Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²He was in the beginning with God.

³All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.

⁴In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.

⁵And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.

⁶A man came, one sent from God, and his name was John.

⁷He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.

⁸He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

⁹This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him.

¹¹He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him.

¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,

¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John *testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’ ”

¹⁶For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

¹⁷For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him.

¹⁹This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰And he confessed and did not deny; and this is what he confessed: “I am not the Christ.”

²¹And so they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

²²Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³He said, “I am THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE THE WAY OF THE LORD STRAIGHT,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴And the messengers had been sent from the Pharisees.

²⁵They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶John answered them, saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

²⁷It is He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy even to untie the strap of His sandal.”

²⁸These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing people.

²⁹The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

³⁰This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’

³¹And I did not recognize Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”

³²And John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.

³³And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’

³⁴And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,

³⁶and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

³⁷And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

³⁸And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What are you seeking?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

³⁹He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

⁴¹He first *found his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).

⁴²He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son ofJohn; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

⁴³The next day He decided to go to Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.”

⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

⁴⁵Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”

⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!”

⁴⁸Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

⁵¹And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may perform these signs of Mine among them,

²and that you may tell in the presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD.”

³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

⁴For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.

⁵And they will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has survived—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree of yours which grows in the field.

⁶Then your houses will be filled with them, together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day.’ ” And he turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?”

⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God! Who specifically are the ones who are going?”

⁹Moses said, “We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”

¹⁰Then he said to them, “So may the LORD be with you, when I let you and your little ones go! Watch out, for evil is on your mind!

¹¹Not so! Go now, but only the men among you, and serve the LORD, since that is what you desire.” So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, everything that the hail has left.”

¹³So Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

¹⁴The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again.

¹⁵For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.

¹⁶Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

¹⁷So now, please forgive my sin only this once, and plead with the LORD your God, that He would only remove this death from me.”

¹⁸Then he left Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD.

¹⁹So the LORD shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.

²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.

²¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.”

²²So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

²³They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.

²⁴Then Pharaoh called for Moses, and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even your little ones may go with you.”

²⁵But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may sacrifice them to the LORD our God.

²⁶Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the LORD our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the LORD.”

²⁷But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.

²⁸Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Be careful, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!”

²⁹Moses said, “You have spoken correctly; I shall never see your face again!”

¹Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

²Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

³For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;

⁴for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

⁵Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.

⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

⁷Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.

⁹For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.

¹¹Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.

¹²The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

¹³Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

¹Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him.

²He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft.

³Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

⁴They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁵And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person.

⁶And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will flee from them!

⁷The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like human faces.

⁸They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

⁹They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

¹⁰They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months.

¹¹They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹²The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

¹³Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

¹⁴saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

¹⁵And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

¹⁶The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

¹⁷And this is how I saw in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths *came fire and smoke and brimstone.

¹⁸A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.

¹⁹For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

²⁰The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

²¹and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their witchcraft, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.

¹“How beautiful are your feet in sandals, Prince’s daughter! The curves of your hips are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

²Your navel is like a round goblet That never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is like a heap of wheat, Surrounded with lilies.

³Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle.

⁴Your neck is like a tower of ivory, Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which looks toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you like Carmel, And the flowing hair of your head is like purple threads; The king is captivated by your tresses.

⁶How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your delights!

⁷Your stature is like a palm tree, And your breasts are like its clusters.

⁸I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree, I will grasp its fruit stalks.’ Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹And your mouth like the best wine!” “It goes down smoothly for my beloved, Flowing gently through the lips of those who are asleep.

¹⁰“I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me.

¹¹Come, my beloved, let’s go out to the country, Let’s spend the night in the villages.

¹²Let’s rise early and go to the vineyards; Let’s see whether the vine has grown And its buds have opened, And whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over our doors are all delicious fruits, New as well as old, Which I have saved for you, my beloved.

¹The LORD reigns, may the earth rejoice; May the many islands be joyful.

²Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

³Fire goes before Him And burns up His enemies all around.

⁴His lightning lit up the world; The earth saw it and trembled.

⁵The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.

⁷May all those be ashamed who serve carved images, Who boast in idols; Worship Him, all you gods.

⁸Zion heard this and was joyful, And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced Because of Your judgments, LORD.

