Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,

²and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”

³But He replied to them, “I will also ask you aquestion, and you tell Me:

⁴Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

⁵They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷And so they answered that they did not know where it came from.

⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

⁹But He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it tovine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.

¹⁰At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out.

¹³Now theowner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will theowner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “May it never happen!”

¹⁷But Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written: ‘A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE’?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

¹⁹The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰And so they watched Him closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.

²¹And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth.

²²Is it permissible for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

²³But He saw through their trickery and said to them,

²⁴“Show Me adenarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵And He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

²⁷Now some of the Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him,

²⁸and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to marry the wife and raise up children for his brother.

²⁹So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless;

³⁰and the second

³¹and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³²Finally the woman also died.

³³Therefore, in the resurrection, which one’s wife does the woman become? For all seven married her.”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and the women are given in marriage,

³⁵but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

³⁶for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, beingsons of the resurrection.

³⁷But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.

³⁸Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

⁴⁰For they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

⁴¹But He said to them, “How is it that they say theChrist is David’s son?

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

⁴³UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’

⁴⁴Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”

⁴⁵And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

⁴⁷whodevour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

¹And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”

²But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”

³Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.”

⁴But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their work? Get back to your labors!”

⁵Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!”

⁶So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying,

⁷“You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves.

⁸But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, for that reason they cry out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

⁹Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”

¹⁰So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw.

¹¹You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’ ”

¹²So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

¹³And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.”

¹⁴Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants?

¹⁶There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.”

¹⁷But he said, “You are lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’

¹⁸So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.”

¹⁹The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, since they were told, “You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks.”

²⁰When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them.

²¹And they said to them, “May the LORD look upon you and judge you, because you have made us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”

²²Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?

²³Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all.”

¹Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

³For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

⁴so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

⁶For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

⁷because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,

⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

¹⁰If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

¹¹But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—

¹³for if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God.

¹⁵For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

¹⁶The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

¹⁷and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

¹⁹For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God.

²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope

²¹that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

²²For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

²³And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.

²⁴For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?

²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

²⁶Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

²⁷and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

²⁹For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters;

³⁰and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

³²He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

³³Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;

³⁴who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

³⁶Just as it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE REGARDED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

³⁷But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

²Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne.

³And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

⁴Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.

⁵Out from the throne *came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God;

⁶and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.

⁷The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

⁸And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, who was and who is and who is to come.”

⁹And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,

¹⁰the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

¹“I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys.”

²“Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the young women.”

³“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁴He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love.

⁵Refresh me with raisin cakes, Sustain me with apples, Because I am lovesick.

⁶His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me.”

⁷“Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, That you will not disturb or awaken my love Until she pleases.”

⁸“Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, Leaping on the mountains, Jumping on the hills!

⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he is standing behind our wall, He is looking through the windows, He is peering through the lattice.

¹⁰“My beloved responded and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along.

¹¹For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone.

¹²The blossoms have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree has ripened its fruit, And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along!’ ”

¹⁴“My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the hiding place of the mountain pathway, Let me see how you look, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is pleasant, And you look delightful.”

¹⁵“Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom.”

¹⁶“My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

¹It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, Most High;

²To declare Your goodness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,

³With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music on the lyre.

⁴For You, LORD, have made me joyful by what You have done, I will sing for joy over the works of Your hands.

⁵How great are Your works, LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.

⁶A stupid person has no knowledge, Nor does a foolish person understand this:

⁷When the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did injustice flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.

⁸But You, LORD, are on high forever.

⁹For, behold, Your enemies, LORD, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do injustice will be scattered.

¹⁰But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.

¹¹And my eye has looked at my enemies, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.

¹²The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courtyards of our God.

¹⁴They will still yield fruit in advanced age; They will be full of sap and very green,

¹⁵To declare that the LORD is just; He is my rock, and there is no malice in Him.

¹These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

³As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.

⁴Take away the impurities from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith;

⁵Take away the wicked before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not boast in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the same place as great people;

⁷For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

⁸Do not go out hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor humiliates you?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor, And do not reveal the secret of another,

¹⁰Or one who hears it will put you to shame, And the evil report about you will not pass away.

¹¹Like apples of gold in settings of silver, Is a word spoken at the proper time.

¹²Like an earring of gold and a jewelry piece of fine gold, Is a wise person who offers rebukes to a listening ear.

¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain Is a person who boasts of his gifts falsely.

¹⁵Through patience a ruler may be persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks bone.

¹⁶Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, So that you do not have it in excess and vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house, Or he will become weary of you and hate you.

¹⁸Like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow Is a person who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

¹⁹Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a treacherous person in time of trouble.

²⁰Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is one who sings songs to a troubled heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

²²For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind brings rain, And a gossiping tongue brings an angry face.

²⁴It is better to live on a corner of the roof, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a distant land.

²⁶Like a trampled spring and a polluted well, So is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.

²⁸Like a city that is broken into and without walls So is a person who has no self-control over his spirit.

¹After these events King Ahasuerus honored Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and promoted him and established his authority over all the officials who were with him.

²All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded regarding him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage.

³Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you violating the king’s command?”

⁴Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.

⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage.

⁶But he considered it beneath his dignity to kill Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; so Haman sought to annihilate all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were found throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth month, that is the month Adar.

⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not comply with the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain.

⁹If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be eliminated, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry out the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.”

¹⁰Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

¹¹And the king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.”

¹²Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the officials of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

¹³Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to annihilate, kill, and destroy all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.

¹⁴A copy of the edict to be issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that they would be ready for this day.

¹⁵The couriers went out, speeded by the king’s order while the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa; and while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was agitated.

¹Ask for rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain— The LORD who makes the storm winds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each person.

²For the household idols speak deception, And the diviners see an illusion And tell deceitful dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are wretched because there is no shepherd.

³“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of armies has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

⁴From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every tyrant, all of them together.

⁵And they will be like warriors, Trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle; And they will fight, because the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.

⁶And I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

⁷Ephraim will be like a warrior, And their heart will be joyful as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be joyful, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.

⁸I will whistle for them and gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before.

⁹When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in distant countries, And they with their children will live and come back.

¹⁰I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them.

¹¹And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt will depart.

¹²And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.

¹After these events Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

²And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,

³and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers by trade.

⁴And Paul was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

⁵But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

⁶But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized.

⁹And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;

¹⁰for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

¹¹And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,

¹³saying, “This man is inciting the people to worship God contrary to the law.”

¹⁴But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or vicious, unscrupulous act, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;

¹⁵but if there are questions about teaching and persons and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.”

¹⁶And he drove them away from the judgment seat.

¹⁷But they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And yet Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

¹⁸Now Paul, when he had remained many days longer, took leave of the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. Paul first had his hair cut at Cenchrea, for he was keeping a vow.

¹⁹They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,

²¹but took leave of them and said, “I will return to you again if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

²²When he had landed in Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.

²³And after spending some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures.

²⁵This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;

²⁶and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him.

²⁷And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,

²⁸for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.