Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹He set out from there and went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Then crowds converged on him again, and as was his custom he taught them again.

²Some Pharisees came to test him, asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³He replied to them, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers and send her away.”

⁵But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts.

⁶But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.

⁷For this reason a man will leave his father and mother

⁸and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰When they were in the house again, the disciples questioned him about this matter.

¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.

¹²Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

¹⁶After taking them in his arms, he laid his hands on them and blessed them.

¹⁷As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.”

²⁰He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”

²¹Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

²⁹“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,

³⁰who will not receive a hundred times more, now at this time  — houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions  — and eternal life in the age to come.

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

³²They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him.

³³“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles,

³⁴and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.”

³⁵James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.”

³⁶“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them.

³⁷They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.”

³⁸Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

³⁹“We are able,” they told him. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.

⁴⁰But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹When the ten disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.

⁴²Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them.

⁴³But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant,

⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all.

⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!”

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.”

⁵⁰He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”

⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt:

²“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their fathers’ families, counting the names of every male one by one.

³You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions — everyone who can serve in Israel’s army.

⁴A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family.

⁵These are the names of the men who are to assist you: Elizur son of Shedeur from Reuben;

⁶Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai from Simeon;

⁷Nahshon son of Amminadab from Judah;

⁸Nethanel son of Zuar from Issachar;

⁹Eliab son of Helon from Zebulun;

¹⁰from the sons of Joseph: Elishama son of Ammihud from Ephraim, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur from Manasseh;

¹¹Abidan son of Gideoni from Benjamin;

¹²Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai from Dan;

¹³Pagiel son of Ochran from Asher;

¹⁴Eliasaph son of Deuel from Gad;

¹⁵Ahira son of Enan from Naphtali.

¹⁶These are the men called from the community; they are leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of Israel’s clans.”

¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,

¹⁸and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years old or more,

¹⁹just as the LORD commanded Moses. He registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:

²⁰The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

²¹those registered for the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

²²The descendants of Simeon: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, those registered counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

²³those registered for the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

²⁴The descendants of Gad: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

²⁵those registered for the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

²⁶The descendants of Judah: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

²⁷those registered for the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

²⁸The descendants of Issachar: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

²⁹those registered for the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

³⁰The descendants of Zebulun: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

³¹those registered for the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

³²The descendants of Joseph: The descendants of Ephraim: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

³³those registered for the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

³⁴The descendants of Manasseh: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

³⁵those registered for the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

³⁶The descendants of Benjamin: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

³⁷those registered for the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

³⁸The descendants of Dan: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

³⁹those registered for the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

⁴⁰The descendants of Asher: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

⁴¹those registered for the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

⁴²The descendants of Naphtali: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,

⁴³those registered for the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

⁴⁴These are the men Moses and Aaron registered, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel; each represented his ancestral family.

⁴⁵So all the Israelites twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel’s army, were registered by their ancestral families.

⁴⁶All those registered numbered 603,550.

⁴⁷But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe.

⁴⁸For the LORD had told Moses:

⁴⁹“Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites.

⁵⁰Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it.

⁵¹Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it is to be put to death.

⁵²“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner.

⁵³The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”

⁵⁴The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,

²teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

³And we will do this if God permits.

⁴For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit,

⁵who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age,

⁶and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.

⁷For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.

⁸But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.

⁹Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation.

¹⁰For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints — and by continuing to serve them.

¹¹Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end,

¹²so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself:

¹⁴I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you.

¹⁵And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.

¹⁶For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute.

¹⁷Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,

¹⁸so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.

¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

²⁰Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹“Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

²I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.

³I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

⁵Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

⁶Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

⁸“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life:

⁹I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

¹²“Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword:

¹³I know where you live — where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was put to death among you, where Satan lives.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.

¹⁵In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

¹⁶So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.

¹⁸“Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze:

¹⁹I know your works — your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.

²⁰But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

²¹I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.

²²Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works,

²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

²⁴I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven’t known “the so-called secrets of Satan” — as they say — I am not putting any other burden on you.

²⁵Only hold on to what you have until I come.

²⁶The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations —

²⁷ and he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery —

²⁸just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

²⁹“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

¹In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him.

²I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and the plazas. I will seek the one I love. I sought him, but did not find him.

³The guards who go about the city found me. I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?”

⁴I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house  — to the chamber of the one who conceived me.

⁵Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field, do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time.

⁶Who is this coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from every fragrant powder of the merchant?