⁹For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who watches over the souls of His godly ones; He saves them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹Light is sown like seed for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart.

¹²Be joyful in the LORD, you righteous ones, And praise the mention of His holy name.

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

²I am certainly more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man;

³Nor have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know!

⁵Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

⁷Two things I have asked of You; Do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,

⁹So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” And that I will not become impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

¹¹There is a kind of person who curses his father And does not bless his mother.

¹²There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

¹³There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴There is a kind of person whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the poor from the earth And the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters: “Give” and “Give.” There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”:

¹⁶Sheol, the infertile womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of the eagle in the sky, The way of a snake on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot endure:

²²Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,

²³Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.

²⁴Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The rock hyraxes are not a mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;

²⁸The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march, Even four which are stately when they walk:

³⁰The lion, which is mighty among animals And does not retreat from anything,

³¹The strutting rooster or the male goat, And a king when his army is with him.

³²If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

³³For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose produces blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.

¹On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed what he was to her.

²Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and pleaded for his compassion to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews.

⁴And the king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther got up and stood before the king.

⁵Then she said, “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him, and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to eliminate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.

⁶For how can I endure to see the disaster which will happen to my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”

⁷So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the wooden gallows because he had reached out with his hand against the Jews.

⁸Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.”

⁹So the king’s scribes were summoned at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written in accordance with everything that Mordecai commanded the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the provinces which extended from India to Cush, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language, as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language.

¹⁰He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horses, riding on royal relay horses, offspring of racing mares.

¹¹In the letters the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, kill, and eliminate the entire army of any people or province which was going to attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoils,

¹²on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar).

¹³A copy of the edict to be issued as law in each and every province was published to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴The couriers, hurrying and speeded by the king’s command, left, riding on the royal relay horses; and the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa.

¹⁵Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in a royal robe of violet and white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

¹⁶For the Jews there was light, joy, jubilation, and honor.

¹⁷In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was joy and jubilation for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, because the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.

¹The pronouncement of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi:

²“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob;

³but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.”

⁴Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; this is what the LORD of armies says: “They may build, but I will tear down; and people will call them the territory of wickedness, and the people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.”

⁵And your eyes will see this, and you will say, “The LORD be exalted beyond the border of Israel!”

⁶“ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of armies to you, the priests who despise My name! But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

⁷You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’

⁸And when you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? Or when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not evil? So offer it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you, or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of armies.

⁹“But now, do indeed plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us. With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of armies.

¹⁰“If only there were one among you who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of armies, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.

¹¹For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name shall be great among the nations, and in every place frankincense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name shall be great among the nations,” says the LORD of armies.

¹²“But you are profaning it by your saying, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

¹³You also say, ‘See, how tiresome it is!’ And you view it as trivial,” says the LORD of armies, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I accept it from your hand?” says the LORD.

¹⁴“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of armies, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

¹Now looking intently at the Council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with an entirely good conscience before God up to this day.”

²But the high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?”

⁴But those present said, “Are you insulting God’s high priest?”

⁵And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written: ‘YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.’ ”

⁶But Paul, perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!”

⁷When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

⁹And a great uproar occurred; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰And when a great dissension occurred, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, and he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹But on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, “Be courageous! For as you have testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome also.”

¹²When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and put themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty who formed this plot.

¹⁴They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have put ourselves under an oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now therefore, you and the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly; and as for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes near the place.”

¹⁶But the son of Paul’s sister heard about their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions to himself and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.”

¹⁸So he took him and led him to the commander and *said, “Paul the prisoner called me over to him and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The commander took him by the hand, and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?”

²⁰And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

²¹So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are in hiding to ambush him, and these men have put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.”

²²Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

²³And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.”

²⁴They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.

²⁵And he wrote a letter with the following content:

²⁶“Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, after learning that he was a Roman.

²⁸And wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I brought him down to their Council;

²⁹and I found that he was being accused regarding questions in their Law, but was not charged with anything deserving death or imprisonment.

³⁰When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before you.”

³¹So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

³²But on the next day they let the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.

³³When these horsemen had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

³⁴Now when he had read it, he also asked from what province Paul was, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for Paul to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.