Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor.

²They began to state their case: “This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king.”

³So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

⁴Pilate turned to the leading priests and to the crowd and said, “I find nothing wrong with this man!”

⁵Then they became insistent. “But he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes — all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!”

⁶“Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked.

⁷When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.

⁸Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle.

⁹He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer.

¹⁰Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations.

¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.

¹²(Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.)

¹³Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious leaders, along with the people,

¹⁴and he announced his verdict. “You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent.

¹⁵Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us. Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty.

¹⁶So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”

¹⁷

¹⁸Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!”

¹⁹(Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.)

²⁰Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus.

²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²²For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”

²³But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed.

²⁴So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded.

²⁵As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.

²⁶As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

²⁷A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women.

²⁸But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’

³⁰People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’

³¹For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? ”

³²Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him.

³³When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified — one on his right and one on his left.

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

³⁵The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine.

³⁷They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

³⁸A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself — and us, too, while you’re at it!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?

⁴¹We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

⁴³And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.

⁴⁵The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.

⁴⁶Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

⁴⁷When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent. ”

⁴⁸And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.

⁴⁹But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

⁵⁰Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council,

⁵¹but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.

⁵²He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

⁵³Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock.

⁵⁴This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed.

⁵⁶Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

²If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land.

³The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls.

⁴Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’”

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’”

⁶So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land!

⁷But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and begged, “Plead with the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the LORD.”

⁹“You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

¹⁰“Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. “All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

¹¹The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

¹²So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s palace, and Moses cried out to the LORD about the frogs he had inflicted on Pharaoh.

¹³And the LORD did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died.

¹⁴The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land.

¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had predicted.

¹⁶So the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the ground. The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”

¹⁷So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats.

¹⁸Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.

¹⁹“This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the LORD had predicted.

²⁰Then the LORD told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

²¹If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them.

²²But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the LORD and that I am present even in the heart of your land.

²³I will make a clear distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’”

²⁴And the LORD did just as he had said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies.

²⁵Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. “All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God,” he said. “But do it here in this land.”

²⁶But Moses replied, “That wouldn’t be right. The Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the LORD our God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices here where the Egyptians can see us, they will stone us.

²⁷We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, just as he has commanded us.”

²⁸“All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”

²⁹Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the LORD, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will disappear from you and your officials and all your people. But I am warning you, Pharaoh, don’t lie to us again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”

³⁰So Moses left Pharaoh’s palace and pleaded with the LORD to remove all the flies.

³¹And the LORD did as Moses asked and caused the swarms of flies to disappear from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly remained.

³²But Pharaoh again became stubborn and refused to let the people go.

¹I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

²No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,

³“LORD, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

⁴And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”

⁵It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace — his undeserved kindness in choosing them.

⁶And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is — free and undeserved.

⁷So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have — the ones God has chosen — but the hearts of the rest were hardened.

⁸As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

⁹Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve.

¹⁰Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”

¹¹Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.

¹²Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

¹³I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,

¹⁴for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.

¹⁵For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!

¹⁶And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy — just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

¹⁷But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree — some of the people of Israel — have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.

¹⁸But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

¹⁹“Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.”

²⁰Yes, but remember — those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.

²¹For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

²²Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.

²³And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree.

²⁴You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.

²⁵I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.

²⁶And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.

²⁷And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”

²⁸Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

²⁹For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.

³⁰Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead.

³¹Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy.

³²For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

³³Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

³⁴For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?

³⁵And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?

³⁶For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

¹Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree.

²And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea,

³“Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

⁴And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God — 144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

⁵from Judah — 12,000 from Reuben — 12,000 from Gad — 12,000

⁶from Asher — 12,000 from Naphtali — 12,000 from Manasseh — 12,000

⁷from Simeon — 12,000 from Levi — 12,000 from Issachar — 12,000

⁸from Zebulun — 12,000 from Joseph — 12,000 from Benjamin — 12,000

⁹After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.

¹⁰And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God.

¹²They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

¹⁴And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

¹⁵“That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter.

¹⁶They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.

¹⁷For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

¹I have entered my garden, my treasure, my bride! I gather myrrh with my spices and eat honeycomb with my honey. I drink wine with my milk. Young Women of Jerusalem Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of your love!

²I slept, but my heart was awake, when I heard my lover knocking and calling: “Open to me, my treasure, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”

³But I responded, “I have taken off my robe. Should I get dressed again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?”

⁴My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled within me.

⁵I jumped up to open the door for my love, and my hands dripped with perfume. My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh as I pulled back the bolt.

