Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

²Now while in prison, John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples,

³and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?”

⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

⁵those who are BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the POOR HAVE THEGOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

⁶And blessed isany person who does nottake offense at Me.”

⁷As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

⁸But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’palaces!

⁹But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

¹⁰This is the one about whom itis written: ‘BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

¹¹Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

¹²And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force.

¹³For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

¹⁴And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah whowas to come.

¹⁵The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children,

¹⁷and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did notmourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’

¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and aheavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors andsinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

²⁰Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if themiracles that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago insackcloth and ashes.

²²Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

²³And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! For if themiracles that occurred in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

²⁴Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants.

²⁶Yes, Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight.

²⁷All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FINDREST FOR YOUR SOULS.

³⁰For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

¹Now the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When anyone of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or the flock.

³If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, so that he may be accepted before the LORD.

⁴And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.

⁵Then he shall slaughter the bull before the LORD; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁶He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces.

⁷And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

⁸Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, with the head and the suet, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

⁹Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁰‘But if his offering is from the flock, either from the sheep or from the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without defect.

¹¹And he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

¹²He shall then cut it into its pieces with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

¹³The entrails, however, and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁴‘But if his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the turtledoves or from young doves.

¹⁵The priest shall bring it to the altar, and pinch off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar.

¹⁶He shall also remove its craw with its feathers and throw it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the fatty ashes.

¹⁷Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹Boasting is necessary, though it is not beneficial; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

²I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

³And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows—

⁴was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.

⁵In behalf of such a man I will boast; but in my own behalf I will not boast, except regarding my weaknesses.

⁶For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

⁷Because of the extraordinary greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

⁸Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me.

⁹And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

¹⁰Therefore I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in difficulties, in behalf of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was in no respect inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.

¹²The distinguishing marks of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles.

¹³For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

¹⁶But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, devious person that I am, I took you in by deceit.

¹⁷Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I?

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?

¹⁹All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for building you up, beloved.

²⁰For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, selfishness, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;

²¹I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and indecent behavior which they have practiced.

¹I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.

³For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,

⁴and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

⁵But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

⁸in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

⁹Make every effort to come to me soon;

¹⁰for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

¹²But I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

¹³When you come, bring the overcoat which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

¹⁵Be on guard against him yourself too, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

¹⁶At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.

¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

²⁰Erastus remained at Corinth, but I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

²¹Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

¹“But now those who are younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.

²Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

³From poverty and famine they are gaunt, They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

⁴Who pluck saltweed by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

⁵They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,

⁶So that they live on the slopes of ravines, In holes in the ground and among the rocks.

⁷Among the bushes they cry out; Under the weeds they are gathered together.

⁸Worthless fellows, even those without a name, They were cast out from the land.

⁹“And now I have become their taunt, And I have become a byword to them.

¹⁰They loathe me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting in my face.

¹¹Because He has undone my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.

¹²On the right hand their mob arises; They push aside my feet and pile up their ways of destruction against me.

¹³They break up my path, They promote my destruction; No one restrains them.

¹⁴As through a wide gap they come, Amid the storm they roll on.

¹⁵Sudden terrors are turned upon me; They chase away my dignity like the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

¹⁶“And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of misery have seized me.

¹⁷At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains do not rest.

¹⁸By a great force my garment is distorted; It ties me up like the collar of my coat.

¹⁹He has thrown me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

²⁰I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

²¹You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You persecute me.

²²You lift me up to the wind and make me ride it; And You dissolve me in a storm.

²³For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house of meeting for all living.

²⁴“Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand, Or in his disaster does he not cry out for help?

²⁵Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was my soul not grieved for the needy?

²⁶When I expected good, evil came; When I waited for light, darkness came.

²⁷I am seething within and cannot rest; Days of misery confront me.

²⁸I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

²⁹I have become a brother to jackals, And a companion of ostriches.

³⁰My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.

³¹Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

¹Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.

²When you eat the fruit of the labor of your hands, You will be happy and it will go well for you.

³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.

⁴Behold, for so shall a man Who fears the LORD be blessed.

⁵The LORD bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

⁶Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

²I am certainly more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man;

³Nor have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know!

⁵Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

⁷Two things I have asked of You; Do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,

⁹So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” And that I will not become impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

¹¹There is a kind of person who curses his father And does not bless his mother.

¹²There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

¹³There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴There is a kind of person whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the poor from the earth And the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters: “Give” and “Give.” There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”:

¹⁶Sheol, the infertile womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of the eagle in the sky, The way of a snake on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot endure:

²²Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,

²³Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.

²⁴Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The rock hyraxes are not a mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;

²⁸The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march, Even four which are stately when they walk:

³⁰The lion, which is mighty among animals And does not retreat from anything,

³¹The strutting rooster or the male goat, And a king when his army is with him.

