Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

²He existed in the beginning with God.

³God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

⁴The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

⁶God sent a man, John the Baptist,

⁷to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

⁸John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.

⁹The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.

¹¹He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

¹²But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

¹³They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

¹⁵John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

¹⁶From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

¹⁹This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?”

²⁰He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

²¹“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he replied. “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?” “No.”

²²“Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

²³John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”

²⁴Then the Pharisees who had been sent

²⁵asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

²⁶John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize.

²⁷Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

²⁸This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

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

³⁰He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’

³¹I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³²Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him.

³³I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

³⁴I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God. ”

³⁵The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples.

³⁶As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”

³⁷When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

³⁸Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹“Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.

⁴¹Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ” ).

⁴²Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John — but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter” ).

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.”

⁴⁴Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

⁴⁵Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

⁴⁷As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel — a man of complete integrity.”

⁴⁸“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

⁴⁹Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God — the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

⁵¹Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. ”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them.

²I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them — and so you will know that I am the LORD.”

³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me.

⁴If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.

⁵They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields.

⁶They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!” And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. “How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the LORD their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”

⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “All right,” he told them, “go and worship the LORD your God. But who exactly will be going with you?”

⁹Moses replied, “We will all go — young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the LORD.”

¹⁰Pharaoh retorted, “The LORD will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan.

¹¹Never! Only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.”

¹³So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the LORD caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts.

¹⁴And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it.

¹⁵For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.

¹⁶Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you,” he confessed.

¹⁷“Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the LORD your God to take away this death from me.”

¹⁸So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the LORD.

¹⁹The LORD responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.

²¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”

²²So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.

²³During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.

²⁴Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the LORD,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.”

²⁵“No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the LORD our God.

²⁶All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the LORD our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the LORD until we get there.”

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

²⁸“Get out of here!” Pharaoh shouted at Moses. “I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!”

²⁹“Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.”

¹Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

²So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.

³For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.

⁴The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.

⁵So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

⁶Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do.

⁷Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

⁸Owe nothing to anyone — except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.

⁹For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These — and other such commandments — are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁰Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

¹¹This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

¹²The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.

¹³Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

¹⁴Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

¹Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

²When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke.

³Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions.

⁴They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁵They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting.

⁶In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!

⁷The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces.

⁸They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion.

⁹They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle.

¹⁰They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people.

¹¹Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon — the Destroyer.

¹²The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!

¹³Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God.

¹⁴And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.”

¹⁵Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth.

¹⁶I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops.

¹⁷And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths.

¹⁸One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues — by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses.

¹⁹Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.

²⁰But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood — idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!

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

¹How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O queenly maiden. Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a skilled craftsman.

²Your navel is perfectly formed like a goblet filled with mixed wine. Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat bordered with lilies.

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

⁴Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.

⁵Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel, and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty. The king is held captive by its tresses.

⁶Oh, how beautiful you are! How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!

⁷You are slender like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like grape clusters, and the fragrance of your breath like apples.

⁹May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine — Young Woman Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.

¹⁰I am my lover’s, and he claims me as his own.

¹¹Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers.

¹²Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.

¹³There the mandrakes give off their fragrance, and the finest fruits are at our door, new delights as well as old, which I have saved for you, my lover.

¹The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad.

²Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes.

⁴His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness; every nation sees his glory.

⁷Those who worship idols are disgraced — all who brag about their worthless gods — for every god must bow to him.

⁸Jerusalem has heard and rejoiced, and all the towns of Judah are glad because of your justice, O LORD!

⁹For you, O LORD, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰You who love the LORD, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.

¹¹Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right.

¹²May all who are godly rejoice in the LORD and praise his holy name!

¹The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message. I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God.

²I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense.

³I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.

⁴Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is his name — and his son’s name? Tell me if you know!

⁵Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

⁶Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

⁷O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.

⁸First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

⁹For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

¹⁰Never slander a worker to the employer, or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother.

¹²They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed.

¹³They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances.

¹⁴They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.

¹⁵The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied — no, four that never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother’s instructions will be plucked out by ravens of the valley and eaten by vultures.

¹⁸There are three things that amaze me — no, four things that I don’t understand:

¹⁹how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

²⁰An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

²¹There are three things that make the earth tremble — no, four it cannot endure:

²²a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers,

²³a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress.

²⁴There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:

²⁵Ants — they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.

²⁶Hyraxes — they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks.

²⁷Locusts — they have no king, but they march in formation.

²⁸Lizards — they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things that walk with stately stride — no, four that strut about:

³⁰the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,

³¹the strutting rooster, the male goat, a king as he leads his army.

³²If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, cover your mouth in shame.

³³As the beating of cream yields butter and striking the nose causes bleeding, so stirring up anger causes quarrels.

¹On that same day King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related.

²The king took off his signet ring — which he had taken back from Haman — and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property.

³Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews.

⁴Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him.

⁵Esther said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is right, and if I am pleasing to him, let there be a decree that reverses the orders of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, who ordered that Jews throughout all the king’s provinces should be destroyed.

⁶For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?”

⁷Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been impaled on a pole because he tried to destroy the Jews.

⁸Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.”

⁹So on June 25 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Mordecai dictated. It was sent to the Jews and to the highest officers, the governors, and the nobles of all the 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. The decree was written in the scripts and languages of all the peoples of the empire, including that of the Jews.

¹⁰The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Mordecai sent the dispatches by swift messengers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king’s service.

¹¹The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city authority to unite to defend their lives. They were allowed to kill, slaughter, and annihilate anyone of any nationality or province who might attack them or their children and wives, and to take the property of their enemies.

¹²The day chosen for this event throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was March 7 of the next year.

¹³A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies on the appointed day.

¹⁴So urged on by the king’s command, the messengers rode out swiftly on fast horses bred for the king’s service. The same decree was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa.

¹⁵Then Mordecai left the king’s presence, wearing the royal robe of blue and white, the great crown of gold, and an outer cloak of fine linen and purple. And the people of Susa celebrated the new decree.

¹⁶The Jews were filled with joy and gladness and were honored everywhere.

¹⁷In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.

¹This is the message that the LORD gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.

²“I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” And the LORD replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob,

³but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”

⁴Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.” But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the LORD Is Forever Angry.’

⁵When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the LORD’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”

⁶The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’

⁷“You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices? ’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect.

⁸When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

⁹“Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁰“How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings.

¹¹But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹²“But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table.

¹³You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the LORD,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the LORD.

¹⁴“Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

¹Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!”

²Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth.

³But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”

⁴Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?”

⁵“I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’ ”

⁶Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!”

⁷This divided the council — the Pharisees against the Sadducees —

⁸for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these.

⁹So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.”

¹⁰As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.

¹¹That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”

¹²The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy.

¹⁴They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.”

¹⁶But Paul’s nephew — his sister’s son — heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul.

¹⁷Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.”

¹⁸So the officer did, explaining, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The commander took his hand, led him aside, and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information.

²¹But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.”

²²“Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the young man.

²³Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops.

²⁴Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.”

²⁵Then he wrote this letter to the governor:

²⁶“From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings!

²⁷“This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety.

²⁸Then I took him to their high council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him.

²⁹I soon discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law — certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death.

³⁰But when I was informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.”

³¹So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris.

³²They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea.

³³When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix.

³⁴He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered.

³⁵“I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters.