Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,

²and he began to teach them.

³“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

⁴God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

⁶God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

⁷God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

⁸God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

⁹God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

¹⁰God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

¹¹“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.

¹²Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world — like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

¹⁵No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

¹⁶In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

¹⁷“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

¹⁹So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁰“But I warn you — unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

²¹“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’

²²But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

²³“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,

²⁴leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

²⁵“When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

²⁶And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’

²⁸But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹So if your eye — even your good eye — causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³⁰And if your hand — even your stronger hand — causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

³¹“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’

³²But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.

³³“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the LORD.’

³⁴But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.

³⁵And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.

³⁶Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.

³⁷Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’

³⁹But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.

⁴⁰If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.

⁴¹If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

⁴²Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

⁴³“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.

⁴⁴But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

⁴⁵In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

⁴⁶If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.

⁴⁷If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.

⁴⁸But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

¹Then Moses called together the whole community of Israel and told them, “These are the instructions the LORD has commanded you to follow.

²You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the LORD. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death.

³You must not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath.”

⁴Then Moses said to the whole community of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded:

⁵Take a sacred offering for the LORD. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;

⁶blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth;

⁷tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood;

⁸olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense;

⁹onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece.

¹⁰“Come, all of you who are gifted craftsmen. Construct everything that the LORD has commanded:

¹¹the Tabernacle and its sacred tent, its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts, and bases;

¹²the Ark and its carrying poles; the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement; the inner curtain to shield the Ark;

¹³the table, its carrying poles, and all its utensils; the Bread of the Presence;

¹⁴for light, the lampstand, its accessories, the lamp cups, and the olive oil for lighting;

¹⁵the incense altar and its carrying poles; the anointing oil and fragrant incense; the curtain for the entrance of the Tabernacle;

¹⁶the altar of burnt offering; the bronze grating of the altar and its carrying poles and utensils; the washbasin with its stand;

¹⁷the curtains for the walls of the courtyard; the posts and their bases; the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;

¹⁸the tent pegs of the Tabernacle and courtyard and their ropes;

¹⁹the beautifully stitched garments for the priests to wear while ministering in the Holy Place — the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests.”

²⁰So the whole community of Israel left Moses and returned to their tents.

²¹All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the LORD. They brought all the materials needed for the Tabernacle, for the performance of its rituals, and for the sacred garments.

²²Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing. They brought to the LORD their offerings of gold — brooches, earrings, rings from their fingers, and necklaces. They presented gold objects of every kind as a special offering to the LORD.

²³All those who owned the following items willingly brought them: blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth; and tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather.

²⁴And all who had silver and bronze objects gave them as a sacred offering to the LORD. And those who had acacia wood brought it for use in the project.

²⁵All the women who were skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen cloth.

²⁶All the women who were willing used their skills to spin the goat hair into yarn.

²⁷The leaders brought onyx stones and the special gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece.

²⁸They also brought spices and olive oil for the light, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense.

²⁹So the people of Israel — every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the LORD had given them through Moses — brought their gifts and gave them freely to the LORD.

³⁰Then Moses told the people of Israel, “The LORD has specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

³¹The LORD has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.

³²He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze.

³³He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft.

³⁴And the LORD has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others.

³⁵The LORD has given them special skills as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth, and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and as designers.

¹As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.

²For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

³We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry.

⁴In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.

⁵We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.

⁶We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.

⁷We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

⁸We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.

⁹We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed.

¹⁰Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

¹¹Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you.

¹²There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us.

¹³I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

¹⁴Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

¹⁵What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil ? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

¹⁶And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

¹⁷Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

¹⁸And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty. ”

¹Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

²These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

³They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.

⁴Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.

⁵For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

⁶If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed.

⁷Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.

⁸“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

⁹This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.

¹⁰This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

¹¹Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them.

¹²Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

¹³Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.

¹⁴Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.

¹⁵Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.

¹⁶Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

¹“Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain?

²Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.

³They take the orphan’s donkey and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.

⁴The poor are pushed off the path; the needy must hide together for safety.

⁵Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children.

⁶They harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

⁷All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.

⁸They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.

⁹“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast, taking the baby as security for a loan.

¹⁰The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.

¹¹They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.

