Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now in those days a decree went out from [the emperor] Caesar Augustus, that all the inhabited world (the Roman Empire) should be registered [in a census].

²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

³And everyone went to register for the census, each to his own city.

⁴So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

⁵in order to register with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child.

⁶While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth,

⁷and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [ swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.

¹¹For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).

¹²And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find a Baby wrapped in [swaddling] cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (angelic army) praising God and saying,

¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest [heaven], And on earth peace among men with whom He is well-pleased."

¹⁵When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying one to another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this [wonderful] thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

¹⁶So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen this, they made known what had been told them about this Child,

¹⁸and all who heard it were astounded and wondered at what the shepherds told them.

¹⁹But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart.

²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

²¹At the end of eight days, when He was to be circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given [to Him] by the angel [Gabriel] before He was conceived in the womb.

²²And when the time for their purification came [that is, the mother's purification and the baby's dedication] according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [set apart as the Firstborn]

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy [set apart and dedicated] to the Lord)"

²⁴and [they came also] to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord [to be appropriate for a family of modest means], "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout [carefully observing the divine Law], and looking for the Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

²⁷Prompted by the Spirit, he came into the temple [enclosure]; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him the custom required by the Law,

²⁸Simeon took Him into his arms, and blessed and praised and thanked God, and said,

²⁹"Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to leave [this world] in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your Salvation,

³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was previously unknown], And [to bring] the praise and honor and glory of Your people Israel."

³³And His [legal] father and His mother were amazed at what was said about Him.

³⁴Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Listen carefully: this Child is appointed and destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is to be opposed—

³⁵and a sword [of deep sorrow] will pierce through your own soul—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

³⁶There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the [area of the] temple, but was serving and worshiping night and day with fastings and prayers.

³⁸She, too, came up at that very moment and began praising and giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all who were looking for the redemption and deliverance of Jerusalem.

³⁹And when they had done everything [in connection with Jesus' birth] according to the Law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the Child continued to grow and become strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor, spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.

⁴¹Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Feast.

⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the Feast;

⁴³and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

⁴⁴but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and traveled a day's journey; and [then] they began searching [anxiously] for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for Him [everywhere].

⁴⁶Three days later they found Him in the [court of the] temple, sitting among the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷All who heard Him were amazed by His intelligence and His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When they saw Him, they were overwhelmed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us like this? Listen, Your father and I have been [greatly distressed and] anxiously looking for You."

⁴⁹And He answered, "Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?"

⁵⁰But they did not understand what He had said to them.

⁵¹He went down to Nazareth with them, and was continually submissive and obedient to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.

¹So Jacob (Israel) lived in the land where his father [Isaac] had been a stranger (sojourner, resident alien), in the land of Canaan.

²These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers [Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher]; the boy was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's [ secondary] wives; and Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

³Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a [distinctive] multicolored tunic.

⁴His brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of his brothers; so they hated him and could not [find it within themselves to] speak to him on friendly terms.

⁵Now Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.

⁶He said to them, "Please listen to [the details of] this dream which I have dreamed;

⁷we [brothers] were binding sheaves [of grain stalks] in the field, and lo, my sheaf [suddenly] got up and stood upright and remained standing; and behold, your sheaves stood all around my sheaf and bowed down [in respect]."

⁸His brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Are you really going to rule and govern us as your subjects?" So they hated him even more for [telling them about] his dreams and for his [arrogant] words.

⁹But Joseph dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers [as well]. He said, "See here, I have again dreamed a dream, and lo, [this time I saw] eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowed down [in respect] to me!"

¹⁰He told it to his father as well as to his brothers; but his father rebuked him and said to him [in disbelief], "What is [the meaning of] this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow down to the ground [in respect] before you?"

¹¹Joseph's brothers were envious and jealous of him, but his father kept the words [of Joseph] in mind [wondering about their meaning].

¹²Then his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

¹³Israel (Jacob) said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing [the flock] at Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said, "Here I am [ready to obey you]."

¹⁴Then Jacob said to him, "Please go and see whether everything is all right with your brothers and all right with the flock; then bring word [back] to me." So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.

¹⁵Now a certain man found Joseph, and saw that he was wandering around and had lost his way in the field; so the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

¹⁶He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are pasturing our flocks."

¹⁷Then the man said, "[They were here, but] they have moved on from this place. I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸And when they saw him from a distance, even before he came close to them, they plotted to kill him.

