Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Setting out from there, Jesus *went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered to Him again, and, as He was accustomed, He once more began to teach them.

²And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife.

³And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send his wife away.”

⁵But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

⁶But from the beginning of creation, God CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE.

⁷FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER,

⁸AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”

¹⁰And in the house the disciples again began questioning Him about this.

¹¹And He *said to them, “Whoeverdivorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

¹²and if she herselfdivorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

¹³And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do notforbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

¹⁶And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

¹⁷As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’ ”

²⁰And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.”

²¹Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²²But he was deeply dismayed by these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *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.”

²⁶And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.”

²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,

³⁰but that he will receive a hundred times as much now inthe present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

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

³²Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,

³³saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will behanded over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and willhand Him over to the Gentiles.

³⁴And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

³⁵James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.”

³⁶And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³⁷They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

³⁹They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

⁴⁰But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with James and John.

⁴²Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and theirpeople in high position exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to becomeprominent among you shall be your servant;

⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all.

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

⁴⁶Then they *came to Jericho. And later, as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road.

⁴⁷And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.”

⁵⁰And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!”

⁵²And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith hasmade you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

²“Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head

³from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall count them by their armies.

⁴With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, each one head of his father’s household.

⁵These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;

⁶of the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;

⁷of the tribe of Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;

⁸of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;

⁹of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;

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

¹¹of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni;

¹²of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;

¹³of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran;

¹⁴of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel;

¹⁵of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.

¹⁶These are the men who were called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the heads of divisions of Israel.”

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

¹⁸and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month. Then they registered by ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head,

¹⁹just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²¹their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

²²Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²³their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

²⁴Of the sons of Gad, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²⁵their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

²⁶Of the sons of Judah, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²⁷their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

²⁸Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

²⁹their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

³⁰Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³¹their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

³²Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³³their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

³⁴Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³⁵their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

³⁶Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³⁷their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

³⁸Of the sons of Dan, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

³⁹their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

⁴⁰Of the sons of Asher, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

⁴¹their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

⁴²Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war,

⁴³their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

⁴⁴These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron counted, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household.

⁴⁵So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war in Israel,

⁴⁶all the numbered men were 603,550.

⁴⁷The Levites, however, were not counted among them by their fathers’ tribe.

⁴⁸For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying,

⁴⁹“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel.

⁵⁰And you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle.

⁵¹So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman who comes near it shall be put to death.

⁵²So the sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own flag, according to their armies.

⁵³But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no divine wrath against the congregation of the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be responsible for service to the tabernacle of the testimony.”

⁵⁴And the sons of Israel did so; in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so they did.

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

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

³And this we will do, if God permits.

⁴For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

⁵and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

⁶and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

⁷For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;

⁸but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

⁹But, beloved, we are convinced of better things regarding you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we are speaking in this way.

¹⁰For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having served and by still serving the saints.

¹¹And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,

¹²so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and endurance inherit the promises.

¹³For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He swore by Himself,

¹⁴saying, “INDEED I WILL GREATLY BLESS YOU AND I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOU.”

¹⁵And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

¹⁶For people swear an oath by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute.

¹⁷In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath,

¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us.

¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil,

²⁰where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

²‘I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

³and you haveperseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary.

⁴But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

⁵Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do thedeeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

⁶But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

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

¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

¹³‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put astumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.

¹⁵So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

¹⁶Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.

¹⁷The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze, says this:

¹⁹‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.

²⁰But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

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

²²Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent ofher deeds.

²³And I will kill her children withplague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches theminds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

²⁴But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.

²⁵Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come.

²⁶The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over thenations;

²⁷AND HE SHALLRULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE SHATTERED, as I also have received authority from My Father;

²⁸and I will give him the morning star.

²⁹The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹“On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.

²‘I must arise now and go around in the city; In the streets and in the public squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.’ I sought him but did not find him.

³The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

⁴Hardly had I left them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother’s house, And into the room of her who conceived me.”

⁵“Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, That you will not disturb or awaken my love Until she pleases.”

⁶“What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the scented powders of the merchant?

⁷Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; Sixty warriors around it, Of the warriors of Israel.

