Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples,

²and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

³And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately hewill send it back here.”

⁴They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it.

⁵And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

⁶And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission.

⁷They *brought the colt to Jesus and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it.

⁸And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.

⁹And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;

¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”

¹¹And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

¹²On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.

¹³Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

¹⁵Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves;

¹⁶and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds.

¹⁷And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a DEN OF ROBBERS.”

¹⁸And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching.

¹⁹And whenever evening came, they would leave the city.

²⁰As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.

²¹And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.”

²²And Jesus answered and *said to them, “Have faith in God.

²³Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him.

²⁴Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.

²⁵And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for youroffenses.

²⁶[But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive youroffenses.”]

²⁷And they *came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders *came to Him,

²⁸and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”

²⁹But Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.”

³¹And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

³²But should we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet.

³³Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

¹Now when Rachel saw that she had not borne Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I am going to die.”

²Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

³Then she said, “Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may give birth on my knees, so that by her I too may obtain a child.”

⁴So she gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her.

⁵Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

⁶Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.

⁷And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

⁸So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestling I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

¹⁰And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

¹¹Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

¹²And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

¹³Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

¹⁴Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

¹⁸Then Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

¹⁹And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

²⁰Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband will acknowledge me as his wife, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

²¹Afterward she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

²²Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

²³So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”

²⁴And she named him Joseph, saying, “May the LORD give me another son.”

²⁵Now it came about, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own place and to my own country.

²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you.”

²⁷But Laban said to him, “If it pleases you at all, stay with me; I have determined by divination that the LORD has blessed me on your account.”

²⁸He continued, “Name me your wages, and I will give them.”

²⁹But Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have fared with me.

³⁰For you had little before I came, and it has increased to a multitude, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”

³¹So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:

³²let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled or spotted sheep and every black sheep among the lambs, and the spotted or speckled among the goats; and those shall be my wages.

³³So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled or spotted among the goats, or black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.”

³⁴Laban said, “Good, let it be according to your word.”

³⁵So he removed on that day the striped or spotted male goats, and all the speckled or spotted female goats, every one with white on it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and put them in the care of his sons.

³⁶And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white that was in the rods.

³⁸He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is, in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.

³⁹So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks delivered striped, speckled, and spotted offspring.

⁴⁰Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock.

⁴¹Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the drinking troughs, so that they would mate by the rods;

⁴²but when the flock was sickly, he did not put them in; so the sickly were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s.

⁴³So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

¹Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.

³Indeed, true companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

⁹As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act.

¹¹Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

¹²I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

¹³I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty.

¹⁵You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone;

¹⁶for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

¹⁷Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account.

¹⁸But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

¹⁹And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

²⁰Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.

²²All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,

²and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,

⁵because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints;

⁶and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for the sake of Christ.

⁷For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper,

⁹yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

¹⁰I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I fathered in my imprisonment,

¹¹who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.

¹²I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart,

¹³whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my imprisonment for the gospel;

¹⁴but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will.

¹⁵For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever,

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;

¹⁹I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).

²⁰Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

²²At the same time also prepare me a guest room, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I look at a virgin?

²And what is the portion of God from above, Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

³Is it not disaster to the criminal, And misfortune to those who practice injustice?

⁴Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?

⁵“If I have walked with deception, And my foot has hurried after deceit,

⁶Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.

⁷If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

⁸Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,

¹⁰May my wife grind grain for another, And let others kneel down over her.

¹¹For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be wrongdoing punishable by judges.

¹²For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.

¹³“If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,

¹⁴What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?

¹⁵Did He who made me in the womb not make him, And the same one create us in the womb?

¹⁶“If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it

¹⁸(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from my infancy I guided her),

¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,

²⁰If his waist has not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

²¹If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate,

²²May my shoulder fall from its socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

²³For disaster from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

²⁴“If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,

²⁵If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had obtained so much;

²⁶If I have looked at the sun when it shone, Or the moon going in splendor,

²⁷And my heart was secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

²⁸That too would have been a guilty deed calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.

²⁹“Have I rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy, Or become excited when evil found him?

