Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called the disciples and said to them,

²“I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat.

³If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. “Seven,” they said.

⁶He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd.

⁷They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well.

⁸They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces.

⁹About four thousand were there. He dismissed them.

¹⁰And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him.

¹²Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

¹³Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat.

¹⁵Then he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

¹⁶They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread.

¹⁷Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?

¹⁸Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember?

¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?” “Twelve,” they told him.

²⁰“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they said.

²¹And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”

²²They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.

²³He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people — they look like trees walking.”

²⁵Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.

²⁶Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

²⁷Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

²⁸They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.

³¹Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days.

³²He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

³⁴Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it.

³⁶For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?

³⁷What can anyone give in exchange for his life?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

¹When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he answered, “Here I am.”

²He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death.

³So now take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.

⁴Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”

⁵Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in,

⁶Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said,

⁷‘Bring me game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the LORD’s presence before I die.’

⁸Now, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you.

⁹Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father — the kind he loves.

¹⁰Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”

¹¹Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.

¹²Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.”

¹³His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

¹⁴So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved.

¹⁵Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them.

¹⁶She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.

¹⁷Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

¹⁸When he came to his father, he said, “My father.” And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”

²⁰But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” He replied, “Because the LORD your God made it happen for me.”

²¹Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”

²²So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

²³He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

²⁴Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”

²⁵Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.”

²⁷So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said: Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.

²⁸May God give to you — from the dew of the sky and from the richness of the land  — an abundance of grain and new wine.

²⁹May peoples serve you and nations bow in worship to you. Be master over your relatives; may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.

³⁰As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting.

³¹He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

³²But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

³³Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!”

³⁴When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”

³⁵But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.

³⁹His father Isaac answered him, Look, your dwelling place will be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above.

⁴⁰You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will break his yoke from your neck.

⁴¹Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴²When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.

⁴³So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran,

⁴⁴and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides —

⁴⁵until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”

⁴⁶So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hethite girls. If Jacob marries someone from around here, like these Hethite girls, what good is my life?”

¹Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,

⁴always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,

⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

⁶I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

⁸For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment,

¹⁰so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,

¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,

¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.

¹⁴Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.

¹⁵To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will.

¹⁶These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.

¹⁸What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice

¹⁹because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

²⁰My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

²²Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose.

²³I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ  — which is far better  —

²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

²⁵Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁶so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.

²⁷Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel,

²⁸not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation  — and this is from God.

²⁹For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

³⁰since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

³In his own time he has revealed his word in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior:

⁴To Titus, my true son in our common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town.

⁶An elder must be blameless: the husband of one wife, with faithful children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.

⁷As an overseer of God’s household, he must be blameless: not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not an excessive drinker, not a bully, not greedy for money,

⁸but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled,

⁹holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

¹⁰For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party.

¹¹It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.

¹²One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

¹³This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith

¹⁴and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth.

¹⁵To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled.

¹⁶They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

¹Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

²Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore.

³A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness.

⁴He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth.

⁵Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

⁶Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold.

⁷No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.

⁸Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it.

⁹The miner uses a flint tool and turns up ore from the root of the mountains.

¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.

¹¹He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden.

¹²But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located?

¹³No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”

¹⁵Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.

¹⁶Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

¹⁷Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.

¹⁸Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

¹⁹Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.

²⁰Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky.

²²Abaddon and Death say, “We have heard news of it with our ears.”

²³But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location.

²⁴For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure,

²⁶when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning,

²⁷he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it.

²⁸He said to mankind, “The fear of the LORD—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.”

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] God, hear my voice when I am in anguish. Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.

²Hide me from the scheming of wicked people, from the mob of evildoers,

³who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows,

⁴shooting from concealed places at the blameless. They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.

⁵They adopt an evil plan; they talk about hiding traps and say, “Who will see them?”

⁶They devise crimes and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” The inner man and the heart are mysterious.

⁷But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly, they will be wounded.

⁸They will be made to stumble; their own tongues work against them. All who see them will shake their heads.

⁹Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work, for they will understand what he has done.

¹⁰The righteous one rejoices in the LORD and takes refuge in him; all those who are upright in heart will offer praise.