⁶I opened to my lover, but he was gone! My heart sank. I searched for him but could not find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply.

⁷The night watchmen found me as they made their rounds. They beat and bruised me and stripped off my veil, those watchmen on the walls.

⁸Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem — If you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love.

⁹Why is your lover better than all others, O woman of rare beauty? What makes your lover so special that we must promise this?

¹⁰My lover is dark and dazzling, better than ten thousand others!

¹¹His head is finest gold, his wavy hair is black as a raven.

¹²His eyes sparkle like doves beside springs of water; they are set like jewels washed in milk.

¹³His cheeks are like gardens of spices giving off fragrance. His lips are like lilies, perfumed with myrrh.

¹⁴His arms are like rounded bars of gold, set with beryl. His body is like bright ivory, glowing with lapis lazuli.

¹⁵His legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of finest gold. His posture is stately, like the noble cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁶His mouth is sweetness itself; he is desirable in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend.

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

²Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

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

⁴He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.

⁵The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.

⁶Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,

⁷for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!

⁸The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.

⁹For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.

¹⁰For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’

¹¹So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

¹The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.

²When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.

³A poor person who oppresses the poor is like a pounding rain that destroys the crops.

⁴To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.

⁵Evil people don’t understand justice, but those who follow the LORD understand completely.

⁶Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich.

⁷Young people who obey the law are wise; those with wild friends bring shame to their parents.

⁸Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.

⁹God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.

¹⁰Those who lead good people along an evil path will fall into their own trap, but the honest will inherit good things.

¹¹Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.

¹²When the godly succeed, everyone is glad. When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.

¹³People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

¹⁴Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.

¹⁵A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a roaring lion or an attacking bear.

¹⁶A ruler with no understanding will oppress his people, but one who hates corruption will have a long life.

¹⁷A murderer’s tormented conscience will drive him into the grave. Don’t protect him!

¹⁸The blameless will be rescued from harm, but the crooked will be suddenly destroyed.

¹⁹A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

²⁰The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

²¹Showing partiality is never good, yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.

²²Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

²³In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery.

²⁴Anyone who steals from his father and mother and says, “What’s wrong with that?” is no better than a murderer.

²⁵Greed causes fighting; trusting the LORD leads to prosperity.

²⁶Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.

²⁷Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

²⁸When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding. When the wicked meet disaster, the godly flourish.

¹That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him.

²In those records he discovered an account of how Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the door to the king’s private quarters. They had plotted to assassinate King Xerxes.

³“What reward or recognition did we ever give Mordecai for this?” the king asked. His attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”

⁴“Who is that in the outer court?” the king inquired. As it happened, Haman had just arrived in the outer court of the palace to ask the king to impale Mordecai on the pole he had prepared.

⁵So the attendants replied to the king, “Haman is out in the court.” “Bring him in,” the king ordered.

⁶So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?” Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?”

⁷So he replied, “If the king wishes to honor someone,

⁸he should bring out one of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a horse that the king himself has ridden — one with a royal emblem on its head.

⁹Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. And let him see that the man whom the king wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s robes and led through the city square on the king’s horse. Have the official shout as they go, ‘This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!’”

¹⁰“Excellent!” the king said to Haman. “Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!”

¹¹So Haman took the robes and put them on Mordecai, placed him on the king’s own horse, and led him through the city square, shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!”

¹²Afterward Mordecai returned to the palace gate, but Haman hurried home dejected and completely humiliated.

¹³When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends what had happened, his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since Mordecai — this man who has humiliated you — is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.”

¹⁴While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived and quickly took Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

¹“On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.

²“And on that day,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them.

³If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the LORD.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.

⁴“On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.

⁵He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’

⁶And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest? ’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’

⁷“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.

⁸Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the LORD. “But one-third will be left in the land.

⁹I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

¹After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara.

²There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia.

³We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

⁴We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.

⁵When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,

⁶and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.

⁷The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day.

⁸The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.

⁹He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

¹⁰Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.

¹¹He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’”

¹²When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

¹³But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

¹⁵After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers.

¹⁷When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.

¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.

¹⁹After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.

²¹But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs.

²²What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³“Here’s what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow.

²⁴Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws.

²⁵“As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.

²⁷The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him,

²⁸yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple — and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles. ”

²⁹(For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

³⁰The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him.

³¹As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.

³⁴Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress.

³⁵As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him.

³⁶And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”

³⁷As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?” “Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised.

³⁸“Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”

³⁹“No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.”

⁴⁰The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.