Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

²After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.

³His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.

⁴And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁶(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹²Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?

¹³But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

¹⁴When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.

¹⁵As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

¹⁶“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

¹⁷A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.

¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered.

²²“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”

²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

³⁰They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were,

³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”

³²But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”

³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

³⁶He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,

³⁷“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

³⁸“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

³⁹“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,

⁴⁰for whoever is not against us is for us.

⁴¹Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

⁴²“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.

⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

⁴⁴

⁴⁵And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.

⁴⁶

⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁴⁸where “ ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

⁴⁹Everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the LORD by giving the equivalent value,

³set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel;

⁴for a female, set her value at thirty shekels;

⁵for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels;

⁶for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver;

⁷for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.

⁸If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.

⁹“ ‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the LORD, such an animal given to the LORD becomes holy.

¹⁰They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy.

¹¹If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the LORD—the animal must be presented to the priest,

¹²who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be.

¹³If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.

¹⁴“ ‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the LORD, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain.

¹⁵If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.

¹⁶“ ‘If anyone dedicates to the LORD part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed.

¹⁷If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.

¹⁸But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced.

¹⁹If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs.

²⁰If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed.

²¹When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it will become priestly property.

²²“ ‘If anyone dedicates to the LORD a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land,

²³the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the LORD.

²⁴In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was.

²⁵Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.

²⁶“ ‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the LORD; whether an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.

²⁷If it is one of the unclean animals, it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.

²⁸“ ‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the LORD—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.

²⁹“ ‘No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.

³⁰“ ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

³¹Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it.

³²Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the LORD.

³³No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’ ”

³⁴These are the commands the LORD gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

¹Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

²He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.

³This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.

⁴And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

⁶And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

⁸Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered

⁹and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him

¹⁰and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.

¹²In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

¹The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

²who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

³Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

⁴John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,

⁵and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

⁹I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

¹⁰On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

¹¹which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

¹³and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.

¹⁴The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.

¹⁵His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

¹⁸I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

¹⁹“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

²⁰The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

¹I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

²Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.

³Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

⁴Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love.

⁵Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.

⁶His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.

⁷Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

⁸Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.

⁹My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

¹⁰My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.

¹¹See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.

¹²Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

¹⁴My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

¹⁵Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

¹⁶My beloved is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.

¹For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David. Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

²How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods

³Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

⁴Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

⁵Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the LORD.

⁶Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us.

⁷Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.

⁸In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

¹These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

³As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

⁴Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel;

⁵remove wicked officials from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness.

⁶Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men;

⁷it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before his nobles. What you have seen with your eyes

⁸do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹If you take your neighbor to court, do not betray another’s confidence,

¹⁰or the one who hears it may shame you and the charge against you will stand.

¹¹Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given.

¹²Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.

¹³Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him; he refreshes the spirit of his master.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given.

¹⁵Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

¹⁶If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.

¹⁷Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you.

¹⁸Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

¹⁹Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.

²⁰Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

²²In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

²³Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

²⁴Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.

²⁸Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

¹When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months,

²the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

³They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”

⁴The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.

⁵Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land.

⁶Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

⁷“Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.

⁸Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way,

⁹but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves.

¹¹They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors.

¹²Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight.

¹⁴The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

¹⁵The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.

¹⁶The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.

¹⁷These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the LORD—one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron.

¹⁸And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them.

²⁰And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”

²¹Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to your town.”

¹“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD.

²“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

³For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

⁴“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

⁵For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

⁶The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God.

⁷“For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

⁸In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer.

⁹“To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.

¹⁰Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

¹¹“Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli.

¹²I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.

¹³All your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their peace.

¹⁴In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.

¹⁵If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

¹⁶“See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;

¹⁷no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.

²When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.

³Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.

⁴But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect

⁶and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

⁷

⁸By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

¹⁰When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.

¹¹You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.

¹³And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.

¹⁴However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,

¹⁵and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

¹⁷“After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.

¹⁸I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.

¹⁹But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.

²⁰Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin—

²¹unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’ ”

²²Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”

²³He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

²⁴Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

²⁶At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

²⁷When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.