⁸All of them are wielders of the sword, Expert in war; Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the terrors of the night.

⁹King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair From the timber of Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior lovingly inlaid By the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹Go out, you daughters of Zion, And look at King Solomon with the crown With which his mother has crowned him On the day of his wedding, And on the day of the joy of his heart.”

¹Listen to my words, LORD, Consider my sighing.

²Listen to the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray.

³In the morning, LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will present my prayer to You and be on the watch.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil can dwell with You.

⁵The boastful will not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do injustice.

⁶You destroy those who speak lies; The LORD loathes the person of bloodshed and deceit.

⁷But as for me, by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

⁸LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before me.

⁹For there is nothing trustworthy in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰Make them pay, God; Have them fall by their own schemes! Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings, For they are rebellious against You.

¹¹But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, Sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

¹²For You bless the righteous person, LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

¹Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his foolishness, Or you will also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool as his foolishness deserves, So that he will not be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷Like useless legs to one who cannot walk, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

⁸Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is one who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that sticks in the hand of a heavy drinker, So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is one who hires a fool or hires those who pass by.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to its vomit, So is a fool who repeats his foolishness.

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

¹³A lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road! A lion is in the public square!”

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, So does a lazy one on his bed.

¹⁵A lazy one buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.

¹⁶A lazy one is wiser in his own eyes Than seven people who can give a discreet answer.

¹⁷Like one who takes a dog by the ears, So is one who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.

¹⁸Like a maniac who shoots Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,

¹⁹So is a person who deceives his neighbor, And says, “Was I not joking?”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no gossiper, quarreling quiets down.

²¹Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious person to kindle strife.

²²The words of a gossiper are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

²³Like an earthenware vessel overlaid with silver impurities Are burning lips and a wicked heart.

²⁴One who hates disguises it with his lips, But he harbors deceit in his heart.

²⁵When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, Because there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶Though his hatred covers itself with deception, His wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷One who digs a pit will fall into it, And one who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the ark of the LORD.

²From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel mourned after the LORD.

³Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will save you from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁴So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the LORD alone.

⁵Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the LORD for you.”

⁶So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

⁸So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!”

⁹Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD; and Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.

¹⁰Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were struck down before Israel.

¹¹And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as below Beth-car.

¹²Then Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, “So far the LORD has helped us.”

¹³So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

¹⁴The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

¹⁶And he used to go annually on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places.

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

¹“You there! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.

²Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.

³Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

⁴Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, A leader and commander for the peoples.

⁵Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which does not know you will run to you, Because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.”

⁶Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.

⁷Let the wicked abandon his way, And the unrighteous person his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

⁸“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

⁹“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

¹¹So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.

¹²For you will go out with joy And be led in peace; The mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

¹³Instead of the thorn bush, the juniper will come up, And instead of the stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the LORD, An everlasting sign which will not be eliminated.”

¹Festus, then, after arriving in the province, went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea three days later.

²And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with Festus,

³requesting a concession against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way).

⁴Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody in Caesarea, and that he himself was about to leave shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he *said, “have the influential men among you go there with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, have them bring charges against him.”

⁶After Festus had spent no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered that Paul be brought.

⁷After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many, and serious, charges against him which they could not prove,

⁸while Paul said in his own defense, “I have not done anything wrong either against the Law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against Caesar.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?”

¹⁰But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know.

¹¹If, therefore, I am in the wrong and have committed something deserving death, I am not trying to avoid execution; but if there is nothing to the accusations which these men are bringing against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.”

¹³Now when several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea, paying their respects to Festus.

¹⁴And while they were spending many days there, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

¹⁵and when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

¹⁶I replied to them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any person before the accused meets his accusers face to face, and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges.

¹⁷So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered that the man be brought.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they did not begin bringing any charges against him of crimes that I suspected,

¹⁹but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.

²⁰And being at a loss how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered that he be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”

²³So, on the next day when Agrippa and Bernice came amid great pomp and entered the auditorium, accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought before them.

²⁴And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵But I found that he had committed nothing deserving death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

²⁶Yet, I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore, I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him as well.”