¹²The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God ignores their moaning.

¹³“Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways or stay in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer rises in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night he is a thief.

¹⁵The adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No one will see me then.’ He hides his face so no one will know him.

¹⁶Thieves break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light.

¹⁷The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.

¹⁸“But they disappear like foam down a river. Everything they own is cursed, and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.

¹⁹The grave consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow.

²⁰Their own mothers will forget them. Maggots will find them sweet to eat. No one will remember them. Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.

²¹They cheat the woman who has no son to help her. They refuse to help the needy widow.

²²“God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.

²³They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them.

²⁴And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, cut off like heads of grain.

²⁵Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?”

¹I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

²And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

³Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached.

⁴All the tribes of Israel — the LORD’s people — make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD, as the law requires of Israel.

⁵Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David.

⁶Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.

⁷O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces.

⁸For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “May you have peace.”

⁹For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

¹Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.

²For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble.

³A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.

⁴Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

⁵The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

⁶So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.

⁷Wisdom is too lofty for fools. Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.

⁸A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker.

⁹The schemes of a fool are sinful; everyone detests a mocker.

¹⁰If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

¹¹Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death.

¹²Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

¹³My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

¹⁴In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

¹⁵Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live.

¹⁶The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

¹⁷Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.

¹⁸For the LORD will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.

¹⁹Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked.

²⁰For evil people have no future; the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,

²²for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the LORD and the king?

²³Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

²⁴A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

²⁵But it will go well for those who convict the guilty; rich blessings will be showered on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.

²⁷Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.

²⁸Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause; don’t lie about them.

²⁹And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!”

³⁰I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.

³¹I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.

³²Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:

³³A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

³⁴then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹The years passed, and the LORD had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies. Joshua, who was now very old,

²called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. He said to them, “I am now a very old man.

³You have seen everything the LORD your God has done for you during my lifetime. The LORD your God has fought for you against your enemies.

⁴I have allotted to you as your homeland all the land of the nations yet unconquered, as well as the land of those we have already conquered — from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

⁵This land will be yours, for the LORD your God will himself drive out all the people living there now. You will take possession of their land, just as the LORD your God promised you.

⁶“So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.

⁷Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them.

⁸Rather, cling tightly to the LORD your God as you have done until now.

⁹“For the LORD has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you.

¹⁰Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the LORD your God fights for you, just as he has promised.

¹¹So be very careful to love the LORD your God.

¹²“But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,

¹³then know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁴“Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!

¹⁵But as surely as the LORD your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you.

¹⁶If you break the covenant of the LORD your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

¹This message came to me concerning Jerusalem — the Valley of Vision : What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops?

²The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this reveling city? Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease.

³All your leaders have fled. They surrendered without resistance. The people tried to slip away, but they were captured, too.

⁴That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep; do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.”

⁵Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.

⁶Elamites are the archers, with their chariots and charioteers. The men of Kir hold up the shields.

⁷Chariots fill your beautiful valleys, and charioteers storm your gates.

⁸Judah’s defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons.

⁹You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool.

¹⁰You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls.

¹¹Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.

¹²At that time the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.

¹³But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁵This is what the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message:

¹⁶“Who do you think you are, and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself — a monument high up in the rock?

¹⁷For the LORD is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you,

¹⁸crumple you into a ball, and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master!

¹⁹“Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the LORD. “I will pull you down from your high position.

²⁰And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you.

²¹I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.

²²I will give him the key to the house of David — the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.

²³He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall.

²⁴They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family. ”

²⁵But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

¹When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.

²While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,

³where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

⁵They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

⁶After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

⁷On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight.

⁸The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps.

⁹As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.

¹⁰Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”

¹¹Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.

¹²Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

¹³Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship.

¹⁴He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene.

¹⁵The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus.

¹⁶Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost.

¹⁷But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.

¹⁸When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now

¹⁹I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.

²⁰I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.

²¹I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike — the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

²²“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me,

²³except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.

²⁴But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus — the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

²⁵“And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.

²⁶I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,

²⁷for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

²⁸“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock — his church, purchased with his own blood — over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.

²⁹I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.

³⁰Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

³¹Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you — my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.

³²“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

³³“I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes.

³⁴You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me.

³⁵And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them.

³⁷They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye.

³⁸They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.