¹⁹They said to one another, "Look, here comes this dreamer.

²⁰Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits (cisterns, underground water storage); then we will say [to our father], 'A wild animal killed and devoured him'; and we shall see what will become of his dreams!"

²¹Now Reuben [the eldest] heard this and rescued him from their hands and said, "Let us not take his life."

²²Reuben said to them, "Do not shed his blood, but [instead] throw him [alive] into the pit that is here in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him [to kill him]"—[he said this so] that he could rescue him from them and return him [safely] to his father.

²³Now when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the [distinctive] multicolored tunic which he was wearing;

²⁴then they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵Then they sat down to eat their meal. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead [east of the Jordan], with their camels bearing ladanum resin [for perfume] and balm and myrrh, going on their way to carry the cargo down to Egypt.

²⁶Judah said to his brothers, "What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood (murder)?

²⁷Come, let us [instead] sell him to these Ishmaelites [and Midianites] and not lay our hands on him, because he is our brother and our flesh." So his brothers listened to him and agreed.

²⁸Then as the Midianite [and Ishmaelite] traders were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And so they took Joseph [as a captive] into Egypt.

²⁹Now Reuben [unaware of what had happened] returned to the pit, and [to his great alarm found that] Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his clothes [in deep sorrow].

³⁰He rejoined his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where shall I go [to hide from my father]?"

³¹Then they took Joseph's tunic, slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

³²and they brought the multicolored tunic to their father, saying, "We have found this; please examine it and decide whether or not it is your son's tunic."

³³He recognized it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces!"

³⁴So Jacob tore his clothes [in grief], put on sackcloth and mourned many days for his son.

³⁵Then all his sons and daughters attempted to console him, but he refused to be comforted and said, "I will go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in mourning for my son." And his father wept for him.

³⁶Meanwhile, in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph [as a slave] to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the [royal] guard.

¹Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, [thoughtfully and attentively] consider the Apostle and High Priest whom we confessed [as ours when we accepted Him as Savior], namely, Jesus;

²He was faithful to Him who appointed Him [Apostle and High Priest], as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.

³Yet Jesus has been considered worthy of much greater glory and honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house.

⁴For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

⁵Now Moses was faithful in [the administration of] all God's house, [but only] as a ministering servant, [his ministry serving] as a testimony of the things which were to be spoken afterward [the revelation to come in Christ];

⁶but Christ is faithful as a Son over His [Father's] house. And we are His house if we hold fast our confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ].

⁷Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice,

⁸Do not harden your hearts as [your fathers did] in the rebellion [of Israel at Meribah], On the day of testing in the wilderness,

⁹Where your fathers tried Me by testing [My forbearance and tolerance], And saw My works for forty years [And found I stood their test].

¹⁰"Therefore I was angered with this generation, And I said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways [nor become progressively better and more intimately acquainted with them]';

¹¹So I swore [an oath] in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest [the promised land].'"

¹²Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God.

¹³But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "Today" [and there is an opportunity], so that none of you will be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [its cleverness, delusive glamour, and sophistication].

¹⁴For we [believers] have become partakers of Christ [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], if only we hold firm our newborn confidence [which originally led us to Him] until the end,

¹⁵while it is said, "Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah]."

¹⁶For who were they who heard and yet provoked Him [with rebellious acts]? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

¹⁷And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies were scattered in the desert?

¹⁸And to whom did He swear [an oath] that they would not enter His rest, but to those who disobeyed [those who would not listen to His word]?

¹⁹So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest—the promised land] because of unbelief and an unwillingness to trust in God.

¹So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech;

²like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment],

³if in fact you have [already] tasted the goodness and gracious kindness of the Lord.

⁴Come to Him [the risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God.

⁵You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For this is contained in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honored) Cornerstone, And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations]."

⁷This precious value, then, is for you who believe [in Him as God's only Son—the Source of salvation]; but for those who disbelieve, "The [very] stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief Cornerstone,"

⁸and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"; for they stumble because they disobey the word [of God], and to this they [who reject Him as Savior] were also appointed.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

¹⁰Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul.

¹²Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

¹³Submit yourselves to [the authority of] every human institution for the sake of the Lord [to honor His name], whether it is to a king as one in a position of power,

¹⁴or to governors as sent by him to bring punishment to those who do wrong, and to praise and encourage those who do right.

¹⁵For it is the will of God that by doing right you may silence (muzzle, gag) the [culpable] ignorance and irresponsible criticisms of foolish people.