³⁰No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.

³¹Have the people of my tent not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

³²The stranger has not spent the night outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler.

³³Have I covered my wrongdoings like a man, By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,

³⁴Because I feared the great multitude And the contempt of families terrified me, And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?

³⁵Oh that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written,

³⁶I would certainly carry it on my shoulder, I would tie it to myself like a garland.

³⁷I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince, I would approach Him.

³⁸“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

³⁹If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

⁴⁰May the thorn-bush grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

¹God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah

²That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.

³May the peoples praise You, God; May all the peoples praise You.

⁴May the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with fairness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah

⁵May the peoples praise You, God; May all the peoples praise You.

⁶The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us.

⁷God blesses us, So that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

¹The words of King Lemuel, the pronouncement which his mother taught him:

²What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?

³Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire intoxicating drink,

⁵Otherwise they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the needy.

⁶Give intoxicating drink to one who is perishing, And wine to one whose life is bitter.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his trouble no more.

⁸Open your mouth for the people who cannot speak, For the rights of all the unfortunate.

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the poor and needy.

¹⁰An excellent wife, who can find her? For her worth is far above jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

¹³She looks for wool and linen, And works with her hands in delight.

¹⁴She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.

¹⁵And she rises while it is still night And gives food to her household, And portions to her attendants.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She surrounds her waist with strength And makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She senses that her profit is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.

²⁰She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

²²She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.

²⁶She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She watches over the activities of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

²⁹“Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.

¹Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

³Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

⁴And every survivor, at whatever place he may live, the people of that place are to support him with silver and gold, with equipment and cattle, together with a voluntary offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’ ”

⁵Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites rose up, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

⁶And all of those around them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with equipment, cattle, and with valuables, aside from everything that was given as a voluntary offering.

⁷Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods;

⁸and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah.

⁹Now this was their number: thirty gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty nine duplicates;

¹⁰thirty gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles.

¹¹All the articles of gold and silver totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

¹And I said, “Hear now, you leaders of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?

²You who hate good and love evil, Who tear off their skin from them And their flesh from their bones,

³Who eat the flesh of my people, Strip off their skin from them, Smash their bones, And chop them up as for the pot, And as meat in a cauldron!”

⁴Then they will cry out to the LORD, But He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time Because they have practiced evil deeds.

⁵This is what the LORD says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray: When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry out, “Peace!” But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.

⁶Therefore it will be night for you—without vision, And darkness for you—without divination. The sun will go down on the prophets, And the day will become dark over them.

⁷The seers will be put to shame, And the diviners will be ashamed. Indeed, they will all cover their lips Because there is no answer from God.

⁸On the other hand, I am filled with power— With the Spirit of the LORD— And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, And to Israel his sin.

⁹Now hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who despise justice And twist everything that is straight,

¹⁰Who build Zion with bloodshed, And Jerusalem with malice.

¹¹Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD not in our midst? Catastrophe will not come upon us.”

¹²Therefore on account of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.

¹Now when we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos, and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara;

²and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for the ship was to unload its cargo there.

⁴After looking up the disciples, we stayed there for seven days; and they kept telling Paul, through the Spirit, not to set foot in Jerusalem.

⁵When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

⁶Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting the brothers and sisters, we stayed with them for a day.

⁸On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.

¹⁰As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹And he came to us and took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, we became quiet, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

¹⁵After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to stay.

¹⁷After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us gladly.

¹⁸And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard about them, they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

²¹and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³Therefore, do as we tell you: we have four men who have a vow upon themselves;

²⁴take them along and purify yourself together with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also conform, keeping the Law.

²⁵But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we sent a letter, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took along the men, and the next day, after purifying himself together with them, he went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

²⁷When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who instructs everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place!”

²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple.

³⁰Then the whole city was provoked and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹While they were intent on killing him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

³²He immediately took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

³⁴But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks.

³⁵When Paul got to the stairs, it came about that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

³⁶for the multitude of people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!”

³⁷As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he *said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?

³⁸Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying,