Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

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

³And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city.

⁴Now 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 along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant.

⁶While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.

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

¹⁰And so 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 today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

¹⁸And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

²¹And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²²And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “EVERY firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”),

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG DOVES.”

²⁵And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

²⁸then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

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

³²A light for revelation for the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed—

³⁵and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years 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 temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers.

³⁸And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

⁴⁰Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

⁴¹His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

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

⁴³and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it.

⁴⁴Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him.

⁴⁶Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!”

⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’shouse?”

⁵⁰And yet they on their part did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

⁵¹And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

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

¹Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

²These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when he was seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a multicolored tunic.

⁴And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

⁵Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

⁶He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had;

⁷for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf stood up and also remained standing; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹Then he had yet another dream, and informed his brothers of it, and said, “Behold, I have had yet another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Am I and your mother and your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?”

¹¹And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

¹²Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.

¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.”

¹⁴Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”

¹⁷Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.

¹⁹They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!

²⁰Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!”

²¹But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands by saying, “Let’s not take his life.”

²²Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.

²³So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the multicolored tunic that was on him;

²⁴and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

²⁵Then they sat down to eat a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying labdanum resin, balsam, and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.

²⁶And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?

²⁷Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

²⁸Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. So they brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.

³⁰He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”

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

³²and they sent the multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

³³Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A vicious animal has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

³⁴So Jacob tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

³⁶Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

¹Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus;

²He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.

³For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the 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 all God’s house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;

⁶but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the boast of our hope.

⁷Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,

⁸DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS ON THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,

⁹WHERE YOUR FATHERS PUT ME to the test, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.

¹⁰THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’;

¹¹AS I SWORE IN MY ANGER, ‘THEY CERTAINLY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’ ”

¹²Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

¹³But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end,

¹⁵while it is said, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.”

¹⁶For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did 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 fell in the wilderness?

¹⁸And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?

¹⁹And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

¹Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

²and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

³if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,

⁵you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I AM LAYING IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, AND THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.”

⁷This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers, “A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE,”

⁸and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed.

⁹But you are A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

¹⁰for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.

¹²Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,

¹⁴or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

¹⁵For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people.

¹⁶Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God.

¹⁷Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh.

¹⁹For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person endures grief when suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

²¹For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps,

²²HE who committed no sin, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT found IN HIS MOUTH;

²³and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

²⁴and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.

²⁵For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

¹Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind and said,

²“Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge?

³Now tighten the belt on your waist like a man, And I shall ask you, and you inform Me!

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

⁵Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the measuring line over it?

⁶On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,

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

⁸“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it went out from the womb, bursting forth;

⁹When I made a cloud its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling bands,

¹⁰And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,

¹¹And I said, ‘As far as this point you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop’?

¹²“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And made the dawn know its place,

¹³So that it would take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked would be shaken off from it?

¹⁴It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand out like a garment.

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

¹⁶“Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked in the depth of the ocean?

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

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

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you would take it to its territory, And discern the paths to its home?

²¹You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!

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

²³Which I have reserved for a time of distress, For a day of war and battle?

²⁴Where is the way that the light is divided, And the east wind scattered on the earth?

²⁵“Who has split open a channel for the flood, And a way for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a person in it,

²⁷To satisfy the waste and desolate land, And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

²⁸Does the rain have a father? Or who has fathered the drops of dew?

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

³⁰Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

³¹“Can you tie up the chains of the Pleiades, Or untie the cords of Orion?

³²Can you bring out a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?

³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or do you establish their rule over the earth?

³⁴“Can you raise your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

³⁵Can you send flashes of lightning, so that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

³⁶Who has put wisdom in the innermost being, Or given understanding to the mind?

³⁷Who can count the clouds by wisdom, And pour out the water jars of the heavens,

³⁸When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together?

³⁹“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of young lions,

⁴⁰When they crouch in their hiding places, And lie in wait in their lair?

