Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore.

²He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

³“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.

⁴As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.

⁵Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.

⁶But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.

⁸Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

⁹Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

¹⁰Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

¹¹He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,

¹²so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.’ ”

¹³Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?

¹⁴The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.

¹⁵The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.

¹⁶The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

¹⁷But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

¹⁸The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word,

¹⁹but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.

²⁰And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

²¹Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.

²²For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.

²³Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

²⁴Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given — and you will receive even more.

²⁵To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

²⁶Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.

²⁷Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.

²⁸The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.

²⁹And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

³⁰Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?

³¹It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,

³²but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”

³³Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.

³⁴In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

³⁵As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”

³⁶So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).

³⁷But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

³⁸Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

³⁹When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

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

⁴¹The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the LORD.

³Give them the following instructions. “In all future generations, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean when he approaches the sacred offerings that the people of Israel consecrate to the LORD, he must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD.

⁴“If any of Aaron’s descendants has a skin disease or any kind of discharge that makes him ceremonially unclean, he may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has been pronounced clean. He also becomes unclean by touching a corpse, or by having an emission of semen,

⁵or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason.

⁶The man who is defiled in any of these ways will remain unclean until evening. He may not eat from the sacred offerings until he has bathed himself in water.

⁷When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food.

⁸He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the LORD.

⁹“The priests must follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise they will be punished for their sin and will die for violating my instructions. I am the LORD who makes them holy.

¹⁰“No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings. Even guests and hired workers in a priest’s home are not allowed to eat them.

¹¹However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food.

¹²If a priest’s daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings.

¹³But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father’s home as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offerings.

¹⁴“Any such person who eats the sacred offerings without realizing it must pay the priest for the amount eaten, plus an additional 20 percent.

¹⁵The priests must not let the Israelites defile the sacred offerings brought to the LORD

¹⁶by allowing unauthorized people to eat them. This would bring guilt upon them and require them to pay compensation. I am the LORD who makes them holy.”

¹⁷And the LORD said to Moses,

¹⁸“Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. “If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the LORD, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering,

¹⁹you will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat.

²⁰Do not present an animal with defects, because the LORD will not accept it on your behalf.

²¹“If you present a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or the flock, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering, you must offer a perfect animal. It may have no defect of any kind.

²²You must not offer an animal that is blind, crippled, or injured, or that has a wart, a skin sore, or scabs. Such animals must never be offered on the altar as special gifts to the LORD.

²³If a bull or lamb has a leg that is too long or too short, it may be offered as a voluntary offering, but it may not be offered to fulfill a vow.

²⁴If an animal has damaged testicles or is castrated, you may not offer it to the LORD. You must never do this in your own land,

²⁵and you must not accept such an animal from foreigners and then offer it as a sacrifice to your God. Such animals will not be accepted on your behalf, for they are mutilated or defective.”

²⁶And the LORD said to Moses,

²⁷“When a calf or lamb or goat is born, it must be left with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a special gift to the LORD.

²⁸But you must not slaughter a mother animal and her offspring on the same day, whether from the herd or the flock.

²⁹When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the LORD, sacrifice it properly so you will be accepted.

³⁰Eat the entire sacrificial animal on the day it is presented. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. I am the LORD.

³¹“You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD.

³²Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who makes you holy.

³³It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the LORD.”

¹Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master — in heaven.

²Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

³Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.

⁴Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.

⁵Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.

⁶Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

⁷Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work.

⁸I have sent him to you for this very purpose — to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.

⁹I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here.

¹⁰Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way.

¹¹Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish believers among my co-workers; they are working with me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a comfort they have been!

¹²Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God.

¹³I can assure you that he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁴Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas.

¹⁵Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.

¹⁶After you have read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too. And you should read the letter I wrote to them.

¹⁷And say to Archippus, “Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.”

¹⁸HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING — PAUL. Remember my chains. May God’s grace be with you.

¹Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

²This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.

³But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

⁴But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

⁵Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.

⁶But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

⁷Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

⁸But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

¹⁰This is real love — not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

¹²No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

¹³And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

¹⁴Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.

