Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

²Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

¹²Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

¹⁸For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

¹⁹Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’

²²But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

²³Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

²⁴leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

²⁶Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

²⁸But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

³¹“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

³²But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

³³“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’

³⁴But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

³⁵nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

³⁷But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

³⁹But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

⁴⁰If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

⁴¹And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴²Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁷And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

¹Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do:

²Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

³You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

⁴And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying:

⁵‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;

⁶blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair;

⁷ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood;

⁸oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense;

⁹onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.

¹⁰‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded:

¹¹the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

¹²the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering;

¹³the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread;

¹⁴also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light;

¹⁵the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle;

¹⁶the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base;

¹⁷the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

¹⁸the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords;

¹⁹the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”

²⁰And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

²¹Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

²²They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the LORD.

²³And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them.

²⁴Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the LORD’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

²⁵All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

²⁶And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair.

²⁷The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate,

²⁸and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

²⁹The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

³⁰And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

³¹and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,

³²to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze,

³³in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.

³⁴“And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

³⁵He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.

¹We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

²For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

³We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.

⁴But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,

⁵in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;

⁶by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,

⁷by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

⁸by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;

⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;

¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

¹¹O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open.

¹²You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.

¹³Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.

¹⁴Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

¹⁵And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

¹⁶And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

¹⁷Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”

¹⁸“I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

¹Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

²speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

³forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;

⁵for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

⁶If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

⁷But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.

⁸For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

⁹This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.

¹⁰For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

¹¹These things command and teach.

¹²Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

¹³Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

¹⁵Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

¹⁶Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹“Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days?

²“Some remove landmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them;

³They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

⁴They push the needy off the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide.

⁵Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.

⁶They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.

⁸They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.

⁹“Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor.

¹⁰They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

¹¹They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

¹²The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

¹³“There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me’; And he disguises his face.

¹⁶In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light.

¹⁷For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

¹⁸“They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.

¹⁹As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned.

²⁰The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.

²¹For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow.

²²“But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life.

²³He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain.

²⁵“Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?”

¹A Song of Ascents. Of David. [1] I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”

²Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together,

⁴Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

⁵For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.

⁷Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.”

⁸For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

⁹Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

¹Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;

²For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking.

³Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established;

⁴By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.

⁵A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;

⁶For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

⁷Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate.

⁸He who plots to do evil Will be called a schemer.

⁹The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

¹⁰If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.

¹¹Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.

¹²If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

¹³My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;

¹⁴So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place;

¹⁶For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

¹⁸Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.

¹⁹Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked;

²⁰For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those given to change;

²²For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring?

²³These things also belong to the wise: It is not good to show partiality in judgment.

²⁴He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him.

²⁵But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.

²⁷Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, For would you deceive with your lips?

²⁹Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”

³⁰I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;

³¹And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.

³²When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction:

³³A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest;

³⁴So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

¹Now it came to pass, a long time after the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age.

²And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: “I am old, advanced in age.

³You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you.

⁴See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward.

⁵And the LORD your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the LORD your God promised you.

⁶Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,

⁷and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them,

⁸but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.

⁹For the LORD has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day.

¹⁰One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.

¹¹Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God.

¹²Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you,

¹³know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁴“Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.

¹⁵Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁶When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

¹The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,

²You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle.

³All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar.

⁴Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”

⁵For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord GOD of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain.

⁶Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield.

⁷It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

⁸He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest;

⁹You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

¹⁰You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall.

¹¹You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

¹²And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.

¹³But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the house, and say:

¹⁶‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?

¹⁷Indeed, the LORD will throw you away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you.

¹⁸He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master’s house.

¹⁹So I will drive you out of your office, And from your position he will pull you down.

²⁰‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;

²¹I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah.

²²The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

²³I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

²⁴‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers.

²⁵In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.’ ”

¹After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and departed to go to Macedonia.

²Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to Greece

³and stayed three months. And when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

⁵These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas.

⁶But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

⁷Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

⁸There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.

⁹And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.”

¹¹Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.

¹²And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

¹³Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had given orders, intending himself to go on foot.

¹⁴And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene.

¹⁵We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus.

¹⁶For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.

¹⁷From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.

¹⁸And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;

²⁰how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,

²¹testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

²²And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,

²³except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.

²⁴But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.

²⁶Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

²⁷For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

²⁸Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

²⁹For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

³⁰Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

³¹Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

³²“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.

³⁴Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.

³⁵I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him,

³⁸sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.