⁴¹Who prepares feed for the raven When its young cry to God, And wander about without food?

¹God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

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

³Step toward the irreparable ruins; The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.

⁴Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own signs as signs.

⁵It seems like one bringing up His axe into a forest of trees.

⁶And now they break down all its carved work With axe and hammers.

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

⁸They said in their heart, “Let’s completely subdue them.” They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet, Nor is there anyone among us who knows how long.

¹⁰How long, God, will the enemy taunt You? Shall the enemy treat Your name disrespectfully forever?

¹¹Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Extend it from Your chest and destroy them!

¹²Yet God is my King from long ago, Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.

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

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

¹⁵You broke open springs and torrents; You dried up ever-flowing streams.

¹⁶Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun.

¹⁷You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have created summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, LORD, that the enemy has taunted You, And a foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully.

¹⁹Do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the wild animal; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

²⁰Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the places of violence.

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

²²Arise, God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish person taunts You all day long.

²³Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You, which ascends continually.

¹My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.

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

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

⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend,

⁵So that they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

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

⁷And I saw among the naive, And discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense,

⁸Passing through the street near her corner; And he walks along the way to her house,

⁹In the twilight, in the evening, In the middle of the night and the darkness.

¹⁰And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.

¹¹She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home;

¹²She is now in the streets, now in the public squares, And lurks by every corner.

¹³So she seizes him and kisses him, And with a brazen face she says to him:

¹⁴“I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with coverings, With colored linens of Egypt.

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

¹⁸Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning; Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.

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

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him. At the full moon he will come home.”

²¹With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.

²²Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,

²³Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hurries to the snare, So he does not know that it will 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 paths.

²⁶For many are the victims she has brought to ruin, And numerous are all those slaughtered by her.

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

¹Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment 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 150 males who were in the genealogical list;

⁴of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and two hundred males with him;

⁵of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and three hundred males with him;

⁶and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and fifty males with him;

⁷and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and seventy males with him;

⁸and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and eighty males with him;

⁹of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him;

¹⁰and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him;

¹¹and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and twenty-eight males with him;

¹²and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him;

¹³and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and sixty males with them;

¹⁴and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and seventy males with them.

¹⁵Now I assembled them at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I did not find any Levites there.

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

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

¹⁸And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men;

¹⁹and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men;

²⁰and 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

²¹Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

²²For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon Him.”

²³So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our pleading.

²⁴Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;

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 counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed.

²⁶So I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents,

²⁷and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.

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

²⁹Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests, 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 accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

³¹Then we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth 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 the ambushes by the road.

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

³³And on the fourth day the silver, 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.

³⁴A notation was made for everything by number and weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

³⁵The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the LORD.

³⁶Then they delivered the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps and the governors in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

¹When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta.

²The natives showed us extraordinary kindness, for they kindled a fire and took us all in because of the rain that had started and because of the cold.

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came 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 has not allowed him to live.”

⁵However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶Now they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

⁷Now in the neighboring parts of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us warmly for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with a recurring fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after he prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him.

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

¹⁰They also showed us many honors, and when we were about to set sail, they supplied us with everything we needed.

¹¹After three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead.

¹²After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

¹³From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found some brothers and sisters, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and that is how we came to Rome.

¹⁵And from there the brothers and sisters, when they heard about us, came as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

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

¹⁷After three days Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem.

¹⁸And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there were no grounds for putting me to death.

¹⁹But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation.

²⁰For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

²¹They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor has any of the brothers come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you.

²²But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for regarding this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³When they had set a day for Paul, people came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.

²⁴Some were being persuaded by the things said by Paul, but others would not believe.

²⁵And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul said one parting statement: “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,

²⁶saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, “YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, AND WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, AND WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

²⁷FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE BECOME INSENSITIVE, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY HARDLY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.” ’

²⁸Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”

²⁹

³⁰Now Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him,

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