Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

²And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

³And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

⁴“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

⁵And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.

⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.

⁷And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.

⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

⁹ “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.

¹⁰And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

¹¹And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

¹² And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.

¹³ And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁵ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out,

¹⁶and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

¹⁷And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!

¹⁸Pray that it may not happen in winter.

¹⁹For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.

²⁰And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

²¹And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.

²² For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

²³But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,

²⁵and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

³⁰ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³²“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³³ Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.

³⁵ Therefore stay awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning —

³⁶lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

²“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses,

³from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

⁴This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.

⁵When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

⁶Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.

⁷And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it.

⁸Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

⁹And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied.

¹⁰And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame.

¹¹And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

¹²And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame.

¹³And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

¹⁴And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

¹⁵And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶“And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

¹⁷The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

¹⁸“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,

¹⁹but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,

²⁰but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

²¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²²“Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans.

²³From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting.

²⁴This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:

²⁵they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting

²⁶and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.

²⁷All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry.

²⁸This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹“As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses.

³⁰From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting.

³¹And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,

³²and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry.

³³This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

³⁴And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses,

³⁵from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting;

³⁶and those listed by clans were 2,750.

³⁷This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

³⁸Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses,

³⁹from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting —

⁴⁰those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630.

⁴¹This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD.

⁴²Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses,

⁴³from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting —

⁴⁴those listed by clans were 3,200.

⁴⁵This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

⁴⁶All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses,

⁴⁷from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,

⁴⁸those listed were 8,580.

⁴⁹According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.

²For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.

³Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,

⁴having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

⁵Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,

⁷but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

⁸By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing

⁹(which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

¹⁰but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

¹²he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

¹⁵Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.

¹⁷For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

¹⁸Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

¹⁹For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

²⁰saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.”

²¹And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.

²²Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

²³Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

²⁴For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

²⁵Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,

²⁶for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

²⁷And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

¹Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

²And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,

⁴and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

⁵And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

⁷And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

⁸And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

⁹And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

¹⁰and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,

¹²saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

¹⁴And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

¹Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?

²My beloved has gone down to his garden to the beds of spices, to graze in the gardens and to gather lilies.

³I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies.

⁴You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.

⁵Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me — Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing; all of them bear twins; not one among them has lost its young.

⁷Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and virgins without number.

⁹My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.

¹⁰“Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?”

¹¹I went down to the nut orchard to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded, whether the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.

¹³Return, return, O Shulammite, return, return, that we may look upon you. He Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies?

¹O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

²Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

⁴what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

⁷all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

⁸the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

¹He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

²When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.

⁵A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

⁷A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

⁸Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.

⁹If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

¹⁰Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright.

¹¹A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

¹²If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.

¹³The poor man and the oppressor meet together; the LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.

¹⁸Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

¹⁹By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond.

²⁰Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his heir.

²²A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.

²³One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

²⁴The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

²⁵The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

²⁶Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that a man gets justice.

²⁷An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.

¹Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.

²When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’

³Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.

⁴And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.

⁵After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.

⁶Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

⁷Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

⁸Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

⁹When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.

¹⁰When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.

¹¹And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹²And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹³When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

¹⁶And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

¹⁷Now Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah.

¹⁸And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’

¹⁹But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”

²⁰Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.

²¹He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

²²So they inquired again of the LORD, “Is there a man still to come?” and the LORD said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

²³Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.

²⁶Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.

²⁷But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

¹“Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.

²Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.

³‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.

⁴Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.

⁵Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?

⁶“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

⁸Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

⁹Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

¹⁰if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

¹¹And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

¹²And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

¹³“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

¹⁴then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

¹After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta.

²The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.

³When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand.

⁴When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

⁵He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.

⁸It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him.

⁹And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

¹⁰They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

¹¹After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead.

¹²Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

¹³And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

¹⁹But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar — though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

²⁰For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.”

²¹And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you.

²²But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

²³When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

²⁴And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.

²⁵And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶“‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

²⁷For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

²⁹

³⁰He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,

³¹proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.