Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him.

²They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

³“Let me ask you a question first,” he replied.

⁴“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

⁵They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John.

⁶But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.”

⁷So they finally replied that they didn’t know.

⁸And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

⁹Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years.

¹⁰At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.

¹¹So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.

¹³“‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’

¹⁴“But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

¹⁵So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked.

¹⁶“I’ll tell you — he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” “How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested.

¹⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’

¹⁸Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”

¹⁹The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

²⁰Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus.

²¹“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully.

²²Now tell us — is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³He saw through their trickery and said,

²⁴“Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

²⁶So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.

²⁷Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead.

²⁸They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.

²⁹Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.

³⁰So the second brother married the widow, but he also died.

³¹Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children.

³²Finally, the woman also died.

³³So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”

³⁴Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth.

³⁵But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

³⁶And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

³⁷“But now, as to whether the dead will be raised — even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

³⁸So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

³⁹“Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there.

⁴⁰And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.

⁴¹Then Jesus presented them with a question. “Why is it,” he asked, “that the Messiah is said to be the son of David?

⁴²For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand

⁴³until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’

⁴⁴Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

⁴⁵Then, with the crowds listening, he turned to his disciples and said,

⁴⁶“Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.

⁴⁷Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”

¹After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”

²“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the LORD? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

³But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”

⁴Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work!

⁵Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”

⁶That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen:

⁷“Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves!

⁸But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’

⁹Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”

¹⁰So the slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people: “This is what Pharaoh says: I will not provide any more straw for you.

¹¹Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many bricks as before!”

¹²So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in search of stubble to use as straw.

¹³Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. “Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with straw!” they demanded.

¹⁴Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?” they demanded.

¹⁵So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. “Please don’t treat your servants like this,” they begged.

¹⁶“We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!”

¹⁷But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the LORD.’

¹⁸Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.”

²⁰As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them.

²¹The foremen said to them, “May the LORD judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

²²Then Moses went back to the LORD and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me?

²³Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”

¹So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

²And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

³The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

⁴He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

⁵Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

⁶So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

⁷For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

⁸That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

⁹But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

¹⁰And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

¹¹The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

¹²Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.

¹³For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

¹⁵So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

¹⁶For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

¹⁷And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

¹⁸Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

¹⁹For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

²⁰Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,

²¹the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

²²For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

²³And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

²⁴We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.

²⁵But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

²⁶And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

²⁷And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

²⁸And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

²⁹For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

³⁰And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

³¹What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

³²Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

³³Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one — for God himself has given us right standing with himself.

³⁴Who then will condemn us? No one — for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

³⁶(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” )

³⁷No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

³⁹No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”

²And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.

³The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones — like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.

⁴Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.

⁵From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.

⁶In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.

⁷The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.

⁸Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty — the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

⁹Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),

¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

¹¹“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

¹I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain, the lily of the valley.

²Like a lily among thistles is my darling among young women.

³Like the finest apple tree in the orchard is my lover among other young men. I sit in his delightful shade and taste his delicious fruit.

⁴He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much he loves me.

⁵Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am weak with love.

⁶His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.

⁷Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right.

⁸Ah, I hear my lover coming! He is leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.

⁹My lover is like a swift gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he is behind the wall, looking through the window, peering into the room.

¹⁰My lover said to me, “Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!

¹¹Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone.

¹²The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.

¹³The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!”

¹⁴My dove is hiding behind the rocks, behind an outcrop on the cliff. Let me see your face; let me hear your voice. For your voice is pleasant, and your face is lovely.

¹⁵Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!

¹⁶My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.

¹⁷Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, return to me, my love, like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.

¹It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.

²It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening,

³accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre.

⁴You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.

⁵O LORD, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.

⁶Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this:

⁷Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.

⁸But you, O LORD, will be exalted forever.

⁹Your enemies, LORD, will surely perish; all evildoers will be scattered.

¹⁰But you have made me as strong as a wild ox. You have anointed me with the finest oil.

¹¹My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.

¹²But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

¹³For they are transplanted to the LORD’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.

¹⁵They will declare, “The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”

¹These are more proverbs of Solomon, collected by the advisers of King Hezekiah of Judah.

²It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.

³No one can comprehend the height of heaven, the depth of the earth, or all that goes on in the king’s mind!

⁴Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.

⁵Remove the wicked from the king’s court, and his reign will be made secure by justice.

⁶Don’t demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great.

⁷It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace. Just because you’ve seen something,

⁸don’t be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your neighbor deals you a shameful defeat?

⁹When arguing with your neighbor, don’t betray another person’s secret.

¹⁰Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation.

¹¹Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.

¹²To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.

¹³Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer. They revive the spirit of their employer.

¹⁴A person who promises a gift but doesn’t give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain.

¹⁵Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones.

¹⁶Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!

¹⁷Don’t visit your neighbors too often, or you will wear out your welcome.

¹⁸Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.

²⁰Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.

²¹If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.

²²You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the LORD will reward you.

²³As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!

²⁴It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.

²⁵Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.

²⁶If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.

²⁷It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.

²⁸A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

¹Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire.

²All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.

³Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?”

⁴They spoke to him day after day, but still he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct, since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.

⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage.

⁶He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.

⁷So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.

⁸Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.

⁹If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury.”

¹⁰The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

¹¹The king said, “The money and the people are both yours to do with as you see fit.”

¹²So on April 17 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Haman dictated. It was sent to the king’s highest officers, the governors of the respective provinces, and the nobles of each province in their own scripts and languages. The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

¹³Dispatches were sent by swift messengers into all the provinces of the empire, giving the order that all Jews — young and old, including women and children — must be killed, slaughtered, and annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen on March 7 of the next year. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them.

¹⁴A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that they would be ready to do their duty on the appointed day.

¹⁵At the king’s command, the decree went out by swift messengers, and it was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion.

¹Ask the LORD for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture.

²Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.

³“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.

⁴From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers.

⁵They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the LORD is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.

⁶“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel ; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, who will hear their cries.

⁷The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

⁸When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few who are left, they will grow as numerous as they were before.

⁹Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, they will still remember me in distant lands. They and their children will survive and return again to Israel.

¹⁰I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon until there is no more room for them all.

¹¹They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end.

¹²By my power I will make my people strong, and by my authority they will go wherever they wish. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

²There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome.

³Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was.

⁴Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike.

⁵And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads — I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”

⁷Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!

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

¹¹So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.

¹²But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment.

¹³They accused Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.”

¹⁴But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul’s accusers and said, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case.

¹⁵But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.”

¹⁶And he threw them out of the courtroom.

¹⁷The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention.

¹⁸Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow. Then he set sail for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him.

¹⁹They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews.

²⁰They asked him to stay longer, but he declined.

²¹As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later, God willing.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²²The next stop was at the port of Caesarea. From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem and then went back to Antioch.

²³After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting and strengthening all the believers.

²⁴Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt.

²⁵He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism.

²⁶When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.

²⁷Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed.

²⁸He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.