Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.

²Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James’s brother),

³Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus,

⁴Simon (the zealot ), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

⁵Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans,

⁶but only to the people of Israel — God’s lost sheep.

⁷Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

⁹“Don’t take any money in your money belts — no gold, silver, or even copper coins.

¹⁰Don’t carry a traveler’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.

¹¹“Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town.

¹²When you enter the home, give it your blessing.

¹³If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing.

¹⁴If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.

¹⁵I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day.

¹⁶“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

¹⁷But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues.

¹⁸You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.

¹⁹When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time.

²⁰For it is not you who will be speaking — it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.

²²And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.

²³When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.

²⁴“Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master.

²⁵Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!

²⁶“But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.

²⁷What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

²⁸“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

²⁹What is the price of two sparrows — one copper coin ? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.

³⁰And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.

³¹So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

³²“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

³³But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

³⁴“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

³⁷“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.

³⁸If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.

³⁹If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

⁴⁰“Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.

⁴¹If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs.

⁴²And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year.

³Place the Ark of the Covenant inside, and install the inner curtain to enclose the Ark within the Most Holy Place.

⁴Then bring in the table, and arrange the utensils on it. And bring in the lampstand, and set up the lamps.

⁵“Place the gold incense altar in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Then hang the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

⁶Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the Tabernacle entrance.

⁷Set the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.

⁸Then set up the courtyard around the outside of the tent, and hang the curtain for the courtyard entrance.

⁹“Take the anointing oil and anoint the Tabernacle and all its furnishings to consecrate them and make them holy.

¹⁰Anoint the altar of burnt offering and its utensils to consecrate them. Then the altar will become absolutely holy.

¹¹Next anoint the washbasin and its stand to consecrate them.

¹²“Present Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water.

¹³Dress Aaron with the sacred garments and anoint him, consecrating him to serve me as a priest.

¹⁴Then present his sons and dress them in their tunics.

¹⁵Anoint them as you did their father, so they may also serve me as priests. With their anointing, Aaron’s descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation.”

¹⁶Moses proceeded to do everything just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁷So the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year.

¹⁸Moses erected the Tabernacle by setting down its bases, inserting the frames, attaching the crossbars, and setting up the posts.

¹⁹Then he spread the coverings over the Tabernacle framework and put on the protective layers, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰He took the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant and placed them inside the Ark. Then he attached the carrying poles to the Ark, and he set the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement — on top of it.

²¹Then he brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle and hung the inner curtain to shield it from view, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²²Next Moses placed the table in the Tabernacle, along the north side of the Holy Place, just outside the inner curtain.

²³And he arranged the Bread of the Presence on the table before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁴He set the lampstand in the Tabernacle across from the table on the south side of the Holy Place.

²⁵Then he lit the lamps in the LORD’s presence, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁶He also placed the gold incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain.

²⁷On it he burned the fragrant incense, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁸He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle,

²⁹and he placed the altar of burnt offering near the Tabernacle entrance. On it he offered a burnt offering and a grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³⁰Next Moses placed the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar. He filled it with water so the priests could wash themselves.

³¹Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons used water from it to wash their hands and feet.

³²Whenever they approached the altar and entered the Tabernacle, they washed themselves, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³³Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses finished the work.

³⁴Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.

³⁵Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.

³⁶Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it.

³⁷But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted.

³⁸The cloud of the LORD hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

¹I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me.

²For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband — Christ.

³But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

⁴You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

⁵But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

⁶I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

⁷Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return?

⁸I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.

⁹And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.

¹⁰As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this.

¹¹Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.

¹²But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours.

¹³These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

¹⁵So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

¹⁶Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little.

¹⁷Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool.

¹⁸And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.

¹⁹After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!

²⁰You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.

²¹I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about — I’m talking like a fool again — I dare to boast about it, too.

²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

²³Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.

²⁴Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

²⁶I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

²⁷I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

²⁸Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

³⁰If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

³¹God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.

³²When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.

³³I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

¹You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.

²For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.

³They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.

⁴They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

⁵They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

⁶They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.

⁷(Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.)

⁸These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.

⁹But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.

¹⁰But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.

¹¹You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra — but the Lord rescued me from all of it.

¹²Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

¹³But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.

¹⁴But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.

¹⁵You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

¹⁷God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

¹Job continued speaking:

²“I long for the years gone by when God took care of me,

³when he lit up the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness.

⁴When I was in my prime, God’s friendship was felt in my home.

⁵The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me.

⁶My steps were awash in cream, and the rocks gushed olive oil for me.

⁷“Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders.

⁸The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.

⁹The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths.

¹⁰The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect.

¹¹“All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me.

¹²For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.

¹³I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy.

¹⁴Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban.

¹⁵I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.

¹⁶I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.

¹⁷I broke the jaws of godless oppressors and plucked their victims from their teeth.

¹⁸“I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life.

¹⁹For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.

²⁰New honors are constantly bestowed on me, and my strength is continually renewed.’

²¹“Everyone listened to my advice. They were silent as they waited for me to speak.

²²And after I spoke, they had nothing to add, for my counsel satisfied them.

²³They longed for me to speak as people long for rain. They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.

²⁴When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them.

²⁵Like a chief, I told them what to do. I lived like a king among his troops and comforted those who mourned.

¹Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

²It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

³Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

⁴Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

⁵How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

¹Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

²When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

³The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.

⁴A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.

⁵To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet.

⁶Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.

⁷The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.