¹The wicked flee when no one is pursuing them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²When a land is in rebellion, it has many rulers, but with a discerning and knowledgeable person, it endures.

³A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

⁴Those who reject the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law pit themselves against them.

⁵The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand everything.

⁶Better the poor person who lives with integrity than the rich one who distorts right and wrong.

⁷A discerning son keeps the law, but a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.

⁸Whoever increases his wealth through excessive interest collects it for one who is kind to the poor.

⁹Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law — even his prayer is detestable.

¹⁰The one who leads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.

¹¹A rich person is wise in his own eyes, but a poor one who has discernment sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great rejoicing, but when the wicked come to power, people hide.

¹³The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the one who is always reverent, but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

¹⁵A wicked ruler over a helpless people is like a roaring lion or a charging bear.

¹⁶A leader who lacks understanding is very oppressive, but one who hates dishonest profit prolongs his life.

¹⁷Someone burdened by bloodguilt will be a fugitive until death. Let no one help him.

¹⁸The one who lives with integrity will be helped, but one who distorts right and wrong will suddenly fall.

¹⁹The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

²⁰A faithful person will have many blessings, but one in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished.

²¹It is not good to show partiality  — yet even a courageous person may sin for a piece of bread.

²²A greedy one is in a hurry for wealth; he doesn’t know that poverty will come to him.

²³One who rebukes a person will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.

²⁴The one who robs his father or mother and says, “That’s no sin,” is a companion to a person who destroys.

²⁵A greedy person stirs up conflict, but whoever trusts in the LORD will prosper.

²⁶The one who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

²⁷The one who gives to the poor will not be in need, but one who turns his eyes away will receive many curses.

²⁸When the wicked come to power, people hide, but when they are destroyed, the righteous flourish.

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

²He did what was right in the LORD’s sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.

³In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.

⁴Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he chopped down the shrines that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

⁵He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.

⁷He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the shrines throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.

⁸In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the LORD his God.

⁹So they went to the high priest Hilkiah and gave him the silver brought into God’s temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected it from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰They gave it to those doing the work — those who oversaw the LORD’s temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in the LORD’s temple, to repair and restore the temple;

¹¹they gave it to the carpenters and builders and also used it to buy quarried stone and timbers — for joining and making beams — for the buildings that Judah’s kings had destroyed.

¹²The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.

¹³They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴When they brought out the silver that had been deposited in the LORD’s temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law of the LORD written by the hand of Moses.

¹⁵Consequently, Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the LORD’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, “Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands.

¹⁷They have emptied out the silver that was found in the LORD’s temple and have given it to the overseers and to those doing the work.”

¹⁸Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah gave me a book,” and Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

²⁰Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah,

²¹“Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the LORD’s wrath that is poured out on us because our ancestors have not kept the word of the LORD in order to do everything written in this book.”

²²So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this.

²³She said to them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me,

²⁴‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah,

²⁵because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to anger me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’

²⁶Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD: ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,

²⁷because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’ — this is the LORD’s declaration.

²⁸‘I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.’” Then they reported to the king.

²⁹So the king sent messengers and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰The king went up to the LORD’s temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites — all the people from the oldest to the youngest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD’s temple.

³¹Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the LORD’s presence to follow the LORD and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

³²He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

¹Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.

²He prayed to the LORD: “Please, LORD, isn’t this what I thought while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster.

³And now, LORD, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

⁴The LORD asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

⁵Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city.

⁶Then the LORD God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.

⁷When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.

⁸As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so much that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”

⁹Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “Yes, it’s right!” he replied. “I’m angry enough to die!”

¹⁰So the LORD said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night.

¹¹But may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”

¹After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth,

²where he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them,

³and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked.

⁴He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

⁶When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

⁹The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent.

¹⁰For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”

¹¹He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal.

¹³“This man,” they said, “is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

¹⁴As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews.

¹⁵But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”

¹⁶So he drove them from the tribunal.

¹⁷And they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.

¹⁸After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

¹⁹When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined,

²¹but he said farewell and added, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²²On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch.

²³After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.

²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism.

²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

²⁷When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

²⁸For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.