Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

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

³Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,

⁴but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

⁵But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’

⁷Then all those virgins arose 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, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’

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

¹¹“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’

¹²But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

¹⁴“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

¹⁵And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

¹⁶Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

¹⁷And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.

¹⁸But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’

²¹His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²²He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’

²³His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

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

²⁶“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.

²⁷So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.

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

²⁹‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

³⁰And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

³³And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of 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 took Me in;

³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

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

³⁸When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

³⁹Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

⁴⁰And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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 take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

⁴⁴“Then they also will answer Him, 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, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

¹Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

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

³Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

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

⁵And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.

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

⁷This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.

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

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

¹⁰the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

¹¹And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

¹²Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.

¹³And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

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

¹⁶These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.

¹⁷These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

¹⁸(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.

¹⁹This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac.

²⁰Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

²¹Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

²²But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

²³And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.

²⁵And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.

²⁶Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.

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

²⁹Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.

³⁰And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.

³¹But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

³²And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”

³³Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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

²If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³My defense to those who examine me is this:

⁴Do we have no right to eat and drink?

⁵Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

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

⁷Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?

⁸Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?

¹⁰Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.

¹¹If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?

¹²If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.

¹³Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?

¹⁴Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

¹⁵But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void.

¹⁶For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

¹⁷For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

¹⁸What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

¹⁹For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;

²⁰and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;

²¹to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;

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

²³Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

²⁴Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

²⁵And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

²⁶Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.

²⁷But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

¹My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

²For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

³Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

⁴Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

⁵Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

⁸But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

¹⁵This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

¹⁶For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

¹⁸Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places.

³Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise?

⁴How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

⁵If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight,

⁶How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?”

¹A Psalm of David. [1] To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

²O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.

³Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

⁴Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

⁵Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

⁶Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

⁸Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

⁹The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

¹¹For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

¹²Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

¹³He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.

¹⁴The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.

¹⁷The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!

¹⁸Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred.

²⁰Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.

²²Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!

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

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

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

⁴Take away the dross from silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.

⁵Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great;

⁷For it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

⁸Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame?

⁹Debate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another;

¹⁰Lest he who hears it expose your shame, And your reputation be ruined.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.

¹²Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise rebuker to an obedient ear.

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

¹⁴Whoever falsely boasts of giving Is like clouds and wind without rain.

¹⁵By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks a bone.

¹⁶Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit.

¹⁷Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, Lest he become weary of you and hate you.

¹⁸A man who bears false witness against his neighbor Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.

²⁰Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, And like vinegar on soda, Is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

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

²²For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind brings forth rain, And a backbiting tongue an angry countenance.

²⁴It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

²⁵As cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a far country.

²⁶A righteous man who falters before the wicked Is like a murky spring and a polluted well.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one’s own glory is not glory.

²⁸Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.

¹Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?”

²And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”

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

⁴Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek.

⁵And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

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

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

⁸Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

⁹And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowland.

¹⁰Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

¹¹From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)

¹²Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.”

¹³And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.

¹⁴Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?”

¹⁵So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁶Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

¹⁷And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah.

¹⁸Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

¹⁹So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron.

²⁰And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

²¹But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

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

²³So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.)

²⁴And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.”

²⁵So he showed them the entrance to 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, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

²⁷However, Manasseh 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 were determined to dwell in that land.

²⁸And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.

²⁹Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

³⁰Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.

³¹Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

³²So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

³³Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them.

³⁴And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;

³⁵and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute.

³⁶Now the boundary of the Amorites was 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; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

²For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.

³Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You.

⁴For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

⁵You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.

⁶And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.

⁷And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And 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; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

⁹And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

¹⁰For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest, And Moab shall be trampled down under Him, As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.

¹¹And He will spread out His hands in their midst As a swimmer reaches out to swim, And He will bring down their pride Together with the trickery of their hands.

¹²The fortress of the high fort of your walls He will bring down, lay low, And bring to the ground, down to the dust.

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

²Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him,

³asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem— while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.

⁴But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.”

⁶And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought.

⁷When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove,

⁸while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

¹⁰So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.

¹¹For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

¹³And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus.

¹⁴When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix,

¹⁵about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him.

¹⁶To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’

¹⁷Therefore when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed,

¹⁹but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁰And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”

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

²³So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.

²⁴And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer.

²⁵But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him.

²⁶I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”