Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹They came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes.

²When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him.

³He lived among the tombs; and no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain,

⁴because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces; and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

⁵Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and cutting himself with stones.

⁶Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;

⁷and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”

⁸For He had already been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

⁹And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

¹⁰And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

¹¹Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding nearby on the mountain.

¹²And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.”

¹³Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.

¹⁵And then they *came to Jesus and *saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had previously had the “legion”; and they became frightened.

¹⁶Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the pigs.

¹⁷And they began to beg Him to leave their region.

¹⁸And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was begging Him that he might accompany Him.

¹⁹And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to themwhat great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

²¹When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and He stayed by the seashore.

²²And one of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, *came, and upon seeing Him, *fell at His feet

²³and *pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”

²⁴And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

²⁵A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years,

²⁶and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse—

²⁷after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.

²⁸For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”

²⁹And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

³⁰And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”

³¹And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

³²And He looked around to see the woman who had done this.

³³But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

³⁴And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith hasmade you well; go in peace and be cured of your disease.”

³⁵While He was still speaking, people *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher further?”

³⁶But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, *said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, onlybelieve.”

³⁷And He allowed no one to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

³⁸They *came to the house of the synagogue official, and He *saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing.

³⁹And after entering, He *said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child has not died, but is asleep.”

⁴⁰And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all outside, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was in bed.

⁴¹And taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha, kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).

⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astonished.

⁴³And He gave them strict orders that no one was to know about this, and He told them to have something given her to eat.

¹The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying,

²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

³‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.

⁴‘These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.

⁵In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover.

⁶Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

⁷On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.

⁸But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’ ”

⁹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁰“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you gather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.

¹¹He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

¹²Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect as a burnt offering to the LORD.

¹³Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine.

¹⁴Until this very day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new produce. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

¹⁵‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths.

¹⁶You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD.

¹⁷You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD.

¹⁸Along with the bread you shall present seven one-year-old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁹You shall also offer one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.

²⁰The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering with two lambs before the LORD; they are to be holy to the LORD for the priest.

²¹On this very day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a permanent statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

²²‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the LORD your God.’ ”

²³Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

²⁵You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.’ ”

²⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁷“On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble yourselves and present an offering by fire to the LORD.

²⁸You shall not do any work on this very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God.

²⁹If there is any person who does not humble himself on this very day, he shall be cut off from his people.

³⁰As for any person who does any work on this very day, that person I will eliminate from among his people.

³¹You shall not do any work. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³²It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”

³³Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁴“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD.

³⁵On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.

³⁶For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall not do any laborious work.

³⁷‘These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day’s matter on its own day—

³⁸besides those of the Sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts and besides all your vowed and voluntary offerings, which you give to the LORD.

³⁹‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.

⁴⁰Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and branches of trees with thick branches and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.

⁴¹So you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

⁴²You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths,

⁴³so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’ ”

⁴⁴So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the LORD.

¹God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

²in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world.

³And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

⁴having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

⁵For to which of the angels did He ever say, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU”? And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE WILL BE A SON TO ME”?

⁶And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”

⁷And regarding the angels He says, “HE MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”

⁸But regarding the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.

⁹YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF JOY ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”

¹⁰And, “YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;

¹¹THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL WEAR OUT LIKE A GARMENT,

¹²AND LIKE A ROBE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”?

¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

⁴For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

⁵Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

⁷For there are three that testify:

⁸the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

⁹If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.

¹⁰The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.

¹¹And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

¹²The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

¹⁴This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that.

¹⁷All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

¹⁸We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

¹Dead flies turn a perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more potent than wisdom and honor.

²A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish person’s heart directs him toward the left.

³Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your place, because composure puts great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler:

⁶foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places.

⁷I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

⁸One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall.

⁹One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success.

¹¹If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer.

¹²Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;

¹³the beginning of his talking is foolishness, and the end of it is evil insanity.