¹⁶We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

¹⁷And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

¹⁸Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

¹⁹We love each other because he loved us first.

²⁰If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

²¹And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

¹This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.

²The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

³It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

⁴There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”

⁵The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.

⁶Whatever they did in their lifetime — loving, hating, envying — is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.

⁷So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

⁸Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

⁹Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.

¹⁰Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹¹I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

¹²People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.

¹³Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.

¹⁴There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.

¹⁵A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.

¹⁶So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.

¹⁷Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.

¹⁸Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

¹Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.

²O Israel, rejoice in your Maker. O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.

³Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.

⁴For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

⁵Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

⁶Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands —

⁷to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,

⁸to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains,

⁹to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!

¹Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.

²The king’s fury is like a lion’s roar; to rouse his anger is to risk your life.

³Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

⁴Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

⁵Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.

⁶Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?

⁷The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.

⁸When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.

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

¹⁰False weights and unequal measures — the LORD detests double standards of every kind.

¹¹Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.

¹²Ears to hear and eyes to see — both are gifts from the LORD.

¹³If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!

¹⁴The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,” then brags about getting a bargain!

¹⁵Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies.

¹⁶Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.

¹⁷Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.

¹⁸Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.

¹⁹A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers.

²⁰If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.

²¹An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.

²²Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.

²³The LORD detests double standards; he is not pleased by dishonest scales.

²⁴The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

²⁵Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost.

²⁶A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat, then runs his threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.

²⁸Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love.

²⁹The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.

³⁰Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart.

¹There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim.

²Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

³Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the LORD at that time were the two sons of Eli — Hophni and Phinehas.

⁴On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children.

⁵And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the LORD had given her no children.

⁶So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the LORD had kept her from having children.

⁷Year after year it was the same — Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.

⁸“Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me — isn’t that better than having ten sons?”

⁹Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.

¹⁰Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.

¹¹And she made this vow: “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut. ”

¹²As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her.

¹³Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking.

¹⁴“Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”

¹⁵“Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD.

¹⁶Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

¹⁷“In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

¹⁸“Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.

¹⁹The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the LORD once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the LORD remembered her plea,

²⁰and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the LORD for him.”

²¹The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and to keep his vow.

²²But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the LORD permanently. ”

²³“Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the LORD help you keep your promise. ” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.

²⁴When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine.

²⁵After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli.

²⁶“Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD.

²⁷I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request.

²⁸Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there.

¹Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.

²He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

³He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.”

⁴I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”

⁵And now the LORD speaks — the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The LORD has honored me, and my God has given me strength.

⁶He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

⁷The LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the LORD, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

⁸This is what the LORD says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again.

⁹I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare.

¹⁰They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the LORD in his mercy will lead them; he will lead them beside cool waters.

¹¹And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys.

¹²See, my people will return from far away, from lands to the north and west, and from as far south as Egypt. ”

¹³Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.

¹⁴Yet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”

¹⁵“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

¹⁶See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

¹⁷Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.

¹⁸Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,” says the LORD, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.

¹⁹“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land will soon be crowded with your people. Your enemies who enslaved you will be far away.

²⁰The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’

²¹Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these descendants? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile. I was left here all alone. Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children? Who raised them for me?’”

²²This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will give a signal to the godless nations. They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.

²³Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs. They will bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”

²⁴Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?

²⁵But the LORD says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children.

²⁶I will feed your enemies with their own flesh. They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood. All the world will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. ”

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.

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

³“Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

⁵As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

⁹But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia — both Jews and Greeks — heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.

¹²When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

¹³A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”

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

¹⁵But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

¹⁷The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.

¹⁸Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.

¹⁹A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.

²⁰So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.

²¹Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”

²²He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.

²³About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.

²⁴It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.

²⁵He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.

²⁶But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!

²⁷Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis — this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world — will be robbed of her great prestige!”

²⁸At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

³⁰Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him.

³¹Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

³²Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.

³³The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.

³⁴But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.

³⁶Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

³⁸“If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges.

³⁹And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

⁴¹Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.