⁷Look! Solomon’s bed surrounded by sixty warriors from the mighty men of Israel.

⁸All of them are skilled with swords and trained in warfare. Each has his sword at his side to guard against the terror of the night.

⁹King Solomon made a carriage for himself with wood from Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, and its seat of purple. Its interior is inlaid with love by the young women of Jerusalem.

¹¹Go out, young women of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother placed on him on the day of his wedding  — the day of his heart’s rejoicing.

¹For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David. [1] Listen to my words, LORD; consider my sighing.

²Pay attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to you.

³In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot dwell with you.

⁵The boastful cannot stand in your sight; you hate all evildoers.

⁶You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors violent and treacherous people.

⁷But I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love; I bow down toward your holy temple in reverential awe of you.

⁸LORD, lead me in your righteousness because of my adversaries; make your way straight before me.

⁹For there is nothing reliable in what they say; destruction is within them; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongues.

¹⁰Punish them, God; let them fall by their own schemes. Drive them out because of their many crimes, for they rebel against you.

¹¹But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May you shelter them, and may those who love your name boast about you.

¹²For you, LORD, bless the righteous one; you surround him with favor like a shield.

¹Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor is inappropriate for a fool.

²Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools.

⁴Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.

⁵Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.

⁶The one who sends a message by a fool’s hand cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like lame legs that hang limp.

⁸Giving honor to a fool is like binding a stone in a sling.

⁹A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a stick with thorns, brandished by the hand of a drunkard.

¹⁰The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by is like an archer who wounds everyone.

¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.

¹²Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road — a lion in the public square!”

¹⁴A door turns on its hinges, and a slacker, on his bed.

¹⁵The slacker buries his hand in the bowl; he is too weary to bring it to his mouth!

¹⁶In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser than seven who can answer sensibly.

¹⁷A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows,

¹⁹so is the person who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down.

²¹As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

²²A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.

²³Smooth lips with an evil heart are like glaze on an earthen vessel.

²⁴A hateful person disguises himself with his speech and harbors deceit within.

²⁵When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven detestable things in his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his evil will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone — it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

¹So the people of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.

²Time went by until twenty years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel longed for the LORD.

³Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the LORD, and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

⁴So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths and only worshiped the LORD.

⁵Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.”

⁶When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the LORD’s presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

⁷When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.

⁸The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, so that he will save us from the Philistines.”

⁹Then Samuel took a young lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him.

¹⁰Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines approached to fight against Israel. The LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.

¹¹Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

¹²Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The LORD has helped us to this point.”

¹³So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israel’s territory again. The LORD’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life.

¹⁴The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵Samuel judged Israel throughout his life.

¹⁶Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations.

¹⁷Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and he built an altar to the LORD there.

¹“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost!

²Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.

³Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live. I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.

⁴Since I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples,

⁵so you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you.”

⁶Seek the LORD while he may be found; call to him while he is near.

⁷Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will freely forgive.

⁸“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

⁹“For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,

¹¹so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”

¹²You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

¹³Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up; this will stand as a monument for the LORD, an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.

¹Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

²The chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed,

³asking for a favor against Paul, that Festus summon him to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, preparing an ambush along the road to kill him.

⁴Festus, however, answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those of you who have authority go down with me and accuse him, if he has done anything wrong.”

⁶When he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, seated at the tribunal, he commanded Paul to be brought in.

⁷When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they were not able to prove.

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “Neither against the Jewish law, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in any way.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me there on these charges?”

¹⁰Paul replied: “I am standing at Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as even you yourself know very well.

¹¹If then I did anything wrong and am deserving of death, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²Then after Festus conferred with his council, he replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go.”

¹³Several days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid a courtesy call on Festus.

¹⁴Since they were staying there several days, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There’s a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix.

¹⁵When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented their case and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to give someone up before the accused faces the accusers and has an opportunity for a defense against the charges.

¹⁷So when they had assembled here, I did not delay. The next day I took my seat at the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in.

¹⁸The accusers stood up but brought no charge against him of the evils I was expecting.

¹⁹Instead they had some disagreements with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man Paul claimed to be alive.

²⁰Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be held for trial by the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow you will hear him,” he replied.

²³So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium with the military commanders and prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in.

²⁴Then Festus said: “King Agrippa and all men present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has appealed to me concerning him, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer.

²⁵I found that he had not done anything deserving of death, but when he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

²⁶I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”