Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Again he began to teach by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.

²He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

³“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.

⁴As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly, since the soil wasn’t deep.

⁶When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit.

⁸Still other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.”

⁹Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

¹⁰When he was alone, those around him with the Twelve, asked him about the parables.

¹¹He answered them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables

¹²so that they may indeed look, and yet not perceive; they may indeed listen, and yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back and be forgiven.”

¹³Then he said to them: “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand all of the parables?

¹⁴The sower sows the word.

¹⁵Some are like the word sown on the path. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them.

¹⁶And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.

¹⁷But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.

¹⁸Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word,

¹⁹but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word, welcome it, and produce fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”

²¹He also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand?

²²For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.

²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.”

²⁴And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured to you — and more will be added to you.

²⁵For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

²⁶“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground.

²⁷He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.

²⁸The soil produces a crop by itself — first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head.

²⁹As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?

³¹It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground.

³²And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”

³³He was speaking the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.

³⁴He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.

³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.”

³⁶So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him.

³⁷A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

³⁸He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses:

²“Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to me, so they do not profane my holy name; I am the LORD.

³Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the LORD.

⁴No man of Aaron’s descendants who has a skin disease or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen,

⁵or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean — whatever his uncleanness —

⁶the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water.

⁷When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.

⁸He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts, making himself unclean by it; I am the LORD.

⁹They must keep my instruction, or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am the LORD who sets them apart.

¹⁰“No one outside a priest’s family is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired worker is not to eat the holy offering.

¹¹But if a priest purchases someone with his own silver, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food.

¹²If the priest’s daughter is married to a man outside a priest’s family, she is not to eat from the holy contributions.

¹³But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it.

¹⁴If anyone eats a holy offering in error, he is to add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.

¹⁵The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the LORD

¹⁶by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution. For I am the LORD who sets them apart.”

¹⁷The LORD spoke to Moses:

¹⁸“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens in Israel who presents his offering  — whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the LORD as burnt offerings —

¹⁹must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted.

²⁰You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

²¹“When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it.

²²You are not to present any animal to the LORD that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash, or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the LORD.

²³You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering.

²⁴You are not to present to the LORD anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles; you must not sacrifice them in your land.

²⁵Neither you nor a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”

²⁶The LORD spoke to Moses:

²⁷“When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days; from the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering, a fire offering to the LORD.

²⁸But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.

²⁹When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

³⁰It is to be eaten on the same day. Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am the LORD.

³¹“You are to keep my commands and do them; I am the LORD.

³²You must not profane my holy name; I must be treated as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sets you apart,

³³the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD.”

¹Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.

²Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

³At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains,

⁴so that I may make it known as I should.

⁵Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

⁷Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

⁸I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts.

⁹He is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

¹⁰Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

¹¹and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.

¹³For I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.

¹⁴Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

¹⁵Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home.

¹⁶After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

¹⁸I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

²This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

³but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

⁴You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

⁵They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.

⁶We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

⁸The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.

¹⁰Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹¹Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.

¹²No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior.

¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God.

¹⁶And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

¹⁷In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world.

¹⁸There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love.

¹⁹We love because he first loved us.

²⁰If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²¹And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.

¹Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: The righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.

²Everything is the same for everyone: There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so also it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who takes an oath, so also for the one who fears an oath.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; after that they go to the dead.

⁴But there is hope for whoever is joined with all the living, since a live dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.

⁷Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.

⁸Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head.

⁹Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

¹¹Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.

¹²For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.

¹³I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me:

¹⁴There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.

¹⁵Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

¹⁶And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

¹⁷The calm words of the wise are heeded more than the shouts of a ruler over fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much good.

¹Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

²Let Israel celebrate its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

³Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.

⁴For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

⁵Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory; let them shout for joy on their beds.

⁶Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,

⁷inflicting vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,

⁸binding their kings with chains and their dignitaries with iron shackles,

⁹carrying out the judgment decreed against them. This honor is for all his faithful people. Hallelujah!

¹Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler; whoever goes astray because of them is not wise.

²A king’s terrible wrath is like the roaring of a lion; anyone who provokes him endangers himself.

³Honor belongs to the person who ends a dispute, but any fool can get himself into a quarrel.

⁴The slacker does not plow during planting season; at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.

⁵Counsel in a person’s heart is deep water; but a person of understanding draws it out.

⁶Many a person proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy person?

⁷A righteous person acts with integrity; his children who come after him will be happy.

⁸A king sitting on a throne to judge separates out all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?

¹⁰Differing weights and varying measures  — both are detestable to the LORD.

¹¹Even a young man is known by his actions — by whether his behavior is pure and upright.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye — the LORD made them both.