¹⁶Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover or pretext for evil, but [use it and live] as bond-servants of God.

¹⁷Show respect for all people [treat them honorably], love the brotherhood [of believers], fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸Servants, be submissive to your masters with all [proper] respect, not only to those who are good and kind, but also to those who are unreasonable.

¹⁹For this finds favor, if a person endures the sorrow of suffering unjustly because of an awareness of [the will of] God.

²⁰After all, what kind of credit is there if, when you do wrong and are punished for it, you endure it patiently? But if when you do what is right and patiently bear [undeserved] suffering, this finds favor with God.

²¹For [as a believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps.

²²He committed no sin, nor was deceit ever found in His mouth.

²³While being reviled and insulted, He did not revile or insult in return; while suffering, He made no threats [of vengeance], but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges fairly.

²⁴He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.

²⁵For you were continually wandering like [so many] sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

²"Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom] By words without knowledge?

³"Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

⁴"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.

⁵"Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know? Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?

⁶"On what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?

⁸"Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it burst forth and went out of the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,

¹⁰And marked for it My [appointed] boundary And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines],

¹¹And said, 'This far you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop'?

¹²"Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth And shake the wickedness out of it?

¹⁴"The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.

¹⁵"Their light is withheld from the wicked, And the uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶"Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

¹⁸"Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹"Where is the way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory And that you may know the paths to its house?

²¹"You [must] know, since you were born then, And because you are so extremely old!

²²"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?

²⁴"Where is the way that the light is distributed, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵"Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain and for the flood, Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To bring rain on the uninhabited land, And on the desert where no man lives,

²⁷To satisfy the barren and desolate ground And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

²⁸"Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹"Out of whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

³⁰"Water becomes like stone [and hides itself], And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.

³¹"Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?

³²"Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons?

³³"Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?

³⁴"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

³⁵"Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'?

³⁶"Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds] Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?

³⁷"Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom, Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,

³⁸When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

³⁹"Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair?

⁴¹"Who provides prey for the raven When its young cry to God And wander about without food?

¹A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Asaph. O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

²Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; Remember Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.

³Turn your footsteps [quickly] toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

⁴In the midst of Your meeting place Your enemies have roared [with their battle cry]; They have set up their own emblems for signs [of victory].

⁵It seems as if one had lifted up An axe in a forest of trees [to set a record of destruction].

⁶And now all the carved work [of the meeting place] They smash with hatchets and hammers.

⁷They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; They have profaned the dwelling place of Your name.

⁸They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them." They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our symbols; There is no longer any prophet [to guide us], Nor does any among us know for how long.

¹⁰O God, how long will the adversary scoff? Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?

¹¹Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand [from judging the enemy]? Remove Your hand from Your chest, destroy them!

¹²Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

¹³You divided the [Red] Sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

¹⁴You crushed the heads of Leviathan (Egypt); You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

¹⁵You broke open fountains and streams; You dried up ever-flowing rivers.

¹⁶The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have established and prepared the [heavenly] light and the sun.

¹⁷You have defined and established all the borders of the earth [the divisions of land and sea and of the nations]; You have made summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, O LORD, the enemy has scoffed, And a foolish and impious people has spurned Your name.

¹⁹Oh, do not hand over the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

²⁰Consider the covenant [You made with Abraham], For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

²¹Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

²²Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man scoffs at You all day long.

²³Do not forget the [clamoring] voices of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You, which ascends continually [to Your ears].

¹My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you].

²Keep my commandments and live, And keep my teaching and law as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them [securely] on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, "You are my sister," And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;

⁵That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the foreigner [who does not observe God's laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice.

⁷And among the naive [the inexperienced and gullible], I saw among the youths A young man lacking [good] sense,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house

⁹In the twilight, in the evening; In the black and dark night.

¹⁰And there a woman met him, Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.

¹¹She was boisterous and rebellious; She would not stay at home.

¹²At times she was in the streets, at times in the market places, Lurking and setting her ambush at every corner.

¹³So she caught him and kissed him And with a brazen and impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵"So I came out to meet you [that you might share with me the feast of my offering], Diligently I sought your face and I have found you.

¹⁶"I have spread my couch with coverings and cushions of tapestry, With colored fine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷"I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸"Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us console and delight ourselves with love.

¹⁹"For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey;

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him, And he will come home on the appointed day."

²¹With her many persuasions she caused him to yield; With her flattering lips she seduced him.

