Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

²And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

³Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,

⁴“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

⁵And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

⁶For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.

⁷But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

⁹“But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.

¹⁰And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

¹¹But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

¹³And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

¹⁴“So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁵Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.

¹⁶And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

¹⁷But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

¹⁸And pray that your flight may not be in winter.

¹⁹For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.

²⁰And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

²¹“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.

²²For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

²³But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;

²⁵the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

²⁸“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!

³⁰Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

³²“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³³Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

³⁴It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.

³⁵Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—

³⁶lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

³⁷And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

¹So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

²When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

⁴And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.

⁵I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.

⁸And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

⁹Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:

¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.

¹¹Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

¹²For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:

¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

¹⁵thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

¹⁶Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

¹⁷And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’

¹⁸then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ”

¹⁹So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

²⁰and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

²¹So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

²²And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.

²³He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

²⁴Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

²⁵Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

²⁶And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

²⁷So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”

²⁸And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

²⁹Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

³⁰So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

³¹Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

³²Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

¹For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh,

²that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.

⁵For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

⁶As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

⁷rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

⁸Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

⁹For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

¹⁰and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

¹¹In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

¹²buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

¹³And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

¹⁴having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

¹⁵Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

¹⁶So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,

¹⁷which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

¹⁸Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

²⁰Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—

²¹“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”

²²which all concern things which perish with the using— according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

²³These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

¹My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

²For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,

³and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”

⁴have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

⁶But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

⁷Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;

⁹but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

¹⁰For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

¹¹For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

¹²So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

¹³For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁴What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

¹⁷Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

²⁰But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

²²Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

²³And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

²⁴You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

²⁵Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

²⁶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

¹“But please, Job, hear my speech, And listen to all my words.

²Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth.

³My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵If you can answer me, Set your words in order before me; Take your stand.

⁶Truly I am as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay.

⁷Surely no fear of me will terrify you, Nor will my hand be heavy on you.

⁸“Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,

⁹‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.

¹⁰Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy;

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.’

¹²“Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man.

¹³Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.

¹⁴For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it.

¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds,

¹⁶Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction.

¹⁷In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man,

¹⁸He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones,

²⁰So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food.

²¹His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen.

²²Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners.

²³“If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness,

²⁴Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’;

²⁵His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth.

²⁶He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness.

²⁷Then he looks at men and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.’

²⁸He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light.

²⁹“Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man,

³⁰To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹“Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak.

³²If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.

³³If not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Psalm of David. [1] Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.

²I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me.

³I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

⁴Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.

⁵O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You.

⁶Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.

⁷Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.

⁸I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children;

⁹Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach.

¹¹I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.

¹²Those who sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.

¹⁴Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters.

¹⁵Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.

¹⁶Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.

¹⁷And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily.

¹⁸Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.

¹⁹You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; My adversaries are all before You.

²⁰Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

²²Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap.

²³Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually.

²⁴Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.

²⁵Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents.

²⁶For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.

²⁷Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your righteousness.

²⁸Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.

²⁹But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.

³⁰I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

³¹This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves.

³²The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.

³³For the LORD hears the poor, And does not despise His prisoners.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it.

³⁶Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, And those who love His name shall dwell in it.

¹My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,

²So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

³Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,

⁴If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

⁸He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.

¹⁰When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

¹¹Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,

¹²To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;

¹⁵Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;

¹⁶To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life—

²⁰So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.

²¹For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

¹And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

²Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

³Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.

⁴They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day.

⁵Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD.

⁶From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

⁷They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

⁹Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

¹⁰When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.

¹¹And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

¹²But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy,

¹³so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

¹Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.

²“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

³Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel.

⁴And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;

⁵And this One shall be peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men.

⁶They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders.

⁷Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass, That tarry for no man Nor wait for the sons of men.

⁸And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down and tears in pieces, And none can deliver.

⁹Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off.

¹⁰“And it shall be in that day,” says the LORD, “That I will cut off your horses from your midst And destroy your chariots.

¹¹I will cut off the cities of your land And throw down all your strongholds.

¹²I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers.

¹³Your carved images I will also cut off, And your sacred pillars from your midst; You shall no more worship the work of your hands;

¹⁴I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; Thus I will destroy your cities.

¹⁵And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury On the nations that have not heard.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁵He wrote a letter in the following manner:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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