Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him;

²for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

³While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.

⁴But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way?

⁵For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

⁶But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me.

⁷For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.

⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.

⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.

¹¹When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

¹²On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

¹³So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him,

¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’

¹⁵He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

¹⁶So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁷When it was evening, he came with the twelve.

¹⁸And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”

¹⁹They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?”

²⁰He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me.

²¹For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

²²While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”

²³Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.

²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

²⁵Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

²⁹Peter said to him, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.”

³⁰Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

³¹But he said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same.

³²They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated.

³⁴And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.”

³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

³⁶He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

³⁷He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?

³⁸Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.

⁴⁰And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁴²Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

⁴³Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.

⁴⁴Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”

⁴⁵So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁴⁶Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.

⁴⁷But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?

⁴⁹Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.”

⁵⁰All of them deserted him and fled.

⁵¹A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him,

⁵²but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

⁵³They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled.

⁵⁴Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none.

⁵⁶For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree.

⁵⁷Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying,

⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’”

⁵⁹But even on this point their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?”

⁶¹But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶²Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”

⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses?

⁶⁴You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death.

⁶⁵Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

⁶⁶While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by.

⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed.

⁶⁹And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.”

⁷⁰But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.”

⁷¹But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.”

⁷²At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

¹Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.

²He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.

³He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.

⁴But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

⁵When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

⁶Then the maids drew near, they and their children, and bowed down;

⁷Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down; and finally Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down.

⁸Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor with my lord.”

⁹But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰Jacob said, “No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God — since you have received me with such favor.

¹¹Please accept my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have everything I want.” So he urged him, and he took it.

¹²Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go alongside you.”

¹³But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds, which are nursing, are a care to me; and if they are overdriven for one day, all the flocks will die.

¹⁴Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

¹⁵So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “Why should my lord be so kind to me?”

¹⁶So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

¹⁷But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle; therefore the place is called Succoth.

¹⁸Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram; and he camped before the city.

¹⁹And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for one hundred pieces of money the plot of land on which he had pitched his tent.

²⁰There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

¹So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,

³for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).

⁶On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.

⁷These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.

⁸But now you must get rid of all such things — anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.

⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices

¹⁰and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

¹¹In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

¹⁸Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord.

²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart.

²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

²³Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters,

²⁴since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.

²⁵For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality.

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

²For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.

³If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.

⁴Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!

⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,

⁸but no one can tame the tongue — a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.

¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?

¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth.

¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.

¹⁶For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

¹Then Elihu continued and said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know;

³for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.

⁴Let us choose what is right; let us determine among ourselves what is good.

⁵For Job has said, ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right;

⁶in spite of being right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

⁷Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,

⁸who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked?

⁹For he has said, ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’

¹⁰“Therefore, hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹¹For according to their deeds he will repay them, and according to their ways he will make it befall them.

¹²Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹³Who gave him charge over the earth and who laid on him the whole world?

¹⁴If he should take back his spirit to himself, and gather to himself his breath,

¹⁵all flesh would perish together, and all mortals return to dust.

¹⁶“If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.

¹⁷Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty,

¹⁸who says to a king, ‘You scoundrel!’ and to princes, ‘You wicked men!’;

¹⁹who shows no partiality to nobles, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

²⁰In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

²¹“For his eyes are upon the ways of mortals, and he sees all their steps.

²²There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

²³For he has not appointed a time for anyone to go before God in judgment.

²⁴He shatters the mighty without investigation, and sets others in their place.

²⁵Thus, knowing their works, he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶He strikes them for their wickedness while others look on,

²⁷because they turned aside from following him, and had no regard for any of his ways,

²⁸so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted —

²⁹When he is quiet, who can condemn? When he hides his face, who can behold him, whether it be a nation or an individual? —

³⁰so that the godless should not reign, or those who ensnare the people.

³¹“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have endured punishment; I will not offend any more;

³²teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

³³Will he then pay back to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.

³⁴Those who have sense will say to me, and the wise who hear me will say,

³⁵‘Job speaks without knowledge, his words are without insight.’

³⁶Would that Job were tried to the limit, because his answers are those of the wicked.

³⁷For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God.”

¹Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me!

²Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me.

³Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” turn back because of their shame.

⁴Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

⁵But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!

¹My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;

²for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.

³Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.

⁹Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹My child, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,

¹²for the LORD reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding,

¹⁴for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.

¹⁹The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;

²⁰by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My child, do not let these escape from your sight: keep sound wisdom and prudence,

²²and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.

²³Then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble.

²⁴If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden panic, or of the storm that strikes the wicked;

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it” — when you have it with you.

²⁹Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you.

³⁰Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.

³¹Do not envy the violent and do not choose any of their ways;

³²for the perverse are an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.

³³The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous.

³⁴Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favor.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor, but stubborn fools, disgrace.

¹When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel,

²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of families and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esar-haddon of Assyria who brought us here.”

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them, “You shall have no part with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build,

⁵and they bribed officials to frustrate their plan throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.

⁶In the reign of Ahasuerus, in his accession year, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia; the letter was written in Aramaic and translated.

⁸Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows

⁹(then Rehum the royal deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the Persians, the people of Erech, the Babylonians, the people of Susa, that is, the Elamites,

¹⁰and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River wrote — and now

¹¹this is a copy of the letter that they sent): “To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the people of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now

¹²may it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city; they are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.

¹³Now may it be known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.

¹⁴Now because we share the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king,

¹⁵so that a search may be made in the annals of your ancestors. You will discover in the annals that this is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from long ago. On that account this city was laid waste.

¹⁶We make known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

¹⁷The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now

¹⁸the letter that you sent to us has been read in translation before me.

¹⁹So I made a decree, and someone searched and discovered that this city has risen against kings from long ago, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.

²⁰Jerusalem has had mighty kings who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.

²¹Therefore issue an order that these people be made to cease, and that this city not be rebuilt, until I make a decree.

²²Moreover, take care not to be slack in this matter; why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”

²³Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and the scribe Shimshai and their associates, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease.

²⁴At that time the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped and was discontinued until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

¹Hear what the LORD says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.

²Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.

³“O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!

⁴For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

⁵O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD.”

⁶“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

⁷Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

⁸He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

⁹The voice of the LORD cries to the city (it is sound wisdom to fear your name): Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city!

¹⁰Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed?

¹¹Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights?

¹²Your wealthy are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, with tongues of deceit in their mouths.

¹³Therefore I have begun to strike you down, making you desolate because of your sins.

¹⁴You shall eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be a gnawing hunger within you; you shall put away, but not save, and what you save, I will hand over to the sword.

¹⁵You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.

¹⁶For you have kept the statutes of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you have followed their counsels. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, and they reported their case against Paul to the governor.

²When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Your Excellency, because of you we have long enjoyed peace, and reforms have been made for this people because of your foresight.

³We welcome this in every way and everywhere with utmost gratitude.

⁴But, to detain you no further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness.

⁵We have, in fact, found this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and so we seized him.

⁷

⁸By examining him yourself you will be able to learn from him concerning everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the charge by asserting that all this was true.

¹⁰When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied: “I cheerfully make my defense, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation.

¹¹As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem.

¹²They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city.

¹³Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me.

¹⁴But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets.

¹⁵I have a hope in God — a hope that they themselves also accept — that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

¹⁶Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people.

¹⁷Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices.

¹⁸While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance.

¹⁹But there were some Jews from Asia — they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me.

²⁰Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council,

²¹unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, ‘It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

²²But Felix, who was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³Then he ordered the centurion to keep him in custody, but to let him have some liberty and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.

²⁴Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.”

²⁶At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.

²⁷After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.