Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

²Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

³But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

⁴that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

⁵“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

⁶But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

⁷And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

⁸“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

⁹In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

¹⁰Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

¹³And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

¹⁴“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

¹⁶“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

¹⁷But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

¹⁸so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

²³But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

²⁵“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

²⁶Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

²⁷Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁸“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

²⁹and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

³⁰Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

³²For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

¹“And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded.”

²Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work.

³And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning.

⁴Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing,

⁵and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do.”

⁶So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing,

⁷for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.

⁸Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them.

⁹The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size.

¹⁰And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another.

¹¹He made loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set.

¹²Fifty loops he made on one curtain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one curtain to another.

¹³And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, that it might be one tabernacle.

¹⁴He made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains.

¹⁵The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains were the same size.

¹⁶He coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves.

¹⁷And he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the second set.

¹⁸He also made fifty bronze clasps to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

¹⁹Then he made a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and a covering of badger skins above that.

²⁰For the tabernacle he made boards of acacia wood, standing upright.

²¹The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half.

²²Each board had two tenons for binding one to another. Thus he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

²³And he made boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side.

²⁴Forty sockets of silver he made to go under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.

²⁵And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards

²⁶and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards.

²⁷For the west side of the tabernacle he made six boards.

²⁸He also made two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle.

²⁹And they were coupled at the bottom and coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus he made both of them for the two corners.

³⁰So there were eight boards and their sockets—sixteen sockets of silver—two sockets under each of the boards.

³¹And he made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle,

³²five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle on the far side westward.

³³And he made the middle bar to pass through the boards from one end to the other.

³⁴He overlaid the boards with gold, made their rings of gold to be holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

³⁵And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim.

³⁶He made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them.

³⁷He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver,

³⁸and its five pillars with their hooks. And he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were bronze.

¹Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

²Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.

³I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.

⁴Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

⁵For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.

⁶Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,

⁷and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.

⁹Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.

¹⁰For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

¹¹For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

¹²Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.

¹³Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

¹⁴For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true.

¹⁵And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him.

¹⁶Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything.

¹Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers,

²older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.

³Honor widows who are really widows.

⁴But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.

⁵Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

⁶But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.

⁷And these things command, that they may be blameless.

⁸But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man,

¹⁰well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.

¹¹But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,

¹²having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith.

¹³And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.

¹⁴Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

¹⁵For some have already turned aside after Satan.

¹⁶If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.

¹⁷Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

¹⁸For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

¹⁹Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.

²⁰Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

²¹I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

²²Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure.

²³No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.

²⁴Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.

²⁵Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

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 Song of Ascents. [1] Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.

²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.

³Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.

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.

¹Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

²And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.

³Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac.

⁴To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

⁵Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.

⁶‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

⁷So they cried out to the LORD; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.

⁸And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.

⁹Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

¹⁰But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand.

¹¹Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand.

¹²I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.

¹³I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

¹⁴“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!

¹⁵And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

¹⁶So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

¹⁷for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed.

¹⁸And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.”

¹⁹But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

²⁰If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”

²¹And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!”

²²So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!”

²³“Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.”

²⁴And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”

²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

²⁶Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.

²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”

²⁸So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

²⁹Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

³⁰And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

³¹Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

³²The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

³³And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

¹The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, So that there is no house, no harbor; From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.

²Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, Whom those who cross the sea have filled.

³And on great waters the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the River, is her revenue; And she is a marketplace for the nations.

⁴Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea has spoken, The strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labor, nor bring forth children; Neither do I rear young men, Nor bring up virgins.”

⁵When the report reaches Egypt, They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.

⁶Cross over to Tarshish; Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!

⁷Is this your joyous city, Whose antiquity is from ancient days, Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?

⁸Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?

⁹The LORD of hosts has purposed it, To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.

¹⁰Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more strength.

¹¹He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The LORD has given a commandment against Canaan To destroy its strongholds.

¹²And He said, “You will rejoice no more, O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; There also you will have no rest.”

¹³Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, This people which was not; Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, They raised up its palaces, And brought it to ruin.

¹⁴Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste.

¹⁵Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

¹⁶“Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.”

¹⁷And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

¹⁸Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the LORD; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.

¹Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

²And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

⁴And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.

⁵When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

⁶When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day.

⁸On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

¹⁰And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

¹⁷And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

¹⁸On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;

²¹but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

²³Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.

²⁴Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.

²⁵But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

²⁷Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

²⁹(For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

³⁴And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.

³⁵When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.

³⁶For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”

³⁷Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?

³⁸Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,