³²If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

³³For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose produces blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.

¹Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

²“For the leaders leading in Israel, For the people volunteering, Bless the LORD!

³Hear, you kings; listen, you dignitaries! I myself—to the LORD, I myself will sing, I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel!

⁴LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, The clouds also dripped water.

⁵The mountains flowed with water at the presence of the LORD, This Sinai, at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁶“In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the roads were deserted, And travelers went by roundabout ways.

⁷The peasantry came to an end, they came to an end in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Until I arose, a mother in Israel.

⁸New gods were chosen; Then war was in the gates. Not a shield or a spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel.

⁹My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, The volunteers among the people; Bless the LORD!

¹⁰You who ride on white donkeys, You who sit on rich carpets, And you who travel on the road—shout in praise!

¹¹At the sound of those who distribute water among the watering places, There they will recount the righteous deeds of the LORD, The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.

¹²“Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, son of Abinoam.

¹³Then survivors came down to the nobles; The people of the LORD came down to me as warriors.

¹⁴From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down, Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples; From Machir commanders came down, And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.

¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed at his heels; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great determinations of heart.

¹⁶Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the piping for the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben There were great searchings of heart.

¹⁷Gilead remained across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay on ships? Asher sat at the seashore, And remained by its landings.

¹⁸Zebulun was a people who risked their lives, And Naphtali too, on the high places of the field.

¹⁹“The kings came and fought; Then the kings of Canaan fought At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo; They took no plunder in silver.

²⁰The stars fought from heaven, From their paths they fought against Sisera.

²¹The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. My soul, march on with strength!

²²Then the horses’ hoofs beat From the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions.

²³‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants, Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the warriors.’

²⁴“Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Most blessed is she of women in the tent.

²⁵He asked for water, she gave him milk; In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.

²⁶She reached out her hand for the tent peg, And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head; And she shattered and pierced his temple.

²⁷Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell dead.

²⁸“Out of the window she looked and wailed, The mother of Sisera through the lattice, ‘Why does his chariot delay in coming? Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots delay?’

²⁹Her wise princesses would answer her, Indeed she repeats her words to herself,

³⁰‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoils? A concubine, two concubines for every warrior; To Sisera a spoil of dyed cloth, A spoil of dyed cloth embroidered, Dyed cloth of double embroidery on the neck of the plunderer?’

³¹May all Your enemies perish in this way, LORD; But may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” And the land was at rest for forty years.

¹Woe to the proud crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine!

²Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.

³The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot.

⁴And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it.

⁵On that day the LORD of armies will become a beautiful crown And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;

⁶A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

⁷And these also reel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink: The priest and the prophet reel with intoxicating drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from intoxicating drink; They reel while having visions, They stagger when rendering a verdict.

⁸For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.

⁹“To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?

¹⁰For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’ ”

¹¹Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,

¹²He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,” And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.

¹³So the word of the LORD to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.

¹⁴Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

¹⁵Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by, Because we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”

¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed.

¹⁷I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the secret place.

¹⁸Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the gushing flood passes through, Then you will become its trampling ground.

¹⁹As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

²⁰The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.

²¹For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work.

²²And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your shackles will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of armies Of decisive destruction on all the earth.

²³Listen and hear my voice, Pay attention and hear my words.

²⁴Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and break up his ground?

²⁵Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cumin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?

²⁶For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

²⁷For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel driven over cumin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.

²⁸Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.

²⁹This also comes from the LORD of armies, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

¹Now Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul extended his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

²“Regarding all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

³especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴“So then, all Jews know my way of life since my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and in Jerusalem,

⁵since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.

⁶And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;

⁷the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. For this hope, O king, I am being accused by Jews.

⁸Why is it considered incredible among you people if God raises the dead?

⁹“So I thought to myself that I had to act in strong opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, after receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being put to death.

¹¹And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was extremely enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.

¹²“While so engaged, as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,

¹³at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me.

¹⁴And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

¹⁶But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you as a servant and a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you,

¹⁷rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,

¹⁸to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from thepower of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁹“For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision,

²⁰but continually proclaimed to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they are to repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance.

²¹For these reasons some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to murder me.

²²So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place,

²³as to whether the Christ was to suffer, and whether, as first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴While Paul was stating these things in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.”

²⁵But Paul *said, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; on the contrary, I am speaking out with truthful and rational words.

²⁶For the king knows about these matters, and I also speak to him with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.

²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.”

²⁸Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you are going to persuade me to make a Christian of myself.”

²⁹And Paul said, “I would wish to God that even in a short or long time not only you, but also all who hear me this day would become such as I myself am, except for these chains.”

³⁰The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them,

³¹and when they had gone out, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.”

³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”