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 were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

⁷This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

⁹That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive 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 man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

¹⁶And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

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

²⁰He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

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

²²Then they said to him, “Who are you, 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 crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

²⁵And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

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

²⁷It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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

³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

³¹I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

³²And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

³³I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

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

³⁵Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.

³⁶And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

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

³⁸Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now 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 is translated, the Christ).

⁴²And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

⁴³The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and 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 in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom 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 and said to 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, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

⁵¹And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

¹Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him,

²and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

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

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

⁵And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field.

⁶They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

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

⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going?”

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

¹⁰Then he said to them, “The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you.

¹¹Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.”

¹³So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

¹⁴And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.

¹⁵For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

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

¹⁷Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.”

¹⁸So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD.

¹⁹And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt.

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

²¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”

²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

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

²⁴Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.”

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

²⁶Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”

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

²⁸Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”

²⁹So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”

¹Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

²Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

⁴For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

⁵Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.

⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.

⁷Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

⁹For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

¹²The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.

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

¹Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.

²And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

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

⁴They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁵And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

⁶In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

⁷The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

⁸They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.

⁹And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.

¹⁰They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.

¹¹And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹²One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are 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.”

¹⁵So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

¹⁶Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone.

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

¹⁹For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

²⁰But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

²¹And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

¹How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skillful workman.

²Your navel is a rounded goblet; It lacks no blended beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat Set about with lilies.

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

⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower, 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 Mount Carmel, And the hair of your head is like purple; A king is held captive by your tresses.

⁶How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!

⁷This stature of yours is like a palm tree, And your breasts like its clusters.

⁸I said, “I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.” Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹And the roof of your mouth like the best wine. The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved, Moving gently the lips of sleepers.

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

¹¹Come, my beloved, Let us go forth to the field; Let us lodge in the villages.

¹²Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see if the vine has budded, Whether the grape blossoms are open, And the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes give off a fragrance, And at our gates are pleasant fruits, All manner, new and old, Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

¹The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad!

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

³A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about.

⁴His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt 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 see His glory.

⁷Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.

⁸Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁹For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

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

¹²Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:

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

³I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?

⁵Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

⁷Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):

⁸Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;

⁹Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother.

¹²There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters— Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, Four never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶The grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his 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, Yes, four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst 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 wickedness.”

²¹For three things the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up:

²²For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food,

²³A hateful woman when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

²⁴There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

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

²⁶The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;

²⁸The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk:

³⁰A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any;

³¹A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king whose troops are with him.

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

³³For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.

¹On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her.

²So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews.

⁴And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king,

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

⁶For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?”

⁷Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews.

⁸You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.”

⁹So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

¹⁰And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.

¹¹By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions,

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

¹³A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in Shushan the citadel.

¹⁵So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.

¹⁶The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor.

¹⁷And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

¹The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

²“I have loved you,” says the LORD. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved;

³But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.”

⁴Even though Edom has said, “We have been impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places,” Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, And the people against whom the LORD will have indignation forever.

⁵Your eyes shall see, And you shall say, ‘The LORD is magnified beyond the border of Israel.’

⁶“A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

⁷“You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.’

⁸And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the LORD of hosts.

⁹“But now entreat God’s favor, That He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, Will He accept you favorably?” Says the LORD of hosts.

¹⁰“Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” Says the LORD of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.

¹¹For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.

¹²“But you profane it, In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is defiled; And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’

¹³You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the LORD of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the LORD.

¹⁴“But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” Says the LORD of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.

¹Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

²And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

⁴And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

⁵Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

⁷And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.

⁸For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

⁹Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

¹⁰Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

¹²And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

¹³Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.

¹⁴They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

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

¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”

¹⁹Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

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

²¹But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”

²²So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

²³And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night;

²⁴and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

²⁵He wrote a letter in the following manner:

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

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.

²⁸And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council.

²⁹I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains.

³⁰And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell.

³¹Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

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

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

³⁴And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.