Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,

⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

⁶But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

⁷Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.

⁸And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

⁹But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’

¹⁰And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

¹¹Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’

¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.

¹⁷So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

¹⁹Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’

²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’

²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,

²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’

²⁶But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?

²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

³⁰And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

³²Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

³³And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’

⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

¹Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

²She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

³Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

⁴The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

⁵Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.

⁶But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

⁷These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.

⁸Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

⁹Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,

¹⁰the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.

¹¹After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

¹²These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.

¹³These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

¹⁵Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.

¹⁷(These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)

¹⁸They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

¹⁹These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac,

²⁰and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

²¹And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

²²The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

²³And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.

²⁵The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.

²⁶Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

²⁸Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.

³⁰And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom. )

³¹Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”

³²Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”

³³Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

¹Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?

²If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³This is my defense to those who would examine me.

⁴Do we not have the right to eat and drink?

⁵Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

⁶Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

⁷Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

⁸Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same?

⁹For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?

¹⁰Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.

¹¹If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

¹²If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

¹³Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?

¹⁴In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

¹⁵But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.

¹⁶For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

¹⁷For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.

¹⁸What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.

²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.

²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.

²²To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

²⁵Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

²⁶So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

²⁷But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

²For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

³If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

⁴Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

¹⁵This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven.

³Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise?

⁴How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?

⁵Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes;

⁶how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!”

¹To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

²O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.

³Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.

⁵Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

⁶Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

⁷Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

⁸Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

⁹He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

¹¹For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

¹²Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

¹³His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.

¹⁴The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.

¹⁸Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.

²⁰Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

²²Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

¹These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

²It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

³As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel;

⁵take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great,

⁷for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen

⁸do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another's secret,

¹⁰lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

¹²Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

¹⁵With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

¹⁶If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

¹⁸A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

²⁰Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

²²for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

²⁴It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

²⁵Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.

²⁸A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

¹After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

²The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”

³And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him.

⁴Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek.

⁵They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

⁶Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

⁷And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

⁹And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland.

¹⁰And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

¹¹From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher.

¹²And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.”

¹³And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife.

¹⁴When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”

¹⁵She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁶And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people.

¹⁷And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.

¹⁸Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

¹⁹And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.

²⁰And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak.

²¹But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²²The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

²³And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.)

²⁴And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”

²⁵And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go.

²⁶And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

²⁷Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.

²⁸When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

²⁹And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

³⁰Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

³¹Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob,

³²so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

³³Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

³⁴The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain.

³⁵The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor.

³⁶And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

¹O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

²For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners' palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.

³Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.

⁴For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,

⁵like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down.

⁶On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

⁷And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.

⁸He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

⁹It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

¹⁰For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.

¹¹And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim, but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands.

¹²And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

¹Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

²And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him,

³asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem — because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way.

⁴Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly.

⁵“So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.

⁷When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove.

⁸Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.”

⁹But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?”

¹⁰But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well.

¹¹If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

¹³Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

¹⁴And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix,

¹⁵and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

¹⁶I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him.

¹⁷So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.

¹⁹Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.

²⁰Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them.

²¹But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

²³So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

²⁴And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him.

²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”