¹⁴Yet the fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?

¹⁵The labor of a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city.

¹⁶Woe to you, land whose king is a boy, and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks.

¹⁹People prepare a meal for enjoyment, wine makes life joyful, and money is the answer to everything.

²⁰Furthermore, in your bedroom do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.

¹Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.

²Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.

³Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.

⁴Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute.

⁵Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

⁶Everything that has breath shall praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

¹The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases.

²Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD examines the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, But everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.

⁶The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Bringing the wicked to ruin.

¹³One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor Will also call out himself, and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.

¹⁵The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But terror to those who practice injustice.

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.

²¹One who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

²⁴“Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names, One who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy one puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

²⁶All day long he is craving, While the righteous gives and does not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish, But a person who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked person displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

²There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

³Do not go on boasting so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed.

⁴The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces, But those who have stumbled strap on strength.

⁵Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to be hungry. Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes.

⁶The LORD puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and brings up.

⁷The LORD makes poor and rich; He humbles, He also exalts.

⁸He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the garbage heap To seat them with nobles, And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, And He set the world on them.

⁹He watches over the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a person prevail.

¹⁰Those who contend with the LORD will be terrified; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy continued to attend to the service of the LORD before Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were useless men; they did not know the LORD.

¹³And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

¹⁴And he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They did so in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw.”

¹⁶And if the man said to him, “They must burn the fat first, then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I am taking it by force!”

¹⁷And so the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD disrespectfully.

¹⁸Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

¹⁹And his mother would make for him a little robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the LORD give you children from this woman in place of the one she requested of the LORD.” And they went to their own home.

²¹The LORD indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up before the LORD.

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

²³So he said to them, “Why are you doing such things as these, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

²⁴No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the LORD’S people circulating.

²⁵If one person sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a person sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the LORD desired to put them to death.

²⁶Now the boy Samuel was continuing to grow and to be in favor both with the LORD and with people.

²⁷Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?

²⁸Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?

²⁹Why are you showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded for My dwelling, and why are you honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

³⁰Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be insignificant.

³¹Behold, the days are coming when I will eliminate your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

³²And you will look at the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and there will never be an old man in your house.

³³Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life.

³⁴And this will be the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die.

³⁵But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

³⁶And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

¹This is what the LORD says: “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your wrongdoings, And for your wrongful acts your mother was sent away.

²Why was there no one when I came? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot redeem? Or do I have no power to rescue? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I turn rivers into a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water, And die of thirst.

³I clothe the heavens with blackness, And make sackcloth their covering.”

⁴The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, So that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

⁵The Lord GOD has opened My ear, And I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back.

⁶I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.

⁷For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have made My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

⁸He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other. Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me.

⁹Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; A moth will eat them.

¹⁰Who is among you who fears the LORD, Who obeys the voice of His servant, Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

¹¹Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with flaming arrows, Walk in the light of your fire And among the flaming arrows you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.

¹After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had encouraged them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia.

²When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece.

³And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

⁵Now these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.

⁶We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and reached them at Troas within five days; and we stayed there for seven days.

⁷On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.

⁸There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered together.

⁹And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for he is still alive.”

¹¹When Paul had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.

¹²They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

¹³But we went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for that was what he had arranged, intending himself to go by land.

¹⁴And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene.

¹⁵Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day we came to Miletus.

¹⁶For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to lose time in Asia; for he was hurrying, if it might be possible for him to be in Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷From Miletus he sent word to Ephesus and called to himself the elders of the church.

¹⁸And when they came to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;

²⁰how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was beneficial, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,

²¹solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²²And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

²³except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me.

²⁴But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵“And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.

²⁶Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all people.

²⁷For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

²⁸Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

²⁹I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

³⁰and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

³¹Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

³²And now I entrust you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes.

³⁴You yourselves know that these hands served my own needs and the men who were with me.

³⁵In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’  ”

³⁶When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷And they all began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him,

³⁸grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.