¹³Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor; open your eyes, and you’ll have enough to eat.

¹⁴“It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says, but after he is on his way, he gloats.

¹⁵There is gold and a multitude of jewels, but knowledgeable lips are a rare treasure.

¹⁶Take his garment, for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners.

¹⁷Food gained by fraud is sweet to a person, but afterward his mouth is full of gravel.

¹⁸Finalize plans with counsel, and wage war with sound guidance.

¹⁹The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth.

²⁰Whoever curses his father or mother —  his lamp will go out in deep darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained prematurely will not be blessed ultimately.

²²Don’t say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and he will rescue you.

²³Differing weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are unfair.

²⁴Even a courageous person’s steps are determined by the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?

²⁵It is a trap for anyone to dedicate something rashly and later to reconsider his vows.

²⁶A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The LORD’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life, searching the innermost parts.

²⁸Loyalty and faithfulness guard a king; through loyalty he maintains his throne.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is gray hair.

³⁰Lashes and wounds purge away evil, and beatings cleanse the innermost parts.

¹There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

²He had two wives, the first named Hannah and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.

³This man would go up from his town every year to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of Armies at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the LORD’s priests.

⁴Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters.

⁵But he gave a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her even though the LORD had kept her from conceiving.

⁶Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the LORD had kept Hannah from conceiving.

⁷Year after year, when she went up to the LORD’s house, her rival taunted her in this way. Hannah would weep and would not eat.

⁸“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah would ask. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s temple.

¹⁰Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.

¹¹Making a vow, she pleaded, “LORD of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”

¹²While she continued praying in the LORD’s presence, Eli watched her mouth.

¹³Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk

¹⁴and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get rid of your wine!”

¹⁵“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the LORD.

¹⁶Don’t think of me as a wicked woman; I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”

¹⁷Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request you’ve made of him.”

¹⁸“May your servant find favor with you,” she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.

¹⁹The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to worship before the LORD. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah. Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

²⁰After some time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, because she said, “I requested him from the LORD.”

²¹When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice and his vow offering to the LORD,

²²Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the LORD’s presence and to stay there permanently.”

²³Her husband Elkanah replied, “Do what you think is best, and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the LORD confirm your word.” So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.

²⁴When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull, half a bushel of flour, and a clay jar of wine. Though the boy was still young, she took him to the LORD’s house at Shiloh.

²⁵Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

²⁶“Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.

²⁷I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD gave me what I asked him for,

²⁸I now give the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is given to the LORD.” Then he worshiped the LORD there.

¹Coasts and islands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.

²He made my words like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; he hid me in his quiver.

³He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

⁴But I myself said: I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and futility; yet my vindication is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.

⁵And now, says the LORD, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him; for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God is my strength —

⁶he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

⁷This is what the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says to one who is despised, to one abhorred by people, to a servant of rulers: “Kings will see, princes will stand up, and they will all bow down because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel  — and he has chosen you.”

⁸This is what the LORD says: I will answer you in a time of favor, and I will help you in the day of salvation. I will keep you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to make them possess the desolate inheritances,

⁹saying to the prisoners: Come out, and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves. They will feed along the pathways, and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.

¹⁰They will not hunger or thirst, the scorching heat or sun will not strike them; for their compassionate one will guide them, and lead them to springs.

¹¹I will make all my mountains into a road, and my highways will be raised up.

¹²See, these will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Sinim.

¹³Shout for joy, you heavens! Earth, rejoice! Mountains break into joyful shouts! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

¹⁴Zion says, “The LORD has abandoned me; the Lord has forgotten me!”

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you.

¹⁶Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

¹⁷Your builders hurry; those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.

¹⁸Look up, and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As I live” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “you will wear all your children as jewelry, and put them on as a bride does.

¹⁹For your waste and desolate places and your land marked by ruins — will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

²⁰Yet as you listen, the children that you have been deprived of will say, ‘This place is too small for me; make room for me so that I may settle.’

²¹Then you will say within yourself, ‘Who fathered these for me? I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive, exiled and wandering — but who brought them up? See, I was left by myself — but these, where did they come from?’”

²²This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

²³Kings will be your guardians and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who put their hope in me will not be put to shame.

²⁴Can the prey be taken from a mighty man, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

²⁵For this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken, and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered; I will contend with the one who contends with you, and I will save your children.

²⁶I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. Then all people will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples

²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other tongues and to prophesy.

⁷Now there were about twelve men in all.

⁸Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,

¹²so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.

¹⁵The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

¹⁸And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,

¹⁹while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed.

²¹After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”

²²After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.

²⁴For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.

²⁵When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.

²⁷Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

³⁰Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him.

³¹Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven?

³⁶Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.”

⁴¹After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.