⁸Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger.

⁹If a wise person takes a fool to court, there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate blameless people, but the upright seek to help them.

¹¹Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

¹²If a ruler pays attention to liars, all his advisers will be wicked.

¹³The poor and the oppressor have this in common — the LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a king judges the poor fairly, his throne will last forever.

¹⁵To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.

¹⁶When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.

¹⁸When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

¹⁹Words alone will not discipline a servant; the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.

²⁰There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.

²¹A servant pampered from childhood will become a rebel.

²²An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

²³Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.

²⁴If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify.

²⁵Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.

²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the LORD.

²⁷The righteous despise the unjust; the wicked despise the godly.

¹After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the LORD’s sight.

²So the LORD turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim.

³Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help.

⁴Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time.

⁵She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.

⁶One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor.

⁷And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.”

⁸Barak told her, “I will go, but only if you go with me.”

⁹“Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the LORD’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰At Kedesh, Barak called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up with him. Deborah also went with him.

¹¹Now Heber the Kenite, a descendant of Moses’ brother-in-law Hobab, had moved away from the other members of his tribe and pitched his tent by the oak of Zaanannim near Kedesh.

¹²When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

¹³he called for all 900 of his iron chariots and all of his warriors, and they marched from Harosheth-haggoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the LORD will give you victory over Sisera, for the LORD is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.

¹⁵When Barak attacked, the LORD threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot.

¹⁶Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera’s warriors. Not a single one was left alive.

¹⁷Meanwhile, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Heber’s family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor.

¹⁸Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹“Please give me some water,” he said. “I’m thirsty.” So she gave him some milk from a leather bag and covered him again.

²⁰“Stand at the door of the tent,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no.”

²¹But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died.

²²When Barak came looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. She said, “Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he followed her into the tent and found Sisera lying there dead, with the tent peg through his temple.

²³So on that day Israel saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king.

²⁴And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.

¹In that day the LORD will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.

²“In that day, sing about the fruitful vineyard.

³I, the LORD, will watch over it, watering it carefully. Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.

⁴My anger will be gone. If I find briers and thorns growing, I will attack them; I will burn them up —

⁵unless they turn to me for help. Let them make peace with me; yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!

⁷Has the LORD struck Israel as he struck her enemies? Has he punished her as he punished them?

⁸No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account. She was exiled from her land as though blown away in a storm from the east.

⁹The LORD did this to purge Israel’s wickedness, to take away all her sin. As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust. No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.

¹⁰The fortified towns will be silent and empty, the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds. Calves will graze there, chewing on twigs and branches.

¹¹The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.

¹²Yet the time will come when the LORD will gather them together like handpicked grain. One by one he will gather them — from the Euphrates River in the east to the Brook of Egypt in the west.

¹³In that day the great trumpet will sound. Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the LORD on his holy mountain.

¹Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take over his new responsibilities, he left for Jerusalem,

²where the leading priests and other Jewish leaders met with him and made their accusations against Paul.

³They asked Festus as a favor to transfer Paul to Jerusalem (planning to ambush and kill him on the way).

⁴But Festus replied that Paul was at Caesarea and he himself would be returning there soon.

⁵So he said, “Those of you in authority can return with me. If Paul has done anything wrong, you can make your accusations.”

⁶About eight or ten days later Festus returned to Caesarea, and on the following day he took his seat in court and ordered that Paul be brought in.

⁷When Paul arrived, the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem gathered around and made many serious accusations they couldn’t prove.

⁸Paul denied the charges. “I am not guilty of any crime against the Jewish laws or the Temple or the Roman government,” he said.

⁹Then Festus, wanting to please the Jews, asked him, “Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there?”

¹⁰But Paul replied, “No! This is the official Roman court, so I ought to be tried right here. You know very well I am not guilty of harming the Jews.

¹¹If I have done something worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die. But if I am innocent, no one has a right to turn me over to these men to kill me. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²Festus conferred with his advisers and then replied, “Very well! You have appealed to Caesar, and to Caesar you will go!”

¹³A few days later King Agrippa arrived with his sister, Bernice, to pay their respects to Festus.

¹⁴During their stay of several days, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. “There is a prisoner here,” he told him, “whose case was left for me by Felix.

¹⁵When I was in Jerusalem, the leading priests and Jewish elders pressed charges against him and asked me to condemn him.

¹⁶I pointed out to them that Roman law does not convict people without a trial. They must be given an opportunity to confront their accusers and defend themselves.

¹⁷“When his accusers came here for the trial, I didn’t delay. I called the case the very next day and ordered Paul brought in.

¹⁸But the accusations made against him weren’t any of the crimes I expected.

¹⁹Instead, it was something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive.

²⁰I was at a loss to know how to investigate these things, so I asked him whether he would be willing to stand trial on these charges in Jerusalem.

²¹But Paul appealed to have his case decided by the emperor. So I ordered that he be held in custody until I could arrange to send him to Caesar.”

²²“I’d like to hear the man myself,” Agrippa said. And Festus replied, “You will — tomorrow!”

²³So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.

²⁴Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are here, this is the man whose death is demanded by all the Jews, both here and in Jerusalem.

²⁵But in my opinion he has done nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his case to the emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.

²⁶“But what shall I write the emperor? For there is no clear charge against him. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially you, King Agrippa, so that after we examine him, I might have something to write.

²⁷For it makes no sense to send a prisoner to the emperor without specifying the charges against him!”