Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.

²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

³Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.”

⁶When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.

⁷And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.

⁹Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.

¹⁰And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.

¹¹Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.

¹²That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

¹³Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people,

¹⁴said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;

¹⁵no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.

¹⁶I will therefore chastise Him and release Him”

¹⁷(for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”—

¹⁹who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.

²¹But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²²Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.

²⁴So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.

²⁵And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

²⁶Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.

²⁸But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’

³⁰Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’

³¹For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

³²There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.

³³And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.

³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

³⁵And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,

³⁷and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

³⁸And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

⁴⁵Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

⁴⁶And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.

⁴⁷So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.

⁴⁹But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

⁵⁰Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.

⁵¹He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.

⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.

⁵⁴That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.

⁵⁶Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

²But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs.

³So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls.

⁴And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

⁶So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

⁷And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”

⁹And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

¹⁰So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

¹¹And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹²Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh.

¹³So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.

¹⁴They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.

¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

¹⁶So the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ”

¹⁷And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast.

¹⁹Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had said.

²⁰And the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

²¹Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.

²²And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land.

²³I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” ’ ”

²⁴And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?

²⁷We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.”

²⁸So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.”

²⁹Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”

³⁰So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD.

³¹And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained.

³²But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

¹I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

²God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,

³“LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?

⁴But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

⁵Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

⁶And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

⁷What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

⁸Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”

⁹And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.

¹⁰Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.”

¹¹I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

¹²Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

¹³For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

¹⁴if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

¹⁵For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

¹⁶For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

¹⁸do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.

²²Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

²³And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

²⁶And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

²⁷For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

²⁸Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.

²⁹For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

³⁰For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,

³¹even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.

³²For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

³⁴“For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?”

³⁵“Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?”

³⁶For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

¹After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

²Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,

³saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

⁵of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;

⁶of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;

⁷of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;

⁸of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

¹¹All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

¹²saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

¹⁶They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;

¹⁷for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

¹I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!

²I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.”

³I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them?

⁴My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him.

⁵I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock.

⁶I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

⁷The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls Took my veil away from me.

⁸I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, That you tell him I am lovesick!

⁹What is your beloved More than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you so charge us?

¹⁰My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters, Washed with milk, And fitly set.

¹³His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh.

¹⁴His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars.

¹⁶His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!

¹Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

²Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

³For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.

⁴In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.

⁵The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.

⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

⁷For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:

⁸“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

⁹When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.

¹⁰For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’

¹¹So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

²Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged.

³A poor man who oppresses the poor Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the LORD understand all.

⁶Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

⁷Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, But a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.

⁹One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, He himself will fall into his own pit; But the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding searches him out.

¹²When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people.

¹⁶A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days.

¹⁷A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.

¹⁸Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

¹⁹He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!

²⁰A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

²²A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

²³He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother, And says, “It is no transgression,” The same is companion to a destroyer.

²⁵He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.

²⁶He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

²⁷He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.

¹That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

²And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

³Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

⁴So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

⁵The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.”

⁶So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”

⁷And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,

⁸let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.

⁹Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ”

¹⁰Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”

¹¹So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”

¹²Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.

¹³When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.”

¹⁴While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

¹“In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

²“It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.

³It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

⁴“And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.

⁵But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’

⁶And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

⁷“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

⁸And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the LORD, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one–third shall be left in it:

⁹I will bring the one–third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ ”

¹Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

²And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

⁴And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.

⁵When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

⁶When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day.

⁸On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

¹⁰And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

¹⁷And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

¹⁸On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;

²¹but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

²³Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.

²⁴Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.

²⁵But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

²⁷Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

²⁹(For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

³⁴And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.

³⁵When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.

³⁶For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”

³⁷Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?

³⁸Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,