²²Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome], Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

²³Until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound]; Like a bird fluttering straight into the net, He did not know that it would cost him his life.

²⁴Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her [evil, immoral] paths.

²⁶For she has cast down many [mortally] wounded; Indeed, all who were killed by her were strong.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

¹These are the heads of their fathers' households and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

²of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;

³of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men by genealogy;

⁴of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, with 200 men;

⁵of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, with 300 men;

⁶of the sons of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, with 50 men;

⁷of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, with 70 men;

⁸of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, with 80 men;

⁹of the sons of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, with 218 men;

¹⁰of the sons of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, with 160 men;

¹¹of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, with 28 men;

¹²of the sons of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, with 110 men;

¹³of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, their names are Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, with 60 men;

¹⁴and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, with 70 men.

¹⁵Now I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days. I observed the people and the priests, and I did not find any Levites there.

¹⁶So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, [who were] leading men, and also for Joiarib and Elnathan, [who were] teachers.

¹⁷And I sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring us servants (ministers) for the house of our God.

¹⁸And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of understanding (insight) from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, named Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers (relatives), 18 men;

¹⁹and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers (relatives) and their sons, 20 men;

²⁰also 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the leaders had set apart [with their descendants] for the service of the Levites. They were all designated by name.

²¹Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

²²For I was ashamed to request troops and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, "The hand of our God is favorable toward all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon (turn away from) Him."

²³So we fasted and sought [help from] our God concerning this [matter], and He heard our plea.

²⁴Then I set apart twelve leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers (relatives),

²⁵and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had offered.

²⁶I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold;

²⁷also 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.

²⁸Then I said to them, "You are holy to the LORD, the utensils are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers.

²⁹Guard and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests and the Levites and the leaders of the fathers' households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD."

³⁰So the priests and the Levites received the weighed out silver and gold, and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

³¹We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way.

³²So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.

³³On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites—Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

³⁴Every piece was counted and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

³⁵Also the [former] exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

³⁶And they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps (lieutenants) and to the governors west of the [Euphrates] River, and they supported the people and God's house.

¹After we were safe [on land], we found out that the island was called Malta.

²And the natives showed us extraordinary kindness and hospitality; for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, since it had begun to rain and was cold.

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper crawled out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

⁴When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [the avenging goddess] has not permitted him to live."

⁵Then Paul [simply] shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

⁶But they stood watching and expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god.

⁷In the vicinity of that place there were estates belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed and entertained us hospitably for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius was sick [in bed] with recurring attacks of fever and dysentery; and Paul went to him, and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹After this occurred, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed.

¹⁰They also gave us many honors [gifts and courtesies expressing respect]; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all the things we needed.

¹¹At the end of three months we set sail on a ship which had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers [Castor and Pollux] as its figurehead.

¹²We landed at Syracuse [on Sicily] and stayed there three days.

¹³From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium [on Italy's southern tip]; and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found some believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵And the brothers and sisters, having heard news about us, came from as far away as the Forum of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

¹⁶When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself [in rented quarters] with the soldier who was guarding him.

¹⁷Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Kinsmen, though I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our fathers, yet I was turned over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸After they had interrogated me, they were ready to release me because I was not guilty of any offense deserving death.

¹⁹But when the Jews objected [to my release], I was forced to appeal to Caesar (Emperor Nero), not because I had any charge to make against my nation.

²⁰For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel (the Messiah, the resurrection) that I am bound with this chain."

²¹They said to him, "We have not received [any] letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the [Jewish] brothers come here and reported or said anything bad about you.

²²But we would like to hear from you what your views are [that is, exactly what you believe]; for in regard to this sect (Christianity), we are fully aware that it is denounced everywhere."

²³When they had set a day for Paul, they came to his lodging in large numbers. And he carefully explained [Christianity] to them from morning until evening, solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and from the [writings of the] Prophets.

²⁴Some were persuaded by what he said, but others would not believe.

²⁵They disagreed among themselves and they began to leave after Paul had made one last statement: "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying,

²⁶'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand, You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

²⁷"For the heart (the understanding, the soul) of this people has become dull (calloused), And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have shut their eyes [to the truth]; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return [to Me], And I would heal them."'

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that [this message of] the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they indeed will listen!"

²⁹[And when he had said these things, the Jews left, arguing among themselves.]

³⁰And Paul lived there for two full years [at his own expense] in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him,

³¹preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness and boldness, unhindered and unrestrained.