Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing;

⁵and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?

⁶He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,

⁷saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.”

⁸And they remembered His words,

⁹and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.

¹⁰Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

¹¹But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe the women.

¹²Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped and looked in, he *saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

¹³And behold, on that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem.

¹⁴And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.

¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

¹⁶But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.

¹⁷And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they came to a stop, looking sad.

¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?”

¹⁹And He said to them, “What sort of things?” And they said to Him, “Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

²⁰and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him.

²¹But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

²²But also some women among us left us bewildered. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,

²³and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.

²⁴And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

²⁵And then He said to them, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

²⁶Was it not necessary for theChrist to suffer these things and to come into His glory?”

²⁷Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸And they approached the village where they were going, and He gave the impression that He was going farther.

²⁹And so they strongly urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.

³⁰And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them.

³¹And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³²They said to one another, “Were our hearts not burning within us when He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

³³And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them,

³⁴saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon!”

³⁵They began to relate their experiences on the road, and how He was recognized by them at the breaking of the bread.

³⁶Now while they were telling these things, Jesus Himself suddenly stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.”

³⁷But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at a spirit.

³⁸And He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in yourhearts?

³⁹See My hands and My feet, thatit is I Myself; touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.”

⁴⁰And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

⁴¹While they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

⁴²They served Him a piece of broiled fish;

⁴³and He took it and ate it in front of them.

⁴⁴Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

⁴⁶and He said to them, “So it is written, that theChrist would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

⁴⁷and that repentancefor forgiveness of sins would be proclaimedin His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

⁵¹While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

⁵²And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

⁵³and were continually in the temple praising God.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

²For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

³behold, the hand of the LORD will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.

⁴But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” ’ ”

⁵And the LORD set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”

⁶So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died.

⁷And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.

⁹Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal.

¹¹The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians.

¹²But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

¹⁴For this time I am going to send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

¹⁵For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth.

¹⁶But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth.

¹⁷Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.

¹⁸Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

¹⁹So now, send word, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” ’ ”

²⁰Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses;

²¹but everyone who did not pay regard to the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²²Now the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”

²³So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

²⁴So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

²⁵The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field.

²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.

²⁷Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.

²⁸Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

²⁹Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’S.

³⁰But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.”

³¹(Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.

³²But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.)

³³So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the LORD; and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain no longer poured on the earth.

³⁴But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

³⁵So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

³For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

⁴For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function,

⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.

⁶However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith;

⁷if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching;

⁸or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor,

¹¹not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

¹²rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

¹³contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

¹⁷Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people.

¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.

¹⁹Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.

²⁰“BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

³Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

⁴And the smoke of the incense ascended from the angel’s hand with the prayers of the saints before God.

⁵Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

⁶And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

⁷The first sounded, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood,

⁹and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.

¹¹The star is named Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹²The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

¹³Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

¹“Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, That we may seek him with you?”

²“My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam, To pasture his flock in the gardens And gather lilies.

³I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”

⁴“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes That have come up from their watering place, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.

⁷Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And young women without number;

⁹But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother’s only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. The young women saw her and called her blessed, The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

¹⁰‘Who is this who looks down like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?’

¹¹I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see the plants of the valley, To see whether the vine had grown Or the pomegranates had bloomed.

¹²Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the chariots of my noble people.”

¹³“Come back, come back, O Shulammite; Come back, come back, so that we may look at you!” “Why should you look at the Shulammite, As at the dance of the two armies?

¹Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

²Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

³Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

⁴For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

⁶Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

⁸Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courtyards.

⁹Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples fairly.”

¹¹May the heavens be joyful, and may the earth rejoice; May the sea roar, and all it contains;

¹²May the field be jubilant, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

¹³Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples in His faithfulness.

¹A person often rebuked who becomes obstinate Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.

²When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked person rules, people groan.

³A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, But he who involves himself with prostitutes wastes his wealth.

⁴The king gives stability to the land by justice, But a person who takes bribes ruins it.

⁵A man who flatters his neighbor Is spreading a net for his steps.

⁶By wrongdoing an evil person is ensnared, But the righteous sings and rejoices.

⁷The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; The wicked does not understand such concern.

⁸Arrogant people inflame a city, But wise people turn away anger.

⁹When a wise person has a controversy with a foolish person, The foolish person either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.

¹⁰People of bloodshed hate the blameless person, But the upright are concerned for his life.

¹¹A fool always loses his temper, But a wise person holds it back.

¹²If a ruler pays attention to falsehood, All his ministers become wicked.

¹³The poor person and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a king judges the poor with truth, His throne will be established forever.

¹⁵The rod and a rebuke give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, wrongdoing increases; But the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul.

¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is one who keeps the Law.

¹⁹A slave will not be instructed by words alone; For though he understands, there will be no response.

²⁰Do you see a person who is hasty with his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹One who pampers his slave from childhood Will in the end find him to be rebellious.

²²An angry person stirs up strife, And a hot-tempered person abounds in wrongdoing.

²³A person’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

²⁴One who is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He hears the oath but tells nothing.

²⁵The fear of man brings a snare, But one who trusts in the LORD will be protected.

²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor, But justice for mankind comes from the LORD.

²⁷An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous, And one who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

¹Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen.

²And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your wish? Up to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”

³Then Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my request, and my people as my wish;

⁴for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, and eliminated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have kept silent, because the distress would not be sufficient reason to burden the king.”

⁵Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do such a thing?”

⁶And Esther said, “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

⁷The king then got up in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king.

⁸Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they had been drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

⁹Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who stood before the king, said, “Indeed, behold, the wooden gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good in behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.”

¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the wooden gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.

¹Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoils taken from you will be divided among you.

²For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city.

³Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

⁴On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south.

⁵And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

⁶On that day there will be no light; the luminaries will die out.

⁷For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the time of evening there will be light.

⁸And on that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

⁹And the LORD will be King over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.

¹⁰All the land will change into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.

¹¹People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will live in security.

¹²Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.

¹³And it will come about on that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be raised against the hand of another.

¹⁴Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.

¹⁵And just like this plague, there will be a plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

¹⁶Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

¹⁷And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of armies, there will be no rain on them.

¹⁸And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

¹⁹This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

²⁰On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar.

²¹Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of armies; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of armies on that day.

¹“Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

²And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

⁵as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brothers, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

⁶“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

⁷and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

⁸And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹And those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

¹⁰And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’

¹¹But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

¹²“Now a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

¹³came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up at him.

¹⁴And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a message from His mouth.

¹⁵For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’

¹⁷“It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,

¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

¹⁹And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.

²⁰And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’

²¹And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’  ”

²²They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a man from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

²³And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks, saying that he was to be interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

²⁵But when they stretched him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

²⁷The commander came and said to Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

²⁸The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.”

²⁹Therefore, those who were about to interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.

³⁰Now on the next day, wanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.