4But when they were in their trouble and distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and [in desperation earnestly] sought Him, and He let them find Him.
5In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, for great suffering came on all the inhabitants of the lands.
6Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.
7But as for you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work."
8And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the repulsive idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. Then he restored the altar [of burnt offering] of the LORD which was in front of the porch [of the temple] of the LORD.
9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and the strangers who were with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to Asa from Israel in large numbers when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.
11They sacrificed to the LORD on that day from the spoil they had brought—700 oxen and 7,000 sheep.
12They entered into a covenant (solemn agreement) to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;
13and that whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
14They swore an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with [jubilant] shouting, with trumpets, and with horns.
15All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him with their whole heart, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
16He also removed Maacah, King Asa's mother, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Brook Kidron.
17But the high places [of pagan worship] were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless all his days.
18He brought the things that his father [Abijah] had dedicated and those things that he had dedicated into the house of God—silver and gold and utensils.
19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.
Hosea 12
1Ephraim feeds on the [emptiness of the] wind And [continually] pursues the [parching] east wind [which brings destruction]; Every day he multiplies lies and violence. Further, he makes a covenant with Assyria And (olive) oil is carried to Egypt [to seek alliances].
2The LORD also has a dispute [a legal complaint and an indictment] with Judah, And He will punish Jacob in accordance with his ways; He will repay him in accordance with his deeds.
3In their mother's womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he contended with God.
4He wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept [in repentance] and sought His favor. He met Him at Bethel And there God spoke with [him and through him with] us—
5Even the LORD, the God of hosts, The name of Him [who spoke with Jacob] is the LORD.
6Therefore, return [in repentance] to your God, Observe and highly regard kindness and justice, And wait [expectantly] for your God continually.
7A merchant, in whose hand are false and fraudulent balances; He loves to oppress and exploit.
8Ephraim said, "I have indeed become rich [and powerful as a nation]; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors they will not find in me Any wickedness that would be sin."
9But I have been the LORD your God since [you became a nation in] the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed and solemn festival.
10I have also spoken to [you through] the prophets, And I gave [them] many visions [to make My will known], And through the prophets I gave parables [to appeal to your sense of right and wrong].
11Is there wickedness (idolatry) in Gilead? Surely the people there are worthless. In Gilgal [they defy Me when] they sacrifice bulls, Yes, [after My judgment] their [pagan] altars are like the stone heaps In the furrows of the fields.
12Now Jacob (Israel) fled into the open country of Aram (Paddan-aram), And [there] Israel (Jacob) worked and served for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.
13And by a prophet (Moses) the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, And by a prophet Israel was preserved.
14Ephraim has provoked most bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him [invoking punishment] And bring back to him his shame and dishonor.
Acts 27
1Now when it was determined that we (including Luke) would sail for Italy, they turned Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustan Regiment named Julius.
2And going aboard a ship from Adramyttian which was about to sail for the ports along the [west] coast [province] of Asia [Minor], we put out to sea; and Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, accompanied us.
3The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul with [thoughtful] consideration, allowed him to go to his friends there and be cared for and refreshed.
4From there we put out to sea and sailed to the leeward (sheltered) side of Cyprus [for protection from weather] because the winds were against us.
5When we had sailed across the sea along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia [on the south coast of Asia Minor].
6There the centurion [Julius] found an Alexandrian ship [a grain ship of the Roman fleet] sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.
7For a number of days we sailed slowly and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus; then, because the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the leeward (sheltered) side of Crete, off Salmone;
8and hugging the shore with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea [on the south side of Crete].
9Now much time had been lost, and navigation was dangerous, because even [the time for] the fast (Day of Atonement) was already over, so Paul began to strongly warn them,
10saying, "Men, I sense [after careful thought and observation] that this voyage will certainly be a disaster and with great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives."
11However, the centurion [Julius, ranking officer on board] was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship rather than by what Paul said.
12Because the harbor was not well situated for wintering, the majority [of the sailors] decided to put to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13So when the south wind blew softly, thinking that they had obtained their goal, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, hugging the coast.
14But soon afterward a violent wind, called Euraquilo [a northeaster, a tempestuous windstorm like a typhoon], came rushing down from the island;
15and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind [to gain stability], we gave up and [letting her drift] were driven along.
16We ran under the shelter of a small island [twenty-five miles south of Crete] called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship's skiff on the deck and secure it.
17After hoisting the skiff [on board], they used support lines [for frapping] to undergird and brace the ship's hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis [off the north coast of Africa], they let down the sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along [backwards with the bow into the wind].
18On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm [and taking on water], they began to jettison the cargo;
19and on the third day they threw the ship's tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands [to further reduce the weight].
20Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm kept raging about us, from then on all hope of our being saved was [growing worse and worse and] gradually abandoned.
21After they had gone a long time without food [because of seasickness and stress], Paul stood up before them and said, "Men, you should have followed my advice and should not have set sail from Crete, and brought on this damage and loss.
22But even now I urge you to keep up your courage and be in good spirits, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship.
23For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,
24and said, 'Stop being afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you [the lives of] all those who are sailing with you.'
25So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told;
26but we must run [the ship] aground on some island."
27The fourteenth night had come and we were drifting and being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land.
28So they took soundings [using a weighted line] and found [the depth to be] twenty fathoms (120 feet); and a little farther on they sounded again and found [the depth to be] fifteen fathoms (90 feet).
29Then fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern [to slow the ship] and kept wishing for daybreak to come.
30But as the sailors were trying to escape [secretly] from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow,
31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved."
32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away.
33While they waited for the day to dawn, Paul encouraged them all [and told them] to have some food, saying, "This is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly on watch and going without food, having eaten nothing.
34So I urge you to eat some food, for this is for your survival; for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish."
35Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, and he broke it and began to eat.
36Then all of them were encouraged and their spirits improved, and they also ate some food.
37All told there were two hundred and seventy-six of us aboard the ship.
38After they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the wheat [from Egypt] overboard into the sea.
39When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, and they decided to run the ship ashore there if they could.
40So they cut the cables and severed the anchors and left them in the sea while at the same time unlashing the ropes of the rudders; and after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed steadily for the beach.
41But striking a reef with waves breaking in on either side, they ran the ship aground. The prow (forward point) stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up under the [violent] force of the waves.
42The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would dive overboard and swim [to land] and escape;
43but the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from [carrying out] their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore;
44and [he commanded] the rest to follow, some on [floating] planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it was that all of them were brought safely to land.