Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

²They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

³So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

⁵The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?

⁶He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,

⁷that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

⁸Then they remembered that he had said this.

⁹So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples — and everyone else — what had happened.

¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.

¹¹But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.

¹²However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.

¹³That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.

¹⁴As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened.

¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.

¹⁶But God kept them from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.

¹⁸Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

¹⁹“What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people.

²⁰But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him.

²¹We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

²²“Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report.

²³They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive!

²⁴Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

²⁵Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.

²⁶Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”

²⁷Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on,

²⁹but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them.

³⁰As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.

³¹Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

³²They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

³³And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them,

³⁴who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter. ”

³⁵Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

³⁶And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

³⁷But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

³⁸“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?

³⁹Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”

⁴⁰As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

⁴¹Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

⁴³and he ate it as they watched.

⁴⁴Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.

⁴⁷It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’

⁴⁸You are witnesses of all these things.

⁴⁹“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

⁵⁰Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.

⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.

⁵²So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.

⁵³And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

¹“Go back to Pharaoh,” the LORD commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

²If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,

³the hand of the LORD will strike all your livestock — your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats — with a deadly plague.

⁴But the LORD will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die!

⁵The LORD has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.’”

⁶And the LORD did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.

⁷Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people go.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches.

⁹The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

¹⁰So they took soot from a brick kiln and went and stood before Pharaoh. As Pharaoh watched, Moses threw the soot into the air, and boils broke out on people and animals alike.

¹¹Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.

¹²But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the LORD had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.

¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

¹⁴If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

¹⁵By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.

¹⁶But I have spared you for a purpose — to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.

¹⁷But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go.

¹⁸So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt.

¹⁹Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”

²⁰Some of Pharaoh’s officials were afraid because of what the LORD had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields.

²¹But those who paid no attention to the word of the LORD left theirs out in the open.

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt.”

²³So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The LORD sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt.

²⁴Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.

²⁵It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field — people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.

²⁶The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.

²⁷Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he confessed. “The LORD is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong.

²⁸Please beg the LORD to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”

²⁹“All right,” Moses replied. “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the LORD. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD.

³⁰But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God.”

³¹(All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.

³²But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)

³³So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the LORD, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased.

³⁴But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.

³⁵Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the LORD had predicted through Moses.

¹And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

²Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

³Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

⁴Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,

⁵so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

⁶In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

⁷If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.

⁸If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

⁹Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

¹⁰Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

¹¹Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

¹²Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

¹³When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

¹⁵Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

¹⁷Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

¹⁸Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

¹⁹Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

²⁰Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”

²¹Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

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

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

³Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

⁴The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

⁵Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

⁶Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.

⁷The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.

⁸Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood,

⁹one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.

¹⁰Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

¹¹The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.

¹²Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

¹³Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

¹Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him?

²My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies.

³I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies.

⁴You are beautiful, my darling, like the lovely city of Tirzah. Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem, as majestic as an army with billowing banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away, for they overpower me. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are as white as sheep that are freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin.

⁷Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil.

⁸Even among sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless young women,

⁹I would still choose my dove, my perfect one — the favorite of her mother, dearly loved by the one who bore her. The young women see her and praise her; even queens and royal concubines sing her praises:

¹⁰“Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”

¹¹I went down to the grove of walnut trees and out to the valley to see the new spring growth, to see whether the grapevines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I realized it, my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.

¹³Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Young Man Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?

¹Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!

²Sing to the LORD; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

³Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

⁴Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.

⁵The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the LORD made the heavens!

⁶Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.

⁷O nations of the world, recognize the LORD; recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.

⁸Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts.

⁹Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.

¹⁰Tell all the nations, “The LORD reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly.

¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!

¹²Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy

¹³before the LORD, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.

¹Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

²When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

³The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.

⁴A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.

⁵To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet.

⁶Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.

⁷The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.

⁸Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger.

⁹If a wise person takes a fool to court, there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate blameless people, but the upright seek to help them.

¹¹Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

¹²If a ruler pays attention to liars, all his advisers will be wicked.

¹³The poor and the oppressor have this in common — the LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a king judges the poor fairly, his throne will last forever.

¹⁵To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.

¹⁶When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.

¹⁸When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

¹⁹Words alone will not discipline a servant; the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.

²⁰There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.

²¹A servant pampered from childhood will become a rebel.

²²An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

²³Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.

²⁴If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify.

²⁵Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.

²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the LORD.

²⁷The righteous despise the unjust; the wicked despise the godly.

¹So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet.

²On this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”

³Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared.

⁴For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”

⁵“Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”

⁶Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen.

⁷Then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden. Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him.

⁸In despair he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king was returning from the palace garden. The king exclaimed, “Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?” And as soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman’s face, signaling his doom.

⁹Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.” “Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered.

¹⁰So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.

¹Watch, for the day of the LORD is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you!

²I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.

³Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past.

⁴On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.

⁵You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.

⁶On that day the sources of light will no longer shine,

⁷yet there will be continuous day! Only the LORD knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light.

⁸On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously in both summer and winter.

⁹And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD — his name alone will be worshiped.

¹⁰All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.

¹¹And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.

¹²And the LORD will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand.

¹⁴Judah, too, will be fighting at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be captured — great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing.

¹⁵This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camps.

¹⁶In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

¹⁷Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain.

¹⁸If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the LORD will punish them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go.

¹⁹Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they don’t go to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

²⁰On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: HOLY TO THE LORD. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the LORD will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar.

²¹In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices. And on that day there will no longer be traders in the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.”

²When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.

³Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.

⁴And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.

⁵The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.

⁶“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.

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

⁸“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’

⁹The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.

¹⁰“I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’

¹¹“I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.

¹²A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus.

¹³He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!

¹⁴“Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak.

¹⁵For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷“After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.

¹⁸I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹“‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.

²⁰And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’

²¹“But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”

²²The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!”

²³They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.

²⁴The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious.

²⁵When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?”

²⁶When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

²⁷So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied.

²⁸“I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!” Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!”

²⁹The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped.

³⁰The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them.