Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

²And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?

³I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

⁵I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

⁶He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

⁷Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’

⁸But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

⁹And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

¹⁰Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

¹²But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

¹³And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?

¹⁶So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

¹⁷And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

¹⁸Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

¹⁹It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

²⁰And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?

²¹It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

²²And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

²³Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,

²⁴“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

²⁵When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’

²⁶then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’

²⁷But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’

²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

²⁹They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

³⁰And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

³¹On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³²And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

³³Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

³⁴“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

³⁵See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

¹Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.

²Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.

³And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!

⁴Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?

⁵And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them.

⁷Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”

⁹So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.

¹⁰And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”

¹¹Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

¹²Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

¹³This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.

¹⁴Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

¹⁵how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers.

¹⁶When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border.

¹⁷Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”

¹⁸Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

²⁰Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand.

²¹Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

²²Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

²³And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying:

²⁴“Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah.

²⁵Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;

²⁶and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.”

²⁷So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

²⁸Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

²⁹Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

⁴For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

⁵so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

⁷or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

⁸he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

¹⁰Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

¹¹not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

¹²rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

¹³distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

¹⁸If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

¹⁹Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

²⁰Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

²Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

⁴And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

⁶And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

⁷He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

⁸But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

⁹Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

¹¹having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

¹²Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

¹³three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

¹⁶The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

¹⁷Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

¹⁸The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

¹⁹The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

²⁰the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

²¹The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²²But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

²³The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

²⁴And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

²⁵Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

²⁶And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

²⁷But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

¹“Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.

²He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

³And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!

⁵Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.

⁶Look away from him that he may rest, Till like a hired man he finishes his day.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease.

⁸Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground,

⁹Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant.

¹⁰But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he?

¹¹As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up,

¹²So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.

¹³“Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes.

¹⁵You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.

¹⁶For now You number my steps, But do not watch over my sin.

¹⁷My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You cover my iniquity.

¹⁸“But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place;

¹⁹As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man.

²⁰You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.

²¹His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.

²²But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it.”

¹A Psalm of David. [1] The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

²For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.

³Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?

⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

⁷Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

⁸Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.

⁹Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

¹The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

²He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

³In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

⁵A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

⁷Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is favor.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be overthrown, But the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of mirth may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.

¹⁵The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.

¹⁶A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident.

¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil will bow before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, But the rich has many friends.

²¹He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

²³In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is folly.

²⁵A true witness delivers souls, But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s honor, But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

²⁹He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.

³⁰A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.

³¹He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

³²The wicked is banished in his wickedness, But the righteous has a refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

¹Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”

²Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.

³And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

⁴David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

⁵So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him.

⁶Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him.

⁸Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

⁹But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?”

¹⁰David said furthermore, “As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.

¹¹The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.”

¹²So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

¹³Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them.

¹⁴And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

¹⁵So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king.

¹⁶This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

¹⁷Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.”

¹⁸And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand?

¹⁹Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

²⁰So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

²²And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it.

²³May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.

²⁴And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

²⁵Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

¹“At that time,” says the LORD, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.

²They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.

³Then death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the LORD of hosts.

⁴“Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return?

⁵Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return.

⁶I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.

⁷“Even the stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD.

⁸“How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.

⁹The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?

¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to others, And their fields to those who will inherit them; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is given to covetousness; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.

¹¹For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.

¹²Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; In the time of their punishment They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

¹³“I will surely consume them,” says the LORD. “No grapes shall be on the vine, Nor figs on the fig tree, And the leaf shall fade; And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.” ’ ”

¹⁴“Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, And let us enter the fortified cities, And let us be silent there. For the LORD our God has put us to silence And given us water of gall to drink, Because we have sinned against the LORD.

¹⁵“We looked for peace, but no good came; And for a time of health, and there was trouble!

¹⁶The snorting of His horses was heard from Dan. The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His strong ones; For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell in it.”

¹⁷“For behold, I will send serpents among you, Vipers which cannot be charmed, And they shall bite you,” says the LORD.

¹⁸I would comfort myself in sorrow; My heart is faint in me.

¹⁹Listen! The voice, The cry of the daughter of my people From a far country: “Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger With their carved images— With foreign idols?”

²⁰“The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!”

²¹For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me.

²²Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people?

¹Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.

²He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.

³Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

⁴And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

⁶Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.

⁷After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.

⁸So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,

¹²and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.

¹³And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

¹⁴Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.

¹⁵And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

¹⁶Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

¹⁷This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

¹⁸And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.

¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

²⁰And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;

²¹and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”

²²Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

²³And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

²⁴Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

²⁷And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

²⁸But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

²⁹Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

³³And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

³⁴Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

³⁵And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.”

³⁶So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”

³⁸And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.

³⁹Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.

⁴⁰So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.