Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him.

²And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

³Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

⁴Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except inhis hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.”

⁵And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

⁶And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages, teaching.

⁷And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;

⁸and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt—

⁹but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not wear twotunics.”

¹⁰And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until youleave town.

¹¹Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dustoff the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹²And they went out and preached that people are to repent.

¹³And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

¹⁴And King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”

¹⁵But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”

¹⁶But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹And Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so;

²⁰for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he used to enjoy listening to him.

²¹An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people of Galilee;

²²and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.”

²³And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

²⁵Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her.

²⁷Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison,

²⁸and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹When his disciples heard about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.

³¹And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

³²And they went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

³³The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.

³⁴When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

³⁵And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “This place is secluded and it is already late;

³⁶send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸But He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.”

³⁹And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties.

⁴¹And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all.

⁴²And they all ate and were satisfied;

⁴³and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish.

⁴⁴There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

⁴⁵And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He Himself *dismissed the crowd.

⁴⁶And after saying goodbye to them, He left for the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land.

⁴⁸Seeing them straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the fourth watch of the night, He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them.

⁴⁹But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out;

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”

⁵¹Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished,

⁵²for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore.

⁵⁴And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him,

⁵⁵and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to wherever they heard He was.

⁵⁶And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being healed.

¹Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

²She bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

³Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

⁴The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were the sons of Keturah.

⁵Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac;

⁶but to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

⁷These are all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, 175 years.

⁸Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.

⁹Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre,

¹⁰the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.

¹¹It came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac lived by Beer-lahai-roi.

¹²Now these are the records of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave woman, bore to Abraham;

¹³and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

¹⁵Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; twelve princes according to their tribes.

¹⁷These are the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

¹⁸They settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt going toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives.

¹⁹Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac;

²⁰and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

²¹Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children; and the LORD answered him, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

²²But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why am I in this condition?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

²³And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people will be stronger than the other; And the older will serve the younger.”

²⁴When her days leading to the delivery were at an end, behold, there were twins in her womb.

²⁵Now the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.

²⁶Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

²⁷When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a civilized man, living in tents.

²⁸Now Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹When Jacob had cooked a stew one day, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted;

³⁰and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a mouthful of that red stuff there, for I am exhausted.” Therefore he was called Edom by name.

³¹But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”

³²Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?”

³³And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore an oath to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. So Esau despised his birthright.

¹Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

²and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

³But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;

⁴and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

⁵For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

⁶See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not become partners with them;

⁸for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

¹⁰as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

¹¹Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

¹⁴For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,

¹⁶making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord;

²⁰always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father;

²¹and subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.

²²Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

²⁷that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

²⁸So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

³⁰because we are parts of His body.

³¹FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.

³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

⁶For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith.

⁹But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres.

¹⁰Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

¹²Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

¹³But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;

¹⁷so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.

¹Then Job responded,

²“What a help you are to the weak! You have saved the arm without strength!

³What advice you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!

⁴To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you?

⁵“The departed spirits are made to tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.

⁶Sheol is naked before Him, And Abaddon has no covering.

⁷He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing.

⁸He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them.

⁹He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it.

¹⁰He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.

¹¹The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.

¹²With His power He quieted the sea, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

¹³By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

¹⁴Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

¹My soul waits in silence for God alone; From Him comes my salvation.

²He alone is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.

³How long will you attack a man, That you may murder him, all of you, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

⁴They have planned only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵My soul, wait in silence for God alone, For my hope is from Him.

⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation, My refuge; I will not be shaken.

⁷My salvation and my glory rest on God; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

⁸Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹People of low standing are only breath, and people of rank are a lie; In the balances they go up. Together they are lighter than breath.

¹⁰Do not trust in oppression, And do not vainly rely on robbery; If wealth increases, do not set your heart on it.

¹¹God has spoken once; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God;

¹²And faithfulness is Yours, Lord, For You reward a person according to his work.

¹Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his foolishness, Or you will also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool as his foolishness deserves, So that he will not be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷Like useless legs to one who cannot walk, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

⁸Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is one who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that sticks in the hand of a heavy drinker, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to its vomit, So is a fool who repeats his foolishness.

¹²Do you see a person wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³A lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road! A lion is in the public square!”

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, So does a lazy one on his bed.

¹⁵A lazy one buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.

¹⁶A lazy one is wiser in his own eyes Than seven people who can give a discreet answer.

¹⁷Like one who takes a dog by the ears, So is one who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.

¹⁸Like a maniac who shoots Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,

¹⁹So is a person who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no gossiper, quarreling quiets down.

²¹Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious person to kindle strife.

²²The words of a gossiper are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

²³Like an earthenware vessel overlaid with silver impurities Are burning lips and a wicked heart.

²⁴One who hates disguises it with his lips, But he harbors deceit in his heart.

²⁵When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, Because there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred covers itself with deception, His wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷One who digs a pit will fall into it, And one who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and intended to break into them for himself.

²Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,

³he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him.

⁴So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

⁵And he resolutely set to work and rebuilt all of the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great numbers.

⁶He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the public square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying,

⁷“Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the One with us is greater than the one with him.

⁸With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁹After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,

¹⁰“This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: ‘On what are you trusting that you are staying in Jerusalem under siege?

¹¹Is Hezekiah not misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria”?

¹²Is it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn incense”?

¹³Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand?

¹⁴Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand?

¹⁵Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’ ”

¹⁶His servants spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷He also wrote letters to insult the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.”

¹⁸They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city.

¹⁹They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they did against the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

²⁰But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and called out to heaven for help.

²¹And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword.

²²So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

²³And many were bringing gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter he rose in the sight of all nations.

²⁴In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the LORD, and the LORD spoke to him and gave him a sign.

²⁵But Hezekiah did nothing in return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles,

²⁸also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds for the flocks.

²⁹He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, because God had given him very great wealth.

³⁰It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did.

³¹Even in the matter of the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only to test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.

³²Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

³³So Hezekiah lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

¹Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish,

²and he said, “I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I called for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.

³For You threw me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current flowed around me. All Your breakers and waves passed over me.

⁴So I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’

⁵Water encompassed me to the point of death. The deep flowed around me, Seaweed was wrapped around my head.

⁶I descended to the base of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, LORD my God.

⁷While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple.

⁸Those who are followers of worthless idols Abandon their faithfulness,

⁹But I will sacrifice to You With a voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD.”

¹⁰Then the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

¹Now Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

²and he was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters who were in Lystra and Iconium.

³Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

⁶They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;

⁷and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

⁸and passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹So after setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis;

¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city.

¹³And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

¹⁴A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

¹⁵Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

¹⁶It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling.

¹⁷She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.”

¹⁸Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was suddenly gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities,

²⁰and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble,

²¹and they are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are Romans.”

²²The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

²³When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

²⁴and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”

²⁹And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas;

³⁰and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

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

³²And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house.

³³And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

³⁴And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.

³⁵Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.”

³⁶And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come in person and lead us out.”

³⁸The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans,

³⁹and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them to leave the city.

⁴⁰They left the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers and sisters, they encouraged them and departed.